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| Last weekend, I attended the wedding of my host family's nephew. A train of nice cars came to pick us up that morning. |
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| First we drove to a nice locale in Elbasan for photos. |
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| This is me with my host sisters Dorina and Elisabeta. |
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| The nusja (bride) poses for some photos. |
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| Then we went to the groom's house for some unspecified purpose. |
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| Albanians LOVE weddings and LOVE to eat. |
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| second course |
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| Looks like an American wedding in many ways. |
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| me with gjyshe (grandma) and an aunt |
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| Circle dancing is an Albanian tradition. I suck at it. |
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| But I try... |
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| and awkwardly but diligently try some more... |
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| Aldi was a patient and fun dance partner. |
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| Babi never dances, but did at the wedding. And kissed a lot of gjyshes. It was a fun day. |
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| Guests give money to the bride and groom by throwing it on the ground in the middle of the circle dance area. At least they did not throw it at the bride as is done in some Albanian weddings. |
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| more circle dancing |
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| Albanians don't smile so much for photos. It is obvious who the America here is. |
Thanks for sharing the wedding photos and captions. Coincidently, I just ran an event with the bride a born and raised Albanian. She came to the United States for college and "met the man of her dreams." Her parents and some of her family traveled here for the wedding. They spoke zero English and didn't smile much. I was sure I was doing much to displease her mom. I thought of you much that night and wished you'd been there to bridge the gap. P.S. Your entries are very informative and enjoyable to read. Thank you for sharing. XOXO
ReplyDeletegreat outfit sara! you looked marvelous. i would circle dance with you anytime ;)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy reading your accounts, Sara! I've said it before and I'll say it again, you are a terrific writer.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we should have practiced circle dancing at your going-away party.
What a great experience! You just fit in and go with the flow, wherever/whatever/with whomever. I imagine your critical self was in high gear during the circle dancing. You look beautiful! Thanks for sharing with all of us.
ReplyDeleteI attended a week-long African Drum and Dance class that just ended yesterday. Most of our instructors were from Guinea and Mali. It was exciting, fun and exhausting physically and mentally.