1st day of posting...here We Go...

This past weekend, I attended a wedding in Colima, Mexico. The bride was a friend of my sister's and I tagged along with her for the experience. It was actually one of the best experiences and best decisions I had made in a long time. We had purchased tickets for Friday morning and I didn't even have an idea of where Colima was in Mexico. If you guys have ever had an early morning flight, you know what a disaster it feels like to wake up at 4AM to get to the airport. So, I woke up in a bad mood, dressed myself, all the while thinking, "why the hell am I even going?"

We flew to Guadelajara, Mexico on a small Mexicana plane. Being the only non-mexicans on the plane, I realized I had to snap back into the 3 years of Spanish I took back in high school, which was almost 10 years ago. So... I did okay, I think, communicating, except for the part where I ordered room service for two, and they brought 8 plates of food to our room. I must have said something wrong.

So, we made it in time for the bachelorette party that night that included a Mexican male stripper that looked like Antonio Sabado Jr., but he looked so much better with his clothes on. Anyway, I did take pictures, but they were deleted as soon as we all took a look at them. He danced for the bride, which was sitting in the center of the room, with music playing from a truck in the garage, with the driver's door open. That's when I realized, this is Mexico, and anything goes, really.

The next day, we decided to try out a salon in Colima to get our hair done. We had our hair washed in a sink as they poured water on our heads with buckets. When the hairstlylist, which was a guy in a purple shirt, "the hairstylo," was done with my hair, I realized that I looked like a bridesmaid from back in 1992, with my hair pulled to one side. As I looked as myself in the mirror, he kept asking, "bueno, bueno?" and I didn't know what to do with my facial expressions, so, I just looked at my sister and said, "Do you like it?" just to turn his attention on her. She would just look at him and smile, then, turning to me to roll her eyes. I just sat there thinking, "why not, I am in Mexico..." So I smiled, said thank you, graciously, and gave the guy a $20 tip.

We attended a very long Catholic ceremony in a church and then went to a hacienda, where the reception was being held outdoors. It was a beautiful setup with about 150 people and a great band that performed Frank Sinatra, everything Spanish, and Whitney Houston, when she was good. They were serving Whiskey, Vodka, and Tequila, which was a great way for us to loosen up and have fun. The only thing on the table were crackers and tuna, which I consumed in the first half hour. Then, we had a plate of pasta and chicken, followed by a slice of wedding cake. Dancing was a bit difficult, because everything they danced looked like salsa, and I can't dance salsa for shit. So, I just found a terrible white woman who had no idea what she was doing, and I danced next to her the whole night.

Around 11PM, the bridesmaids passed out fluffy slippers to all the women, and that's when I really joined in on the dancing. At 2AM, a live mariachi band showed up along with a taco truck that parked right outside. Being Armenian, and used to all the food on the tables, obviously, I was hungry. So, we ate 3 tacos each, and probably would have gone back for more if it wasn't such a formal setting. But, it was time to go back to the hotel, so we said goodbye to the family as the bride's father said, "Mi casa es su casa," I thought, wow... they're just like the Mexican families I see in the movies. They were a great family and I'm very lucky to have met them and attended one of the most memorable day of their life.

So, my Spanish is much better now... and, I am just a bit more aware of my surroundings.

Tip of the day: Try to attend an event you wouldn't normally attend. While there, be a good audience and show your interest and appreciation of the event as it takes place. It could be anywhere, from a play at a theatre, a gallery opening, or a porn convention to your mom's aunt's birthday. :)