Michelle and I made breakfast for the post-wedding brunch for the two families this morning--pastries, mango, french toast, etc. Kate & Claude opened a few gifts (people were very good about NOT bringing many gifts since they have to transport them to the States!) and we all said our goodbyes. My mom and dad both cried as they thanked Claude's family and said goodbye...it was cute. The goodbyes continued when my mom and dad left for the airport to head to Kenya where they're going on a safari! Matt & a few others went into Dakar to go to the market but Michelle and I decided we just needed to relax and just stayed home. We made friends with two cute little girls staying next door who were excited to have someone to speak English with! We also went down to the little beach briefly hoping to swim, but the waves were huge and the beach is pretty rocky. We played with Diego (dog who lives at the Phare) and he got a little too excited and managed to "punch" Michelle in the face giving her a fat lip! =( But it's all better now. The rest of the night was pretty chill with a lot of packing and logistics getting sorted out.
Tomorrow should be another relaxing day. We'll get up early to see Matt off to the airport but then just relax and pack. We're going to the Meridian to meet Kate and Claude for lunch and then just relax by the pool there most of the day. Kate recommended a Vietnamese restaurant by the hotel that we'll probably try for dinner before packing and going to bed!
We'll probably be pretty MIA from the blog for a bit as we head out on the next phase of our trip. We've been spoiled here the last few days with free internet and use of Matt & Claude's computers, but that all changes tomorrow morning! =( We will try to find some internet cafes to keep blogging, but the posts might get a little shorter since we'll be paying by the minute! =)
We've thoroughly enjoyed our time here in Senegal and have met a lot of amazing and wonderful people!
-mari
sidenote...Michelle just said "we haven't talked about bissap juice at all because we've had so much to talk about!" So we'll tell you now! Bissap juice is made from hibiscus flowers and reminds me a bit of cranberry juice. It's delicious and we wish we could bring some home but that would be WAY too hard. =) Oh, and while we're talking about juice...last night at the wedding we got to try baobab juice! I was a little nervous about it because it was really thick...like the consistency of a smoothie and was very sweet. It kind of reminded me of applesauce. =) Matt says he likes the "ananas" (pineapple) soda the best!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wedding Part 2- June 26th
With the wedding not starting until 5pm I kind of thought we'd have the whole morning to just hang out at the Phare but the van came at 9:30am to pick up all the girls and take us to the Meridian to get ready. That actually worked out great for Michelle and I because we knew it wouldn't take us very long to get ready so we packed our suits and enjoyed a fabulous hour lounging at the pool. We missed a minor disaster when the women who came to do Kate's hair forgot the curling iron they were supposed to bring! But Kate handled it well and when we came up from the pool I ordered her a mojito from room service. =) Michelle and I also took care of getting lunch and drinks. We got a tip from a pilot staying there that there was a little stand just outside the hotel grounds that sold drinks WAY cheaper than the hotel. So I was brave and ventured out on my own to get drinks. I was very proud of myself because I did the entire thing in French and came back with 5 sodas for $3. =)
The remainder of the afternoon was a flurry of picture taking and trying to stay in the shade as much as possible but still sweating like mad! We arrived at the church early and just hung out in the air conditioned van for half an hour before the ceremony. So, since things were not exactly standard American style I'll give you a quick rundown of the wedding itself.
To start the bridesmaids and groomsmen danced in on either side of the aisle (this was the simple dance...just a little side step and snap) and then we turned to face the aisle (still dancing) to welcome the families into the church. After both families were in our dance changed to a zulu song with some symbolic dance moves that went with it (kind of reminded me of hula...we imitated paddling a boat at one point). Claude and his mom danced in together all the way down the aisle and then "broke it down" a little once they got to the front; it was very fun and he was obviously very happy. Oh, did I mention that all the songs were being sung by a choir on stage? They were amazing! Then Kate and my dad walked in (while we swayed side to side facing the aisle) and Kate looked incredible! Her dress was beautiful.
Once everyone was in things proceeded in a pretty standard western style with some prayers, some readings, and a "message" from one of the pastors (the message had a decent premise but I could have done without this pastor and his tangents). The choir sang again which was fun. Oh and there was an emcee for the wedding and he would ad lib things sometimes which was kinda funny. He got a little mixed up and skipped the lighting of the wedding candle and signing of the register but they just reminded him and things all worked out in the end. Then once the ceremony was finished, the new Mr & Mrs. Betene danced out of the church followed by both families.
The reception was a little different for me because the wedding party wasn't sitting at the head tables with the families but on chairs behind them (no table). We had quite a few "jobs" throughout the night including learning two dances on the fly!! The communication was sketchy and Matt & I often had no idea what we were supposed to be doing and the language barrier didn't help! Only the families actually had a table and everyone else sat in rows of chairs and were served a plate of food in their seats. The families were served...by US!! The guys carried big plates of food and the girls served each person one at a time (all while some of the speeches were happening...fathers, best man, etc) I felt a little out of sorts the whole time and was glad when the eating part was done and the music started! The music was fun and Ben, Monica & Esperance(Claude's friends) taught Matt and I some African dance moves. Then my mom and great aunt Nancy joined the lesson and that got everyone excited and there was a lot of hooting and hollering! =) Overall a great time!
Congrats to Kate & Claude Betene!
Au Revoir,
-mari
The remainder of the afternoon was a flurry of picture taking and trying to stay in the shade as much as possible but still sweating like mad! We arrived at the church early and just hung out in the air conditioned van for half an hour before the ceremony. So, since things were not exactly standard American style I'll give you a quick rundown of the wedding itself.
To start the bridesmaids and groomsmen danced in on either side of the aisle (this was the simple dance...just a little side step and snap) and then we turned to face the aisle (still dancing) to welcome the families into the church. After both families were in our dance changed to a zulu song with some symbolic dance moves that went with it (kind of reminded me of hula...we imitated paddling a boat at one point). Claude and his mom danced in together all the way down the aisle and then "broke it down" a little once they got to the front; it was very fun and he was obviously very happy. Oh, did I mention that all the songs were being sung by a choir on stage? They were amazing! Then Kate and my dad walked in (while we swayed side to side facing the aisle) and Kate looked incredible! Her dress was beautiful.
Once everyone was in things proceeded in a pretty standard western style with some prayers, some readings, and a "message" from one of the pastors (the message had a decent premise but I could have done without this pastor and his tangents). The choir sang again which was fun. Oh and there was an emcee for the wedding and he would ad lib things sometimes which was kinda funny. He got a little mixed up and skipped the lighting of the wedding candle and signing of the register but they just reminded him and things all worked out in the end. Then once the ceremony was finished, the new Mr & Mrs. Betene danced out of the church followed by both families.
The reception was a little different for me because the wedding party wasn't sitting at the head tables with the families but on chairs behind them (no table). We had quite a few "jobs" throughout the night including learning two dances on the fly!! The communication was sketchy and Matt & I often had no idea what we were supposed to be doing and the language barrier didn't help! Only the families actually had a table and everyone else sat in rows of chairs and were served a plate of food in their seats. The families were served...by US!! The guys carried big plates of food and the girls served each person one at a time (all while some of the speeches were happening...fathers, best man, etc) I felt a little out of sorts the whole time and was glad when the eating part was done and the music started! The music was fun and Ben, Monica & Esperance(Claude's friends) taught Matt and I some African dance moves. Then my mom and great aunt Nancy joined the lesson and that got everyone excited and there was a lot of hooting and hollering! =) Overall a great time!
Congrats to Kate & Claude Betene!
Au Revoir,
-mari
Wedding Part 1 - June 25
We decided to relax during the morning before an afternoon and evening of pre-wedding events. We did some laundry, worked on some trip-planning stuff and enjoyed just...sitting.
At 2pm, Claude's family came to the Phare and we began a Cameroonian cultural ceremony. This ceremony was considered a wedding, so at the moment I'm writing (June 27th) Kate and Claude have been married twice, with one to go (US wedding).
The cultural ceremony was very interesting and had 7 phases (I don't remember ALL of them...) Both fathers gave speeches, Kate's great-aunt symbolically "gave" Kate to Claude's grandmother and both family "matriarchs" said a few words. The fun parts of the ceremony were the airplane game and the culinary integration.
In the airplane game, 5 men walked in one at a time all wearing Claude's clothes with their faces covered. Kate had to say whether or not the man was Claude. She learned that she was "supposed" to get it wrong because it's funnier that way, so she put on a great show and the families laughed a lot. Everytime she was incorrect, the Therrien family had to pay a "tax". The "airplane" part came in at the end when all of the men came in under a sheet making airplane noises. They walked around the room and then "landed" in front of Kate. She had to say which man under the sheet was Claude. When she got it wrong, the family paid another tax and the airplane took off on another lap around the room.
In the culinary integration section, she had to eat foods of Cameroon without grimacing or making any sort of face...again, the family paid a tax for any mistake. We were expecting a Survivor-esque moment, but because of time constraints, Claude's mom wasn't able to prepare any dishes. I think she ate carrots (obviously no grimace), kola nut (which are not so delicious, but still, not so bad), and a lime. Of course biting into a lime is very hard to do without grimacing and so another tax was paid. Although we speak different languages, we were able to communicate through laughter during these parts of the ceremony!
Towards the end of the ceremony, each family presented gifts to the other family. We all received Cameroonian outfits. You'll see a pic in the album!
After the cultural ceremony, we were off to the church for a rehearsal. Mari and Matt danced well! :) We did a quick run through of the ceremony and then traveled to Claude's church to practice the dances with the choir, but there was no power at the church, so that plan was canceled and we all just hoped it would go well the next day! :)
We were very excited to go to a Brazilian restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. SO delicious! It was a fun time and I enjoyed chatting with a friend of Kate and Claude's named Esperance. She had been working SO hard all week to help Kate and Claude round us all up and shuttle us around the city, and because her English is so good, she was able to do a lot of translating for us, getting us taxis, etc. We are soooooooo thankful for her. Plus, she's very fun to be around :)
We fell into bed exhausted, as usual! Mari's writing about the wedding next!
I don't know if it's this computer, the connection, or what, but I'm still having trouble with the pics, SO, we've uploaded highlights to a picasa web album. Here's the link: DakarPics
Enjoy! (We love the comments too...keep writing!)
- Michelle
At 2pm, Claude's family came to the Phare and we began a Cameroonian cultural ceremony. This ceremony was considered a wedding, so at the moment I'm writing (June 27th) Kate and Claude have been married twice, with one to go (US wedding).
The cultural ceremony was very interesting and had 7 phases (I don't remember ALL of them...) Both fathers gave speeches, Kate's great-aunt symbolically "gave" Kate to Claude's grandmother and both family "matriarchs" said a few words. The fun parts of the ceremony were the airplane game and the culinary integration.
In the airplane game, 5 men walked in one at a time all wearing Claude's clothes with their faces covered. Kate had to say whether or not the man was Claude. She learned that she was "supposed" to get it wrong because it's funnier that way, so she put on a great show and the families laughed a lot. Everytime she was incorrect, the Therrien family had to pay a "tax". The "airplane" part came in at the end when all of the men came in under a sheet making airplane noises. They walked around the room and then "landed" in front of Kate. She had to say which man under the sheet was Claude. When she got it wrong, the family paid another tax and the airplane took off on another lap around the room.
In the culinary integration section, she had to eat foods of Cameroon without grimacing or making any sort of face...again, the family paid a tax for any mistake. We were expecting a Survivor-esque moment, but because of time constraints, Claude's mom wasn't able to prepare any dishes. I think she ate carrots (obviously no grimace), kola nut (which are not so delicious, but still, not so bad), and a lime. Of course biting into a lime is very hard to do without grimacing and so another tax was paid. Although we speak different languages, we were able to communicate through laughter during these parts of the ceremony!
Towards the end of the ceremony, each family presented gifts to the other family. We all received Cameroonian outfits. You'll see a pic in the album!
After the cultural ceremony, we were off to the church for a rehearsal. Mari and Matt danced well! :) We did a quick run through of the ceremony and then traveled to Claude's church to practice the dances with the choir, but there was no power at the church, so that plan was canceled and we all just hoped it would go well the next day! :)
We were very excited to go to a Brazilian restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. SO delicious! It was a fun time and I enjoyed chatting with a friend of Kate and Claude's named Esperance. She had been working SO hard all week to help Kate and Claude round us all up and shuttle us around the city, and because her English is so good, she was able to do a lot of translating for us, getting us taxis, etc. We are soooooooo thankful for her. Plus, she's very fun to be around :)
We fell into bed exhausted, as usual! Mari's writing about the wedding next!
I don't know if it's this computer, the connection, or what, but I'm still having trouble with the pics, SO, we've uploaded highlights to a picasa web album. Here's the link: DakarPics
Enjoy! (We love the comments too...keep writing!)
- Michelle
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