The purpose of our trip to Semarang was to attend the wedding reception for Vania's cousin Ika. She got married to her husband Jeffrey in Perth, Australia in early August and chose to have the reception in Semarang, where most of her family lives. Much to my dismay, I only packed one dress for the weekend when there were actually two semi-formal events: a Catholic mass and dinner Saturday night, and the reception Sunday afternoon. There was a private mass performed in the restaurant for our party of about 50 people, followed by a seven course dinner. An elderly man invited me to join him and four nuns for the meal; we chatted in simple English and he translated some of what the nuns said for me. I was told that before I return to the U.S. I have to gain at least 5 kilos, and that I also should become a nun so that I can come back to their convent in Indonesia and maybe visit Peru (where they have two nuns stationed right now). So I may never get the chance to be married on the edge of a cliff, after all. Who knows.
The next afternoon, everyone got dressed up for Ika and Jeff's wedding reception. I was glad to finally have an appropriate outfit- a pink cotton dress- but I soon found that getting ready for the event was similar to pre-prom preparation. Everyone had silk or satin dresses, complete with blingy jewelry and fancy up-do's. I am getting too familiar with feeling out of place. We arrived at the hotel around 9:30 am and went to the ballroom where everything was decked out in hot pink. The table cloths, chair covers, flowers, and even the stripes on the cake were bright magenta. I didn't count how many tables there were, but it was a fairly large room, and there was a big T-shaped stage set up in the middle. As we got there, there were groups of dancers and singers and a 12 piece orchestra who were rehearsing on stage. All I could do was stare. We waited for several more hours while the room was set up and then pictures were taken on stage with the bride and groom. My host sister Cynthia and I sat at our table eating peanuts with chopsticks (difficult to say the least).
For me, the next few hours held a once in a lifetime experience. We certainly do not throw wedding receptions like this in the U.S. A seven course meal was served, accompanied by an ongoing show complete with dance numbers, singing (both professional and not), and other fun activities. Interestingly, there were two hired hosts that talked throughout the event (it was almost all in Indonesian, so I couldn't tell what they were saying) and a videography crew that filmed the whole thing. Some parts were similar to American wedding receptions: Ika and Jeff cut the cake together (with a sword; the cake was about six feet tall and set up on a table. It had hot pink stripes and sparkles.), and they fed each other, but each one also fed cake to their parents and parents-in-law. Instead of throwing out a bouquet, each newlywed had four or five single pink roses that they threw behind them. Jeffrey threw to a group of single ladies, and Ika threw them to single guys. I caught one! I was glad to find that my rose had a pink ribbon on it when I sat back down, because the pair that caught the white-ribbon roses had to go on stage and sing a Javanese song (but they both received a gift as well).
There was also a first dance for the newlyweds up on stage, which ended with a dramatic kiss and an explosion of real fireworks in the back ground. I accidentally let out a little squeal and clapped my hands to my mouth at this part- I wasn't expecting the fireworks. Everything went smoothly, though I was a little worried since there were sparks bouncing off of the ceiling. Another performance where I couldn't help but smile was the serving of the first course. The waiters and waitresses filed in and set the food down in a choreographed routine (complete with a gong) to the Disney song "Be Our Guest". As for the food, the menu item that I found most memorable was fish lip soup. I'm not sure what the "lips" were made of, but they looked and felt like bubbly gelatin noodles. The broth was tan, thick, and stringy (I hate to say it, but mucous-like). I added a few spoonfuls of soy sauce, and this helped immensely.
Impressively, what happened next was even more alarming than the fish lip soup. I excused myself during a singing performance to go to the bathroom, and right as I was leaving the ladies' room Cynthia runs up and says "Ika wants to give you a gift!" "She wants to give everyone a gift?" I say. "No, just you" was the reply, and I was both surprised and terrified at the same time. As soon as I entered the ballroom again I was whisked onstage by the two hosts. They asked me a few questions, like where I was from (America), and what country (Minnesota. This is what everyone asks.) and then they said we were going to sing a Javanese song together. Oh boy. It turned out that I only had to say a few words, which they taught me slowly, and the hosts sang the rest. I had fun being on stage (and on camera!), but I sure was relieved when I got to head back to my seat, away from the bright lights and strange words. I still felt rather conspicuous, though, with the large, heavy gift in my hands.
The reception ended with a delicious white chocolate cake and a large dancing/singing number with all the performers. I really regret not bringing my camera inside; there were so many moments that I wish I could share with you. This was, without a doubt, the most extravagant wedding reception I will ever attend in my life. And I just opened my gift a few minutes ago- it's a blender. I asked my host family if they are in need of one, but they already have two. Hopefully it can make it back to Minnesota with me. It's the only evidence I have of Ika and Jeff's reception and I am very proud of it :)
We got back to Yogya pretty late last night, and everyone was exhausted. What a busy couple of days! One thing I will need to get used to is the short weekends here, since there is always school on Saturday. However tired I was this morning, though, didn't affect my great day at school. I decided I will blog more in depth once I have at least a week of classes under my belt, but so far I love it at SMKI. At long last, here is where the blog entry must come to an end- I can hear the call to prayer outside, which means it's time to get ready for bed. Good morning Minnesota. Selamat malam Yogya.
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