Gina and Mauri's Wedding

These are the long-awaited (at least in my mind) images from Mauri and Gina's wedding in January. Again, I ask the forgiveness of those who might actually care for the long time it's taken me to actually post them. Even now, I am irked that after several batches of pictures I've tried to upload, "Blogger" tells me "error" and sends me to some Internet Explorer link that tells me to check my computer... Please. It's not my computer, y'all. Anyhoo, this was an absolutely amazing experience, not only for me, but for many of Gina's friends who, though totally and irrevocably Korean, had never been to a "traditional" ceremony before.



The ceremony was held at a "traditional" place, which was actually quite new, but designed in the old style. It was in Ulsan, which is quite far south, and Gina is so amazing that she actually arranged for me to have a car ride out there with some other friends of hers that I'd never met. Even on the morning of her wedding, around 7am in the morning, she called me on my cell to make sure I was able to find her friends. (Their English was limited, but we were still able to converse for most of the 4 hour car ride. I will forever be in awe of Koreans who apologize for their "limited English", when I am the one who should be apologizing for my RIDICULOUSLY limited Korean!)



I have included captions on the pictures below, and they are only a limited snapshot of the whole experience. I will never forget the wedding FEAST, and can't even remember how many courses there were. I want to say 8. It was incredible. I will never forget the "after party" wherein we all sat on the floor of the honeymoon suite and ate dried octupus and drank Hite beer, and all reminisced about Gina and Mauri (but especially Gina) and how much we would miss them.



And, also, how different the etiquette is for weddings here. It is traditional for the wedding couple to pay for EVERYTHING, and I mean down to the last detail. At the "after party", the beer ran out quickly, so I suggested going down to the store to buy some more. Little did I know that that meant Gina would go to get more beer! It would have been considered rude for me to have gone and purchased it myself. It was apparently the bride or bridegroom's responsibility. And Gina did SOOO much work that day! Down to the very last detail, she was the one approving or disapproving, signing the check, etc. Plus she had the burden of wearing all of that crazy, heavy headgear. She kept saying how heavy it was, although she said it with a light heart. And somehow Mauri burned one of the legs of his outift (which was rented) so they would probably have to buy his pants... And neither were too happy about that.



Now that all is said and done, I can look back on this event that happened more than a month ago, and I can easily say that it was an incredible experience. I am grateful for it. I met Gina just a few months after she'd met Mauri, and I was one of the first people she told about their engagement. When I first arrived, his impending arrival seemed a million years away. And then suddently, there he was. I was so excited to meet him, and so excited for her... But I cannot tell you how much I miss that girl. The world here at DYB is not the same without her. MY world is not the same without her. She is a truly amazing person, who is now probably in India (if I correctly recall her timeline) visiting the charity there that her husband sponsers. Gina, if perchance you ever happen to read this blog, I miss you, my friend. I miss you terribly. You were my saving grace here in Korea. You were absolutely sent by God, to my incredible wonder and gratefulness. I hope I am able to see you again one day.


Here are Gina and Mauri in the midst of the ceremony. He is on one side, she is on the other. Throughout the ceremony (which I didn't understand a word of) I kept noticing Gina's Korean friends talking to each other with words of, "Oh, that's interesting!", and "That's what that means!" As I said, this was a new experience not just for me, but for many of Gina's friends, too. It was comforting to know that I was not the only one to be a first-timer at a Korean traditional ceremony.











Here is Gina on Mauri's back at the end of the ceremony. Since they're roughly the same size, this was kind of a joke for Gina, but obviously Mauri had no trouble carrying her down the aisle with ease.

I absolutely adore this picture of Gina, and though she doesn't know it, I showed this picture to many of her former students. Though she no longer teaches them, they're still my students, so I said that any of them who wished to see her wedding pics could come into my office. They came, and they saw, and they were likewise amazed at how she embodies something ancient and young and gorgeous. (Granted, she is alREADY gorgeous and young, but there's something about tradition...)