Renewal of Wedding Vows

Today, I found out that I was indeed attending a wedding with my family. I asked if I could go with mama and my sister to el centro de Villa Alemana. We rode the micro to stop 6 or 8? and walked to a street Buenos Aires where there was a large park with a stage and some weight machines that I quickly hopped on to train my sagging muscles. It was quite fun to help mama pick out her clothes at this cute clothing shop which was like a mini department store with different sections for shoes, suits, sunglasses, watches, etc and the prices for affordable.
Ever since I arrived to Chile, I have been wanting to buy a bunch of clothes since they are phasing out their winter clothes and it's cheaper here to buy them, but I have been able to resist the urge. Mama took more than 1 hour to go through more than 20 outfits. Coincidentally, my sister, my mom, and I were all dressed in purple and black.

The 3 of us volunteers (Maureen, Kristy, and I) attended a "matrimonial" which was actually a renewal of vows after 35 years of marriage. It was Maureen's host parents that were getting remarried. We stacked all the desserts into our little french hatchback and mama was crocheting in the car as papa drove.



The wedding took place in a Catholic church at 6:30pm. Interestingly, when the priest offered the congregation to eat the "bread", only about 1/3 of them did so. I think many Chileans loosely consider themselves Catholic, but only some of them practice it religiously.


Mi mama was in charge of making all the desserts for the wedding. I saw cakes, puddings, flan, etc. bombard the counters in our kitchen. Of course I wanted to try all of them, but at that time I did not know if I was invited to the wedding. I'm happy I was invited!! I must've tried all the desserts at the wedding..and more as leftovers at home.

I told mi mama, she has to teach me how to make the flan and the strawberry ice cream with vanilla meringue cake!! I plan to

The reception was held at a local restaurant, but the catering was all done by family members. Of course, I had Pisco Sour (see above) and some very sweet tasting Cabarnet Sauvignon! Some of the family members had not seen my Asian Glow when I drink and were concerned that I had an allergic reaction.

Groom & Bride

Brother Benjamin (Bartender) & Sister Montsserat (Flower Girl)

The reception was very homey with about 50 people there.
1) We all made a congratulatory toast with our wine glasses as the couple walked in.
2) Then we sat down to eat. Of course, we had white bread with some spicy aji salsa-like sauce. Then a chicken wrap with their version of potato tater tots which were delicious! (See Below)
3) As we ate, Lola's daughters (bridesmaids in purple and silver) walked around the table to request family members to speak about the couple. There was much CRYING all around us as we heard a lot of "la historia", "papa", "trabajo mucho", etc.. We couldn't quite make out the story.

**Open & Blunt- Mi mama told me the next day why everyone was crying. Mama and some other family members have been very open and blunt about their family's past and present. I can't figure out if it's because they are trying to treat me as a family member or if they really are open. I think both. Another example is that during "almuerzo" (lunch) with the whole family, which really only happens during the weekends due to schedule conflicts, mama decides to have a discussion with my sister about something that I thought was rather personal. Mama then looks at me and says "Cachai?" (Got it?). I felt that was a very personal discussion, but my host sister didn't seem to care that I was there, but she also didn't say anything.

4) Family Slideshow and Dessert!
5) DANCING UNTIL 3am- I danced 4 hours almost non-stop. Some of the songs included American oldies such as "YMCA", "Play that funky music white boy", from "Grease", "Twist & Shout" as well as newer songs such as "Tonight's the night!". There were also some American songs, BUT sung in Spanish. We did the Macarena, electric slide, twist, and some other crazy dance moves that were specific to the songs. Of course there was also cueca, cumbia, waltz... I HAD LOTS OF FUN! It was also nice that my host brother pulled me out on the dance floor to attempt the cueca, but I did not know what to do for the 2nd part of it. My host sister also pulled me out there for dances that I did not know.

I dance with the Montsserat!
Maureen & Kristy
Mama Angelica, Tia Rosina, and Myself

Elizabeth, Jessica, Catalina?, Maureen, and Kristy




EVERYONE dances happily to this song which was made after Pinochet's regime fell.







Cueca Dancing! - Carlos is a dancing machine. He is also the one informally teaching us on Thursdays.

**Car Rides- It has OFTEN been the case that numerous people would pile into the car beyond its capacity. For example, 4 of us adults and 4 kids piled into a Honda Fit with 2 kids on our laps in the back seat (See Below). The cops will not pull you over for this, but may gave you a ticket if there are more people than seats in the front of the car. However, I think most Chileans stick to the speed limit on the streets and the freeway.


**Spontaneity & Long Days- I had been told during orientation that most Chileans are not punctual unless if it's for school or work. Usually, Chileans will show up 15 minutes to 1 hour later for social engagements. In addition, they will also choose to do things last minute. My family typically lets me know of most things at least 1 day in advance. However, I did not know if I was attending Lola's wedding until the day of, but perhaps mi mama did not know if I was invited until I had brought up that Maureen and Kristy had told me that I was invited.

Yesterday, as I was about to start blogging for the week which I try numerous times over the week but never happens since something always comes up, mi mama asked me if I wanted to go with Diego and Fanny (family that lives in the cabin behind our house) to go watch a traditional Latin American dance show. I said "ok" and mi mama said "Al tiro, Al tiro" (which means hurry up!). So in 5 minutes, I was out the door to ride the micro (local buses) for close to 1 hour to get to Valpo to watch a show with family that I hardly know. However, Fanny (21 years old) and Diego (18 years old) were both very inquisitive and patient with my Spanish. Diego knew more English than his sister. Fanny told me that she will learn to use more English once she is in an English speaking country, but will not speak it now. It was quite fun to hang with them. I met some of their friends at the theatre and made my first funny comeback in Chilean.

Fanny, their dancer friend, and Diego

The Latin American Dance Show showcased members from a local dance group in Vina Del Mar called Bafovi. There were numerous cueca dances as well as dances from Paraguay (see below- Bottle Dance), Uraguay, Colombia, Peru, and Rapa Nui (Easter Island).