December 15, 2009
Last night, my host sister took me to an Azerbaijan wedding. Peace Corps encourages us to take part of our host family’s social events, so we can have a better understanding of the Azerbaijan culture. During the training, I hardly had anytime to enjoy myself. Now I have some free time at night, so I was gladly to accompany my host sister to the wedding party with her two male friends last night.
When we arrived at the reception hall by 6:00pm, people already started eating. There were at least 40 big tables inside with lots of foods, fruits and drinks. The music was very loud. As my sister led me to the table, everyone in the wedding was watching us. There were people actually never ever saw a Chinese before, especially the one from the American whom they saw on TV just a few night ago. During the night, I was constantly being watched, which made me feel very uncomfortable.
The wedding was similar to that of the US. Azerbaijan people love to dance, especially dance with the traditional Azerbaijan music. Whole night long, old and young, male and female were dancing with the loud music. Azerbaijan culture does not allow female dance with a male stranger; and male usually dances with male and female dances with female. It was very strange to see two males dance together.
As the night progress, our table got more and more visitors, especially male visitors. My host sister is a young attractive Azerbaijan girl and I am a non-Azerbaijan woman with a friendly smile. First, it
was the male waiters, then the male relatives, the male friends, and at the end, the male strangers. I was not shy greeting them one by one and answering all their questions. As the night moved forward, our table was full of Azerbaijan men. I really did not mind them being there, just their cigarettes smoke that bothered me the most. By 9:00pm, I was ready to go, but my host sister and friends insisted that I should stay until the Azerbaijan National Meal; the “Plov” was served. The “Plov” was just rice with some dried fruits, served with meats. I think I like my Chinese fried rice better.
Finally, the modern rock music was playing and we danced into the night. By the time I got home, I was tired. I have not had so much fun for a long time since I left the US and “J”.
Last night, my host sister took me to an Azerbaijan wedding. Peace Corps encourages us to take part of our host family’s social events, so we can have a better understanding of the Azerbaijan culture. During the training, I hardly had anytime to enjoy myself. Now I have some free time at night, so I was gladly to accompany my host sister to the wedding party with her two male friends last night.
When we arrived at the reception hall by 6:00pm, people already started eating. There were at least 40 big tables inside with lots of foods, fruits and drinks. The music was very loud. As my sister led me to the table, everyone in the wedding was watching us. There were people actually never ever saw a Chinese before, especially the one from the American whom they saw on TV just a few night ago. During the night, I was constantly being watched, which made me feel very uncomfortable.
The wedding was similar to that of the US. Azerbaijan people love to dance, especially dance with the traditional Azerbaijan music. Whole night long, old and young, male and female were dancing with the loud music. Azerbaijan culture does not allow female dance with a male stranger; and male usually dances with male and female dances with female. It was very strange to see two males dance together.
As the night progress, our table got more and more visitors, especially male visitors. My host sister is a young attractive Azerbaijan girl and I am a non-Azerbaijan woman with a friendly smile. First, it
was the male waiters, then the male relatives, the male friends, and at the end, the male strangers. I was not shy greeting them one by one and answering all their questions. As the night moved forward, our table was full of Azerbaijan men. I really did not mind them being there, just their cigarettes smoke that bothered me the most. By 9:00pm, I was ready to go, but my host sister and friends insisted that I should stay until the Azerbaijan National Meal; the “Plov” was served. The “Plov” was just rice with some dried fruits, served with meats. I think I like my Chinese fried rice better. Finally, the modern rock music was playing and we danced into the night. By the time I got home, I was tired. I have not had so much fun for a long time since I left the US and “J”.
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