First Romanian wedding (or something similar to that)

Yesterday afternoon, my host sister Rodica was asked by her parents to go to a wedding as a favor for an old friend of the day and I told her that I would go with her, since she didn't know anyone is the wedding party except for the grooms parents.

So this morning, we both got dressed and took a taxi to the government office. To understand how a Romanian gets married, you mus tunderstand the bureaucracy. Before the ceremony, the soon-to-be married couple and all the parties that are in the wedding must go in front of a representative of the government so that they make sure that they have paid the fee to get married to be sign the marriage license stating that, in fact, they are married.

So that is where we went this morning. There were crowds of other wedding parties there since most people get married on Saturday here. We carried flowers to the ceremony; only in odd numbers to a the superstition that if you bring an even number of flowers to something other than a funeral, it is bad luck. You also carry the boquet upside-down for some reason. After the official signing of the marriage license, everyone in the crowd must give their flowers to the bride and kiss her while saying something like la casa piatra (stone house), I think that is what I said anyways, Rodica was the one that told me what to say. You also kiss both cheeks of the groom, and while I am definitely American in my ideas of male to male interaction, it is a common thing here. Kinda like how they do on The Sopranos.

After that, we went out the park just across the sidestreet to the building and had pictures taken. I am sure that many years later, they will wonder who in hell is this strange person doing in their pictures. After that was over, Rodica and I left to go back to the apartment. The wedding then continued at the church where a priest will marry them in the religious sense. I will be going to a wedding of a friend of Rodica's so I will tell you all about it when it happens.

Tomorow, my host family and I (except for Rodica) are going to a town in the Carpathian Mtns called Buşteni. I will take loads of pictures and get them on here as soon as a I can. I miss you all very much and love hearing from everyone, including random people that are viewing my blog. Rodica isn't coming because she is going to visit her brother in a city in the western part of Romania called Timişoara. She is excited because it is a beautiful city, from what I have heard and I am some-what jealous of her.

Ok, pa for now. Week 3 of PST starts on Monday. We TEFL's hav team teaching Tuesday and Thursday with two other of us in a very upscale school here in Ploieşti. I will let you know how it goes.

P.S. I had Ţuică for the first time yesterday. It is a privately made liquor, on the lines of moonshine made out of the pressings of plums grown here in the region and man, is it strong.