Maya went to her first Ethiopian wedding today and had a blast!! She wore a traditional Ethiopian dress that we got for her in Addis and a blue headband. The wedding was for our cleaning lady Tirhas, and Maya's nanny Tiberh was a bridesmaid. Unfortunately, I am still in Sudan so Maya went with Mike and I didn't get to go (I am coming home on Thursday though, thank God!).
Anyway, the wedding was a very big affair and was held at a Cairo hotel. I'm told there was lots of dancing to Ethiopian music and that Maya participated in this quite a bit. She is quite the social butterfly, and Mike says she was flirting with the boys...
Everyone at the wedding knew Maya. Mike said it was a strange experience because all the kids and adults were saying: "Hi, Maya", and Mike had no clue who most of them were. Apparently they know her from Sunday afternoons when Tiberh goes to church, which is right near our apartment. She takes Maya with and Maya plays outside with the other Ethiopian kids while the adults pray and one of the ushers watches the kids. (Sunday is not a weekend here). Then the kids usually they play together afterward as well while the adults socialise.
Anyway, what is really cool is that the Ethiopian/Eritrean community here has totally welcomed Maya as a member of the community. I guess Mike and I are sort of honorary members as parents of an Ethiopian child.
By the way, Mike was very stressed over Maya's hair. He said he tried to do a nice hairstyle for her, but that somehow it didn't work, it was getting late and then he just popped a headband on. I don't know the full story, but he told me that lots of the toddlers and little girls at the wedding didn't have fancy hairstyles and looked like they don't sit still to get their hair done any more than Maya does. Good to know we are not the only ones who struggle with a wiggly toddler's hair.
So, back to the wedding, Tirhas had a gorgeous white western-style wedding dress and her husband Yohannes wore a white suit. Tirhas looked stunning (and so did Tiberh, by the way). They had a western buffet and a traditional wedding cake, although Mike and Maya unfortunately couldn't stay for the cake because Maya needed to go to bed.
Anyway, the wedding was a very big affair and was held at a Cairo hotel. I'm told there was lots of dancing to Ethiopian music and that Maya participated in this quite a bit. She is quite the social butterfly, and Mike says she was flirting with the boys...
Everyone at the wedding knew Maya. Mike said it was a strange experience because all the kids and adults were saying: "Hi, Maya", and Mike had no clue who most of them were. Apparently they know her from Sunday afternoons when Tiberh goes to church, which is right near our apartment. She takes Maya with and Maya plays outside with the other Ethiopian kids while the adults pray and one of the ushers watches the kids. (Sunday is not a weekend here). Then the kids usually they play together afterward as well while the adults socialise.
Anyway, what is really cool is that the Ethiopian/Eritrean community here has totally welcomed Maya as a member of the community. I guess Mike and I are sort of honorary members as parents of an Ethiopian child.
By the way, Mike was very stressed over Maya's hair. He said he tried to do a nice hairstyle for her, but that somehow it didn't work, it was getting late and then he just popped a headband on. I don't know the full story, but he told me that lots of the toddlers and little girls at the wedding didn't have fancy hairstyles and looked like they don't sit still to get their hair done any more than Maya does. Good to know we are not the only ones who struggle with a wiggly toddler's hair.
So, back to the wedding, Tirhas had a gorgeous white western-style wedding dress and her husband Yohannes wore a white suit. Tirhas looked stunning (and so did Tiberh, by the way). They had a western buffet and a traditional wedding cake, although Mike and Maya unfortunately couldn't stay for the cake because Maya needed to go to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment