Cathy's Wedding

I met Cathy when I first arrived in China and we began tutoring each other in Chinese and English and became very good friends. She moved into town at the end of my first year but we still kept in touch occasionally. I found out that she was getting married during the May 2002 holiday and a week before the break she called me up to invite me stay with her family for a few days in Changchun and then attend her wedding in Achang, the hometown of her husband about an hour outside of Harbin. I felt sometimes that I drew more attention than the bride and groom but never-the-less had a great time eating non-stop, playing Mahjong, and toasting every new familty member that I met.

At the wedding in Achang, a little friend Wang Jin Mei who took a shine to me. The people you see in the background are only a fraction of the people there. It felt like the whole town came out -- at least 300 people attended.

One of Cathy's sassy cousins who I nicknamed "Ban" (freckles) but I think Er Wei's (the one with the rubber face) nickname for her was more apt "Xiao Lazhu" (little red pepper).

Cathy and Yang Wei bowing to their parents.

Ahong, the Mulsim "priest" blesses the crowd with a handful of nuts

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