South African Wedding, (August 13th, 2011)

During one casual conversation over afternoon coffee, Ru and I were talking about weddings. She explained how the marriage process works in Zimbabwe, the presenting of gifts (giving of cattle and the like), mesmerizing me with the elaborate efforts and traditions involved in Zimbabwean weddings. Pausing after her description, she exclaimed, “Em! Pam, my mentor, is getting married on Saturday, August 13th. You should come!” Surprised and excited about her proposition, I gladly accepted, not sure if Ru was actually serious or not. Well, the week of Pam’s wedding, Ru sent me a text reminding me to be dressed and ready to head to the church at 11:45am on Saturday and that I should expect to return to campus around 5pm. A 5 HOUR WEDDING?!?! Confession: I haven’t been to a wedding—in the United States or any other country for that matter—since I was four years old. Thus, I had NO IDEA what to expect, and while a five hour wedding ceremony sounded a little long, I had nothing to compare it to. So after being dressed up by my housemates (they are waayyyy more fashionable than I am, and so they kindly took the liberty of getting me ready for the wedding), I met Ru at her dorm, and we carpooled with 3 others to the church.

The pews of the church were filled with a vibrant and beautiful sea of people… men, women, and children from different countries and backgrounds, various ages and races, all smushed together in a small city church to celebrate a profound day in the life of their friends. The groom, Chris, beamed as his stunning wife-to-be glided down the isle in a simple yet elegant long dress, and he gently took her hand in his as they turned to face the priest. During the rest of the ceremony, songs were sung—in English and Xhosa, vows were taken, cheers were made, and love was shared. The spirit of celebration was contagious, spreading throughout the crowd and inspiring many to dance, sing, cat-call, cheer, and story-tell into the late afternoon hours. At one point, a group of black girls starting dancing to a choreographed song, and Ru convinced me to join in…as you can imagine, the awkward white girl stood out just a tad among the talented and charismatic dancers, and I felt the stares of quite a few people in the crowd. But hey, bru, it was a hectic wedding and lekher time, (Translation: “But hey, dude, it was a crazy/good wedding and an awesome time”), and one of my favorite afternoons here in the Western Cape.





Pam and Chris!