Going to the Chapel

Most little girls spend a considerable amount of time daydreaming about fairytale weddings. Not me. I was content to picture myself happily single or occasionally but always temporarily coupled up, but living in my own house and spending my own money. So imagine my shock when I found myself trying on wedding dresses! White ones! With veils!

The day after tomorrow (tomorrow in 20 minutes), I will indeed marry my prince charming while decked out in a big white dress and a veil. I happily found a white "wedding dress" that isn't all white though; the bodice is purple =) And I won't put the veil over my eyes, just my shoulders - to hide some tattoos, haha! And I won't be walking down an aisle because we'll be in a big room in a restaurant here in Dalian, China. But my dad will escort me from the door of the room to the front of the room. And a Chinese friend will read the traditional wedding vows (I hope she practiced). We also ordered a wedding cake, but I wanted it to look Chinese so we asked them to paint the double happiness characters on the top.

Some friends escorted us from our hotel to the restaurant.
The characters on the sides of the doors mean double happiness .
They are placed outside before and after a wedding.
They stay posted outside for a few weeks.

More double happiness =)

We had 4 tables of 10 people in the room of the restaurant.
All the food included seafood, so we had to get a few special dishes at our table for me (vegetarian).

This is my favorite picture of the day.
We had so much fun jumping over and over to try to get a good shot.
 Both of our parents and the man of honor (Sun from Shanghai) and my maid
of honor (Eva from Austria) helped make the day really special.

We threw the wedding together in just a few weeks, but I think we (Tiger; I've been sick and whiney) did an amazing job of blending Chinese and American traditions (at least in the planning; I can't speak for the execution yet).

We're getting married in Dalian even though most of our friends live in Beijing because we have to. Chinese citizens have what's called a hukou that says which city and province they are from. People are supposed to live and work in the same city their whole lives. Children can only attend public school in the city listed on their parents' hukou. And important paperwork, such as marriage, must be performed in that city. So, when the university gave me two unexpected weeks off, off we went to Dalian to get hitched. We did all the paperwork 9/20, and the ceremony is 10/2. My parents were already coming to China for a visit, so we postponed the celebration so they could be here with me. Yay! I will see them tomorrow!

Just Married, October 2, 2011

New Obsession: Jane Austen

In the past 2 weeks, I read Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abby, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion (not in that order). I would've reread Pride and Prejudice, but I'm on dial-up at a hotel in Dalian, and can't download it onto my nook. P.S. If you don't own an ereader (I recommend Barnes & Noble's nook), you should get one. It's so amazing to want a book, get it, and start reading it within seconds. Plus, you can carry around hundreds of books in your purse. Back to Jane: Why didn't anyone besides teachers of questionable taste tell me how fun it is to read Jane Austen? Admittedly, my friend April (yeah you, Anderson or whatever your name is now; I should know this) has professed a passionate interest in Jane Austen, but I figured the interest was academic.

I love Jane Austen! I read Emma in school many years back, but I didn't get into it at all. I did like the movie with Gwenyth Paltrow though. It was funny to see her when I was reading the book. And remember the movie Clueless with (what's her name? - the vegan who writes cookbooks)? That movie is based on Emma too! Remember the photo in the locker... the painted portrait of... I already forgot all the character names because I read them so fast. I just downloaded and watched Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet - wicked fun! I hope there's a decent film adaptation of Persuasion. I want to watch them all.

So... I guess the fact that I recently got engaged and technically married, and my wedding ceremony is the day after tomorrow might have something to do with my heightened interest in the sweet stories Austen so brilliantly unfolds. But what I love about her is how unbrilliant her characters are. They are regular people, albeit rich and kept, doing regular things. But I feel like I know them so well (okay knew because I've forgotten them). I'm glad I forgot them because now I can read them again.

If anyone is wondering why I have had the leisure to read so much in such a short time: my students just completed 2 weeks of military training (no foreigners allowed on campus, even the foreign students), and next week is China's National Day, during which the education system and most other systems (not transportation or anything fun) shuts down for a week. And I've had a nasty cold/cough. But I'm feeling much better. Thanks =)