So, the problem with great thing about my friends and preferred associates is that we know to seize on a good opportunity when it presents itself. Sometimes this has me getting into situations that skirt an eyebrow-raising mode of living, but other times this just means that I am  happy to change my general life plan and go with wherever the tide is heading. This particular blog entry qualifies as a harmless example of the latter case.

I wasn’t supposed to be in Romania….at any point in my conceivable future. I was blissfully traveling in France when one night it was casually suggested that I head east and attend the wedding of one of my fellow Olmsted Scholars.

Me? The officer studying in Senegal- go to Romania? To meet up and compare notes with a bunch of other Olmsted scholars?

Let me go on to expedia.com and do some clicking around….

And so that’s how I found myself extending my trip encore une fois so late in this month of June.  I’ve got flexibility on my side, and really- when else in my life am I going to be invited to a Romanian wedding where I can meet up with a bunch of other military officers who are currently living the same crazy ass experiences as me?  It was almost my patriotic duty to attend.

Patriotic duty. See? I told you- all four services are represented.  As for me, I pulled the “girl” card and opted to wear a proper dress. I don’t know about the rest of you female officers, but I’m pretty much never going to be caught dead at a wedding wearing a military uniform. 

I’d like to say that the Romanian wedding was wildly different than American weddings- but this table of translation headsets was the only discernible exception. Honestly, my favorite part of this shot was watching this A.V. guy run around this ceremony with a t-shirt that said “Vodka, bringing people together.”  Awesome.

I just wanted to let you know that fans were thoughtfully placed on chairs in the event that we got hot during the ceremony. And said fans are apparently authorized for wear in dress uniforms. Marines can make just about anything look good.

The groom was a handsome American Air Force officer (the Bucharest scholar) while the bride was a lovely and beautiful Romanian.

I’m not the most military uniform-wearing person, but I think I can safely say that like most of you, I think the arch of sword is the coolest part of a wedding. Here are the guys doing what they do best.

Wait for it……

Bam.

Once the ceremony was complete, we transitioned to the celebration portion. I must say that Romanians are very open people, and while my command of the Romanian language never did progress beyond mulţumesc (thank you), most people were very well versed in English, French or some other language.  I even went up to the pastor (who conducted the ceremony in Romanian) and said to him in slow English that I thought it was a beautiful ceremony. He thanked me in perfect English- whereupon I complimented his language skills. “Thanks!” he answered with equal enthusiasm- “I’m from Texas!”  Awesome.

Kinda like at the Tuscany wedding, the eating portion went on for a good seven hours. This was plate number one- and each subsequent course was rotated in between dancing and other amazing sights that I never thought that I would see:

This is Scott, the Bucharest Scholar. He has already impressed the pants off the rest of us scholars by doing his vows and entire wedding ceremony in Romanian. Here he is serenading his new bride with a traditional Romanian song that soon has the entire (Romanian portion at least) audience joining in with the chorus. If this isn’t cultural immersion, then I have no idea what is.

I will say that in terms of Romanian culture, the wee hours of the wedding had a woman singing traditional Romanian songs. Before we knew it, all of us were holding hands and spinning around in two concentric circles as she warbled in a half yodel, half Looney Tunes style of singing. The Bulgaria scholar was dancing next to me and busting a really good move for the entire twenty minute song….I was getting tired but tried to keep up his excellent dancing pace. Thinking that he was loving every second of the dance, all of a sudden he turns to me and yells “How long is this song gonna last?!”  It was great fun, and after it was over we were told by the Romanian guests that those songs can go on for a “long” time. We got off easy.

One of the meat courses. Traditional Romanian dish consisting of polenta, cabbage wrapped meat and tinfoil tipped peppers- whose utility I never quite figured out.

So that’s kind of all I have from this wedding. Having met our fill of Romanian culture, food and drink, we once again congratulated the happy couple and set off into the night: five drunken full size adults who piled into a tiny a tiny Dacia taxi cab that sped through the Bucharest night.. 

No really:

I think it was Mark Twain who once said that twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did. I couldn’t agree more. I’d also add that if I had never been extended the invitation to this wedding, I would have never known what I was missing out on. I think that is almost as unfortunate as opting not to do something in the name of some bullshit excuse that really shouldn’t stop you from acting in the first place.

So congratulations once again to Scott and Ana for letting me be a part of their special day. I hate to say it, but the best weddings that I have attended have all taken place outside of the United States (Ireland, Morocco, Italy and now Romania). I also can’t say how much I also appreciated the chance to get together with other military families and see how their life has been since moving off the reservation. It’s good to stay connected, and I secretly hope that someone else schedules a large party of some sort so I can book another trip someplace cool.

Petermans? I am dying to get back to Thailand….and I have always wanted to go see Buenos Aires…hmmm…