Becoming a Vietnamese Bridesmaid

Recently, I had the opportunity to truly experience the Vietnamese culture as it relates to weddings. One of my new friends here invited me to take part in her wedding as a bridesmaid! When she asked me, I was thrilled and honored that she wanted to include me in her wedding party.

Vietnamese weddings usually consist of a bride's party at a restaurant or hotel, complete with entertainment, singing and lots of food. The following weekend, there is a ceremony that takes place, first at the bride's home and then at the groom's home, with the family members. After the ceremonies conclude, the groom's party takes place at another restaurant or hotel, complete with entertainment, singing and lots more food. There were about 350 people at the bride's party and nearly 600 people at the groom's party.

As a bridesmaid, I wore the traditional Vietnamese dress called an ao dai (see pictures below) and followed the bride around all day in order to take care of anything she needed. It was a bit challenging at times as all of instructions during the ceremonies were given in Vietnamese and unfortunately my understanding of the language is still very limited. Fortunately, I was able to rely heavily on the other bridesmaid, who speaks English very well, to ensure that I was following orders correctly.

It was so nice to be able to take part in a Vietnamese wedding. The bride and groom's families were both so welcoming of me and made me feel as though I was a member of the family. I truly enjoyed my time as bridesmaid here and feel honored that I had the opportunity to take part in this sacred tradition.


At the bride's party

The bride and I right before the ceremonies began

My escort and I

The other bridesmaid and I along with her cousin and sister

At the groom's party

Making New Friends

I feel very fortunate in that I have been able to make some great friends here in the short time since I have been in Hue -- and I continue to meet more and more people each week! The only problem is that most of them want to practice their English which means that my Vietnamese is not improving as quickly as I would like. Nevertheless though, I feel blessed by these new friendships as I am never in want for something to do and I am truly getting to experience the Vietnamese culture.

Below are some recent photos of myself and some of my new friends here:


On the way to a soccer match

Visiting a pagoda

Learning how to make Vietnamese spring rolls

Dancing!

My translator and I

Hoi An Pictures

Since I was unable to include images of Hoi An in my last post due to space, I wanted to include some here as they are certainly worth viewing:

Tet Holiday

Tet is the biggest holiday here in Vietnam and it just so happened that the incoming volunteers, including myself, arrived at our placements just two weeks before this week long celebration began. So, if you can think about beginning a new job in the US just before Christmas break, you can imagine that diving full speed ahead into my placement was a little bit challenging with all of the hustle and bustle going on at my work place.

However, I am so glad that I arrived in Vietnam at this time because I was able to take part in the most important Vietnamese holiday of the year. The annual Tet holiday celebrates togetherness, both with family and friends, as the new lunar calendar starts anew. On New Year's Eve, people celebrate this holiday similar to the calendar New Year's Eve that we celebrate at home, complete with large parties and fireworks at midnight. Then, on the first day of Tet (the following day) people spend time with their families. The remaining days of Tet are spent visiting the homes of friends and welcoming others to your own home in celebration of the new lunar year.

One of the other VSO volunteers came down to visit over the Tet holiday which was quite fun. When she first arrived, we spent the afternoon at the citadel which was absolutely amazing to witness, even though part of it was destroyed in the war. I can only imagine what it looked like in its full glory! We then spent New Year's Eve in downtown Hue and watched the fireworks at midnight with one of my new friends here. The first day of Tet (when most people are celebrating with their families), we took a dragon boat tour down the beautiful Perfume River and visited several tombs and pagodas. The following day, we had the opportunity to visit several homes of my new friends here, including my line manager and my translator. At each home they were extremely welcoming and offered us tea, fruit and candies which is all part of the Tet tradition.

The remaining days of Tet, the visiting volunteer from Hanoi and I traveled to Hoi An for a few days. Hoi An is known for its hand sewing establishments and its quaint, historic streets. We enjoyed our time there experiencing the history, eating some great food and even doing a little bit of shopping.

Needless to say, I had a great Tet holiday here in Vietnam!

Below are some pictures from my holiday:



Citadel in Hue city

Visiting one of my new friends with the volunteer from Hanoi during Tet

The beautiful Perfume River

Dragon boat on the Perfume River

Two volunteers and myself experiencing the culture on New Year's Eve

Home for the Next Year

The other VSO volunteer and I recently moved into our new home for the next year. We are extremely fortunate in that the other volunteer's line manager owns the house we are renting and she gave us a great deal. Otherwise, there is no way we would be able to afford the very nice house we are living in on our volunteer allowances!

The house is three stories with three bedrooms and four bathrooms. It is very spacious and open, complete with several balconies that offer a nice view of the neighborhood. It is situated in a quiet residential area so it is nice and peaceful. At the same time though, it is fairly close to the center of town which makes getting around fairly easy. Plus, one of my new friends lives just across the street, so I have designated him our house handyman :)

The only downside is that our home is too far for my roommate and I to cycle to our respective workplaces each day, especially during the summer months. So, we each decided to invest in electric bicycles (very similar to motorbikes, but they run on a battery and you do not need a license) as we felt it was worth it to live in such a nice facility. I will write more about my adventures thus far on my bike soon, as that is another story altogether :)

Needless to say, we feel very blessed with our accommodation.

Reconnected

I apologize my communication has been very sparse the past couple of weeks. It is certainly not due to a lack of activities and adventures taking place here in Vietnam. Unfortunately, my internet access has been very limited which has made it difficult to keep you updated.

I am happy to report though that I now have wifi at my new house so my blogs will be coming much more frequently! In fact, I will be posting several over the next few days in an effort to catch you up on the many things taking place here.

But first, I promised a few photos of Hue in my last posting:

My First Week In Hue

Tomorrow will mark my one week anniversary in Hue, my home for the next year. Sitting here at the computer, reflecting on the past week, it is hard to believe all that has occurred since I arrived last Saturday night.

When the other VSO volunteer and I landed at the airport in Hue on Saturday, our employers and translators were waiting outside the terminal with flowers in hand. They took us to eat at a nice Vietnamese restaurant in town and truly treated us as honored guests.

The accommodating gestures didn't stop there! On Sunday, our translators took us around the city and showed us some of the highlights of a truly beautiful and peaceful town. That night I went to a Vietnamese mass with my translator. Unfortunately, with my limited knowledge of Vietnamese, I was unable to pick up most of what was happening throughout the service, but I can say that the singing was absolutely beautiful.

My first week at the vocational training center for children with disabilities has been great as well. I have spent this week just getting acclimmated with my coworkers and the center's activities. My coworkers and the children are so friendly and accommodating. I have to keep reminding them that I am here to work alongside them and that they can treat me as a member of the staff -- they are continually checking on me to ensure that I am ok and that I have had enough to eat.

The major challenge at work will be communication. My translator is absolutely wonderful, but is it difficult not being able to communicate directly with my coworkers in a effective manner. Hopefully, the more time I am immersed in the Vietnamese culture, the better my Vietnamese will become (at least I hope so!)

In addition to learning more about the center, this week I learned how to make a bamboo basket (with a little bit of added help from some of the children at the center!), played soccer, practiced a little bit of Vietnamese and took part in a graduation ceremony at the school. I also sang kareoke and had some good Vietnamese food.

This weekend, I am going to learn how to ride a motorbike, go dancing and possibly go to a soccer match.

Now, if the other VSO volunteer and I can simply secure a house here, life will be grand.

I will post some pictures of Hue when I get better access to the internet.

Tam biet! (Good bye)