Wedding on the Mekong

Perhaps, the one disappointing part about living in Vietnam is that it is difficult to get close to the locals. There seems to be a separation between foreigners living and working in Vietnam and the local Vietnamese population. There are definitely huge cultural and economic differences between the two groups and through some of my expat Vietnamese friends I am beginning to understand these differences better. However, after of living in Vietnam for over a year, I really felt like yesterday I connected a bit more with the local Vietnamese culture.

Caleb and I took a three and a half hour drive to Vinh Long, a small city located in the Mekong Delta. We were invited there by our housekeeper, Ms. Sau, to attend her niece's wedding with her. It was an international affair since her niece grew up in Germany and married a guy from France... so why not invite some Canadians! It worked out well since our nanny, Ms. Trang, grew up about a kilometer from the location of the wedding so she joined us to spend the weekend with her mom. We arrived in Vinh Long and stopped at Trang's mother's house first. We walked off the main road and down narrow backstreets, only accessible by motorbike or bicycle, before we arrived at the house - a huge, traditional Vietnamese house built in 1934. It was lovely - the rooms were large, open air with only the necessary furniture. The floors and kitchen were spotless. Out behind the house were pens with chickens and pigs. I changed into my ao dai, a new purchase which I was so excited to wear, and then Caleb and I got back in the car to go to the wedding where we would see Sau. We arrived at the wedding and I barely recognized Sau - she looked lovely with ringlet curls in her hair and make-up done for the occasion. We met her husband, son, sister and numerous other relations. The wedding was another entertainment extravaganza - confetti, fireworks, champagne fountain, singers, dancers, karoke and of course, great food. We left the wedding before the meal finished (but not before Sau could sneak about 20 pomelos into the car for us). It had already been a long, hot day for us and we still had the long drive back to the city. I was thrilled to be able to get a bit closer to the real, rural Vietnam that sometimes I think we are rather sheltered from in this big, busy city where we live.

Trang and her mother with Caleb.

All dressed for the wedding - but were we both ever sweating by this point!

Caleb and I with Ms. Sau at the wedding.

Caleb, with Ms. Sau's sister, watching the singer and dancers on the stage.