Puyo Part I: My Best Friend's Wedding

On Friday 9/28/18, I spent 9 hours traveling on 3 different buses. If you follow my blog, you know I don't have the best luck with transportation, so I was a little nervous to try this on my own. But strangers who help me along the way and call me mija = one of the best things about traveling in Ecuador. (Context: "mija" means "my daughter," but anyone can use it for any woman who is younger than them. It's generally a term of affection, so it helps lighten a stressful moment. Other common terms of endearment perfectly normal for strangers to use include: my princess, my queen, my beauty, etc. So what I’m saying is: English speakers really need to step up their game!) Thankfully (knock on wood), it went well, and André saved me a taxi trip + I got to see him Friday night, which I never expected!!

It's fitting that my first (and likely last) trip to the Amazon was to Puyo to visit my "best friend," André! Side bar: for those who don’t know the story: we have the same birthday, so naturally, we're best friends! In fact, he generally starts and ends every sentence with "best friend," which I personally love. He actually called me “Katie” once during the weekend and I was shocked because I don’t think I’ve heard him say “Katie” in years!! Still, it was nice to have someone call me by my name, since most people call me “Caw-tee.” I’m beginning to think I have different identities in every country, based on what people can pronounce.

Before leaving Otavalo, I had looked up some things to do in Puyo (because of course I'm not going without some sort of loose plan). I figured André would be busy prepping for the wedding during the day on Saturday, so I planned to go to one of the 4 places on my list before getting myself gussied up for the wedding. Much to my surprise, I spent all of Saturday with André! Only in Ecuador do you finish your program, seating chart, and edit your song mere hours before the wedding starts. I'm not sure how much I actually helped him prep for the wedding, but I kept him company and loved getting to spend time with him! It also have me the opportunity to meet a lot of his family before the wedding started, so by the time the ceremony and reception rolled around, we were fast-friends.

And because I wrote parts of this blog throughout the weekend but couldn’t post it due to limited wifi (as in, I only had internet in the common areas, and even that was often spotty, but I didn’t mind because vacations are meant to unplug)….As of 12pm on Saturday 9/29/18, highlights of the trip thus far include:

•          André and MariCris (the bride) surprising me for breakfast (technically, he tried to tell me, but I never got his messages, so it was a surprise to me)
•         Andre's grandma giving me the biggest hug! He started to introduce me and we said a normal hello. Then he explained who I was and she started gushing about how excited she was to meet me and grabbed me for a hug and kiss!
• Meeting this sweet, sweet girl, Sarabi <3 I mean, I specifically requested to meet his dog because that's perfectly normal. We both love our dogs and talked about them, and we both have dogs named for movie characters, so I HAD to meet her!

The ceremony was beautiful, and I was happy to be on time (although many people were late). It didn't have any murals or light up-Jesuses, but the Virgin Mary had a pretty phenomenal tiara, so I was glad that it lived up to Catholic churches in Latin America. The priest was...interesting...commenting on how lovely the ladies looked in their dresses but deciding that he looked the best out of all of us and some other gems that I can't remember anymore. Thankfully, I sat next to some of André's friends who found the priest as interesting as I did and weren't above making faces with me. Somehow, I was next to the only other non-Catholic, and I appreciated the solidarity as we moved through the exercises and recitations (that I don't know in English, let alone in Spanish) involved in a Catholic ceremony. I was also incredibly grateful that unlike the US, Catholic ceremonies in Ecuador tend to be shorter than Protestant ones because I'm not sure I'd make it through a 2 hour mass/marriage ceremony in Spanish!

The guys I was with were disappointed we didn't get to throw flower petals because "it's prettier" (their words -- I kid you not!), but they seemed to enjoy playing with the bubbles. And those happy faces on the bride and groom? That's what it's all about. <3

MariCris' dad was a very enthusiastic dancer and might've just stolen the spotlight. After the father-daughter dance, everyone wanted their turn with him. And he even serenaded us with a few songs. I have no idea how he had so much energy, but he was definitely my favorite dancer!! Oh yeah. André and MariCris also practiced a beautiful first dance to "Can't Help Falling In Love" (and even though it was a cover, I definitely approved) that they mostly remembered, but the heavens opened up and began *pouring* on the poor couple. Thankfully, it didn't deter them in the least (although MariCris' dress must've weighed a ton with the rain!)!

 

I was excited to be seated next to one of the few people I knew attending the wedding that wasn't actually a part of the wedding (the bride, groom, or their families). I quickly realized, however, that we were the mischievous table. When it started raining (and by "raining," I mean a torrential downpour) water started leaking from the roof onto our table. We started to move it a few inches out of the path of water, and for some reason, the group decided that we should instead move to basically another section of the pool area, where we were alone. 

They decided that we were the VIP table, and were the first to shut off the light over our table (although the venue actually did that later on for all tables, as there was softer lighting that didn't attract quite as many bugs. But there were so many moths! Like, a biblical straighten-up-story amount of moths. And although I was grateful they weren't mosquitoes trying to eat me, I also learned that bug balm does absolutely nothing to deter moths). The table also decided that the decorative candles should be lit for further ambiance. I protested because I was pretty sure that the glass was not meant to withstand flame, but I lost that battle. Even the process of lighting the candles with pretty hilarious, as Leo first attempted to light a receipt and use that as a torch to light the candles inside the glassware. After the flame kept going out or nearly burning him, he eventually gave up and removed the candles, lit them, and placed them back inside the glass, but that was not without its difficulties. The last candle for some reason did not fit through the entrance as easily, and I'm pretty sure he burned himself but wouldn't admit it. Nothing shattered while we were there, but I am not convinced that we (and by we, I really mean THEY) didn't cause damage (at the end of the evening, one glass bulb had a hairline fracture in it, but I can't say for certain that it wasn't there before the shenanigans). I just hope the newlyweds don't get charged extra for damage or something!

 

I unfortunately realized that I belonged at the trouble-maker table when I stood up and accidentally stepped on the “off” switch on the power strip controlling the music/sound. There was a slight chance that it was Jessy (the girl I knew) and not me, but if you know me, then you know how incredibly clumsy I am, so let’s be real…there’s a 97% chance it was me. Whoops! Thankfully, since I was seated with the rowdy-take-action crowd, they jumped up and solved the problem. Jessy and I quickly escaped to the bathroom. At that moment, I was glad that I didn’t know more people at the party, although they were such a fun, easy-going group, I don’t think anyone was really upset or would’ve made a fuss about it.

Some great one-liners from André:

• ·         When starting to get nervous because there was still so much left to do on the day of the wedding, he conceded that maybe 2 months instead of 1 month would be better for planning a wedding
• ·         Excited that I could come to his wedding, he proclaimed that he'd better be invited to mine and I reassured him that he would. He then immediately demanded that I give him at least 6 months’ notice! I politely reminded him that he only gave me one month to figure out how I could attend his wedding. If you've heard me talk about André, then you know he is demanding. During SUSI, I used to tease him about being pushy and tell him that he'd better say please & thank you, and use good manners. In reality, he's a sweetheart, but he does tend to come across as rather demanding, especially when he's excited and speaking English.
• ·         Because so many relatives and friends spent the night of the wedding at the hotel, a lot of us had breakfast together the following morning. André made sure to tell every single person that I came *all the way from the U.S.* JUST for his wedding. When they inevitably gave me astonished faces, I had to tell them that *part* of that statement was correct. I'm still waiting for my prize for traveling the farthest to get to this wedding, though, since I *technically* did come all the way from the US for it, by way of a 3-month stop in Otavalo.

Even though this is my third wedding in Ecuador, it was my first mestizo wedding, so it was interesting to see that they have a lot of the same traditions as in the U.S. I groaned internally (ok, maybe audibly as well) when they called for the single ladies for the bouquet toss. André tried told us not to fight over the bouquet, but I don't think he realized we were fighting over who could be out of the line of fire. MariCris tried to fake us out by pulling out a single flower and tossing it for. Unfortunately for her, it went into the pool, and we all just watched. I think she was hoping for a little more excitement on our part... After the bouquet toss was over, I thought I was safe. Boy was I wrong!! It turns out that the person who catches the bouquet is actually off the hook and just gets to keep the flowers. If I had known that, I would’ve put in a little more effort!

Not only do they have a garter toss, they have three! They alternated between men and women for the torturous group activities. Although I didn't really want to win, I accidentally caused a stir during the selection process for 1 of the garters. In order to choose the recipient of each garter, ladies had to guess things like numbers, colors, etc. For 1 of them, we had to guess Amazonian animals. I panicked and told the MC to start at the other side of the group, telling him “I'm not from here!” and getting sympathetic looks from everyone. When it came to me, I guessed a worm because I blanked and it was the only thing I could think of. Andre and MariCris looked at each other before telling me no, so I figured that meant it was something close to a worm. I was surprised when the next few ladies guessed completely different animals, until someone finally guessed a specific type of worm (chontacuro, a giant worm that people in the Amazon eat). Well let me tell you, my new friend Monica was up in arms that I was robbed! And when I say she was displeased, she made sure to bring it up again and again over the next few days! Truth be told, I was fine with not receiving the garter, but my whole table was angry that my answer should have been accepted as correct. I mean, technically, I was right, but they were looking for a specific type of worm. (It’d be like saying “dog” when they wanted “Golden Retriever.”) I found it funny and was relieved I didn't have to stand on a chair for some random guy to put a garter on my leg. I think we've established by now that I'm not very graceful and I'm about 99% certain I would have fallen off the chair and probably landed myself in the pool!

Speaking of ending up in the pool… Although the tables were covered, the dance area surrounding the pool was open-air, so when it started raining, we got wet. I didn't mind it at all, since it was so hot and humid, I was sweating profusely, and the rain help cool us off. Earlier in the day, the only thing the bride and groom hoped was that it wouldn’t rain because they were worried people might not enjoy the party. The best part was that people didn't let rain dampen their spirits (pun intended) or stop the party. We just kept dancing. It got to the point where we were completely soaked because it was pouring, but no one cared. I suppose because we were already soaked, there wasn't much of a difference between being in the rain or in the pool. When a guy started dancing on the bridge crossing the pool, I figured it was only a matter of time before someone ended up in the water. Actually, when I saw that the dance area was surrounding the pool, I figured at least one person was ending up in there (alcohol + dark + dancing + not paying attention = someone’s falling in the pool). What I didn't expect was that everyone would end up in the water!! You always see movies where people jump into pool fully clothed, with watches, shoes, glasses, and everything still on. I always thought that was unrealistic. Who does that in real life?! Apparently we do! Even I ended up in the pool, pushed in by the groom’s mother, no less, when Andre beckoned and she obliged!

It was a wild night, and I’m so glad I could be there not just for the wedding, but for all of the amazing experiences I had!