Bandung, baby! & the turmoils of sick Sari
yesterday I went to Bandung (southeast of Jakarta) with Sari's parents only. Sari, you see, is very sick with the chills, on and off again fever and general ickyness and is lucky enough to be on bedrest this week and not in the hospital. so this means that not only did I get to go to the family reunion and wedding with her parents yesterday, posing as their youngest daughter, I am going to Kuta, Bali by myself from the 6th - 12th and stay at the beautiful Kuta Seaview Hotel. Sari's cousin in a travel agent, so she got us (or me) a nice deal on the price and it looks beautiful.
so back to the trip to Bandung. it took us about 2 hours to get there, traveling east then south through some mountains. mountains that Sari's dad told me (I have video!) were being excavated and have dwindled in the past years. I also got some prime video from the backseat of the car of the local rice patties, which used to provide rice to all of the Jakarta region of Java, but no longer have the means to do so. once we got to Lembang, near Bandung actually, Sari's mom's side of the family was celebrating an 87th bday, so I got to meet her relatives and mother at a villa they rented in this nice complex. we hung out there until we got dressed for the wedding, which was a few minutes away. Sari's mom instructed me on how to greet two types of people in Indonesia: those older people to be respected and those equal and not so older than me. This is where I became a trained puppy... when she said "asbah", I took the hand of the person and touched it to my forehead and when she said "munjungan", I placed my hands together like I was praying in church, touched my thumbs to my nose, brought then down and between the person's hands and replaced them on my nose. It'll be better when I show you in person. anyway, these are Sudanese words, not Indonesian, as her family is Sudanese (not Javanese or Sumatran) and everyone loved that I knew sort of what was going on. everyone was very nice and I was even warned not to eat some of the more "Fear Factor-ish" food they had on the buffett. once it was time to get changed, Sari's mom wrapped me up (I made sure to go to the bathroom beforehand) and when I stepped out in front of the family there were lots of oohs and ahhs and the word "beautiful". Sari's grandmother told me that Sari must bring me over to visit, as she lives near in Jakarta. the family was nothing less than wonderful :)
and like any other family in the world, we got lost following directions to a wedding, taking place at the mother of the bride's house in a massive housing complex. for about a good 15 minutes. it was hilarious. once we got there, Sari's dad took my camera and took the remaining pictures of the wedding and small reception afterward. the couple would be having another huge reception at a local hotel, just like the one Sari and I previously went to on the night of my arrival, but we only stayed for the ceremony and the reception and drove back to Jakarta to see Sari., who was still sick.
ok. so the wedding... here we go...
this was a traditional Sudanese wedding ceremony. the "priest" character, Sari's dad told me, first gives a pre-ceremony ceremony regarding wedding advice, and even though he is present during the ceremony, he doesn't actually marry the couple. the father of the bride takes the groom's hand and basically gives over the power of protecting his daughter for the rest of their lives. it was lovely and it was even more lovely to have Sari's dad explain what was going on. because I am pretty damn sure they looked up during a point in the ceremony and said "what's this American girl in a lime green kebaya doing at our wedding?". I would have thought that. anyways, they do that with the father of the bride and sign some documents then they headed outside for a tradition called sabar.
it's basically like the throwing of the bouquet to the single gals, but they throw money (paper and coins) and candy to the guests and man, you should have seen some of these women get down on the ground getting all the money they could get their hands on. it was crazy. I only got one Rp 1000 bill and a piece of candy. The picture is with Sari's aunt in the middle and her mom on the right. I didn't try all that much, but to tell you the truth, those women were ruthless... and the majority of them were married already! but it's tradition and apparently I will be getting married sometime soon. hey, that's not me speaking; that's Sudanese tradition! after that, the groom crushed a egg with his foot and the bride had to clean it for him. they they threw down a clay vase. oopah! 
the couple then goes inside and kneels in front of the many parents and grandparents and says thank you over and over again. and then they force drink and food on each other (like wedding cake) and they have to tear a chicken apart. Sari just told me that the person who gets the biggest part will apparently be earning the biggest income in their relationship. notice: it was the bride. and finally the ceremony was over and we got in line to say congratulations (selamat ya) to the family members and do the "munjungan" 
move and there's a great shot of me with the newlyweds. hilarious. we had some food and then headed home, but not before changed and getting out of that outfit. at the top of the sarong, you have crazy uneven amount of cloth and a belt, so you wear basically an elastic band around it (like the ones you wear to suck in all the fat on your stomach) to make it smooth. it felt good to take that off, I tell ya. feel asleep on the way back home, but not before playing the game of "try to kill the mosquitoes in the car". I succeeded in getting the last one against the car window. always a winner.
Sari is going to sleep and I am keeping her up with my typing, so I have a spa day tomorrow and will try and post pics in the afternoon. I will have internet access in Bali and I do have a new Sony Ericsson cell phone and my own Indonesian number, so if you want to call me... let me know...
love you, miss you, mean it
ps- starting Harry Potter 6, Carolyn. yay!
so back to the trip to Bandung. it took us about 2 hours to get there, traveling east then south through some mountains. mountains that Sari's dad told me (I have video!) were being excavated and have dwindled in the past years. I also got some prime video from the backseat of the car of the local rice patties, which used to provide rice to all of the Jakarta region of Java, but no longer have the means to do so. once we got to Lembang, near Bandung actually, Sari's mom's side of the family was celebrating an 87th bday, so I got to meet her relatives and mother at a villa they rented in this nice complex. we hung out there until we got dressed for the wedding, which was a few minutes away. Sari's mom instructed me on how to greet two types of people in Indonesia: those older people to be respected and those equal and not so older than me. This is where I became a trained puppy... when she said "asbah", I took the hand of the person and touched it to my forehead and when she said "munjungan", I placed my hands together like I was praying in church, touched my thumbs to my nose, brought then down and between the person's hands and replaced them on my nose. It'll be better when I show you in person. anyway, these are Sudanese words, not Indonesian, as her family is Sudanese (not Javanese or Sumatran) and everyone loved that I knew sort of what was going on. everyone was very nice and I was even warned not to eat some of the more "Fear Factor-ish" food they had on the buffett. once it was time to get changed, Sari's mom wrapped me up (I made sure to go to the bathroom beforehand) and when I stepped out in front of the family there were lots of oohs and ahhs and the word "beautiful". Sari's grandmother told me that Sari must bring me over to visit, as she lives near in Jakarta. the family was nothing less than wonderful :)and like any other family in the world, we got lost following directions to a wedding, taking place at the mother of the bride's house in a massive housing complex. for about a good 15 minutes. it was hilarious. once we got there, Sari's dad took my camera and took the remaining pictures of the wedding and small reception afterward. the couple would be having another huge reception at a local hotel, just like the one Sari and I previously went to on the night of my arrival, but we only stayed for the ceremony and the reception and drove back to Jakarta to see Sari., who was still sick.
ok. so the wedding... here we go...
this was a traditional Sudanese wedding ceremony. the "priest" character, Sari's dad told me, first gives a pre-ceremony ceremony regarding wedding advice, and even though he is present during the ceremony, he doesn't actually marry the couple. the father of the bride takes the groom's hand and basically gives over the power of protecting his daughter for the rest of their lives. it was lovely and it was even more lovely to have Sari's dad explain what was going on. because I am pretty damn sure they looked up during a point in the ceremony and said "what's this American girl in a lime green kebaya doing at our wedding?". I would have thought that. anyways, they do that with the father of the bride and sign some documents then they headed outside for a tradition called sabar.
it's basically like the throwing of the bouquet to the single gals, but they throw money (paper and coins) and candy to the guests and man, you should have seen some of these women get down on the ground getting all the money they could get their hands on. it was crazy. I only got one Rp 1000 bill and a piece of candy. The picture is with Sari's aunt in the middle and her mom on the right. I didn't try all that much, but to tell you the truth, those women were ruthless... and the majority of them were married already! but it's tradition and apparently I will be getting married sometime soon. hey, that's not me speaking; that's Sudanese tradition! after that, the groom crushed a egg with his foot and the bride had to clean it for him. they they threw down a clay vase. oopah! 
the couple then goes inside and kneels in front of the many parents and grandparents and says thank you over and over again. and then they force drink and food on each other (like wedding cake) and they have to tear a chicken apart. Sari just told me that the person who gets the biggest part will apparently be earning the biggest income in their relationship. notice: it was the bride. and finally the ceremony was over and we got in line to say congratulations (selamat ya) to the family members and do the "munjungan" 
move and there's a great shot of me with the newlyweds. hilarious. we had some food and then headed home, but not before changed and getting out of that outfit. at the top of the sarong, you have crazy uneven amount of cloth and a belt, so you wear basically an elastic band around it (like the ones you wear to suck in all the fat on your stomach) to make it smooth. it felt good to take that off, I tell ya. feel asleep on the way back home, but not before playing the game of "try to kill the mosquitoes in the car". I succeeded in getting the last one against the car window. always a winner.Sari is going to sleep and I am keeping her up with my typing, so I have a spa day tomorrow and will try and post pics in the afternoon. I will have internet access in Bali and I do have a new Sony Ericsson cell phone and my own Indonesian number, so if you want to call me... let me know...
love you, miss you, mean it
ps- starting Harry Potter 6, Carolyn. yay!
posted by xo lp | 9:27 AM
1 Comments:
The bride looks so beautiful! I love their bridal garments in that part of the world so simple and ornate at the same time.
You better work that bikini! If I could wear a two piece maternity bikini at the gym in the middle of Chelsea with no shame, then you should be able to handle the beaches of Bali!
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