I went to a khmer wedding on sunday. Cambodians are very superstitious, certain numbers and certain days of the week are lucky. Apparently 11/11/07 is really lucky number because there were about 300 weddings taking place on sunday. The wedding was held at the "Mondial Center" which can be described as a large giant wedding complex. the complex takes up an entire block and only weddings take place there. There must be a few hundred rooms, which i imagine all look the same - exact replications of the sets in "the wedding singer."

My friend's cousin was the lucky bride, so I showed up with my friend and part of her family. (i'm not sure where the rest of her family was, but they weren't at the wedding. I don't know if there was a family feud ongoing or if the absent family members just had really good excuses.) We finally found the right room; the entrance was decked out with giant statutes, flags, bright yellow and orange banners, hundreds of flowers and a couple neon signs. Before we could enter we had to take pictures with the bride and groom and their family. Cambodians don't just take one picture, they take 20. So here i am, in a suit (the only other people in suits were the groom and his father), towering above complete strangers, i.e. the wedding party and my friends, smiling constantly for like 20 minutes. (i'm a giant in this country and i'm going to miss this height advantage so much when i leave. but at least i've experienced life as a basketball player). Finally the pictures end and we head inside. Tables everywhere. The only open space is directly in front of the stage, which is the in the middle of the room. But even the open space has a table, but at least there's a wedding cake on it and not a bunch of people stuffing their faces.

we head to our table. no one has touched anything yet, because at weddings no one can start to eat or drink until the whole table is full. luckily we fill the table. The table is full of various types of drinks, sodas, water, juices, beers, etc. There's even a bottle of black label, black-market black label, but black label nonetheless. I start eyeing the bottle; it would be very rude of me to drink anything before someone else has. One of the guys at the table offers me the bottle. Jackpot! I promptly open it, fill my glass up with ice and start pouring. I offer the bottle around, sadly there are no other takers. So now, the only white man in the place, who's far overdressed has decided to drink scotch alone. awesome. I tell myself it's ok; i can always make up for it on the dance floor.

The food starts comes out. there's like 8 courses. all very good, except for the black stew made from innards (i'm not sure which animal). I thought i was eating a mushroom - it turned out to be intestines.

Its time for the bride and groom to "come down the aisle." This exercise consists of the couple walking about 20 feet - from the back of the room to the table in front of the stage, while people form tunnel and throw flower buds onto them. and they don't just toss these flower buds, they wind up and throw them, right at the bride's head too. there are no noticeable injuries, and the bride and groom dive into the cake.

after the cake, which isn't shared, the dancing starts. There are two things you should know about khmer dancing. first, nobody can dance, at all. not even a little. i look like a pro out there, and I lack rhythm like cambodia lacks paved roads. second, all the dances seem to go in a giant circle. you take a step or two forward and then a step or two back. you're always moving forward in a large circle. The table which displayed the wedding cake remains in the middle of the dance floor. Everyone starts dancing around the table. it looks like a giant donut, the dough being the dancers and the table the jelly filling. now this is where all that lack of rhythm comes into play. because no one can keep a beat, groups start to form. One group will move forward while another group is moving backwards. its total chaos. and to make matters worse, the band will randomly speed up the song and then slow it down, without warning and without a reason. luckily i'm a good dancer by cambodian standards, so i hold my own. of course by this time, there are like 50 people left at the wedding. its not late or anything and i've only been at the wedding for like 2 hours at this point, but cambodians simply eat and leave - thats it. i don't know why this is the case, but it is and no one seems to mind.

so that was my khmer wedding experience. I haven't seen any pictures yet, but i'm sure they will be priceless. stay tuned for tomorrow when i detail the story of the cambodian killer cow.