Labor Day Weekend - Friends, Family, Love

Well, here I am, and a little over a week has passed since I arrived in the US for my contract break.  Can I just take this moment to say the following:
1) I'm sorry about my delayed update, but I didn't have access to my computer yesterday (and, to be honest, I wouldn't have gotten around to writing because of how busy I was.
2) 10 days in America is not enough time to get everything done.
I don't think I have had a moment of down-time in 8 days now, but I can't imagine spending my time any other way.  As most of you know, this was 'wedding week'.  One of my best friends since high school married the love of his life yesterday afternoon, and I was invited to be one of the bridesmaids in the ceremony.  Being a bridesmaid in a wedding ceremony when you live half-way across the world can pose a lot more complications than most people would initially realize, for example, you don't get a chance to try on your dress very far before the wedding (I tried mine on only 6 days before the ceremony, and it was a miracle that it fit and survived the night).  Living abroad also causes you to miss key features of a wedding, like the bridal shower, or the bachelorette party.  Overall though, I'm just thankful I could make it back for the ceremony!
My entire weekend was dedicated to the wedding, between the pampering, the rehearsals, the ceremony, the reception, and the gift opening.  This was my first time being part of a non-family wedding (and the last wedding I was at, which was in high school, wasn't particularly traditional), so it was fun to see the whole process first-hand.  On Saturday morning, the girls (and the groom) started our day with manicures and pedicures (milestone: first manicure ever).  Then, after a brief break (which allowed me to do laundry) it was time for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  This was the first chance I had to see (and in some cases meet) the rest of the bridal party.  The process of rehearsing the ceremony moved along quickly, and transitioned into a dinner in no time at all.  From there it was time for a high school reunion, where I got to see the people I spent essentially every moment of my adolescence with. We have all branched out to lead such separate lives, but it is heart-warming to see the way we drop it all to come back together for events like this.  It makes me really excited to see all of the weddings still to come.

At the rehearsal dinner with the bride, groom, and several members of the bridal party

Sunday was the big day, and it started very early in the morning for me so that I could get to Plymouth (which is about 40 minutes away from where I live) in time for our hair appointments.  I somehow managed to be punctual to the appointment, and furthermore, I was the first girl to have my styling completed (which is one of the benefits of having short hair).  My styling happened so fast that it was over before the photographer and videographer realized I was part of the wedding party, which means there is no evidence of how unkempt I was upon arrival that morning. After hair we moved on to the hotel (which is where the ceremony was being held), to do our make-up and get dressed.  By 2pm we were all dolled-up and ready for pictures which took us right up to the time of the ceremony.  The ceremony went off (almost) without a hitch (there were a few issues with wind, microphone placement, and sand-pouring) and before we knew it we were following the newlyweds back up the aisle.  I should take time to say that, the weather could not have been more perfect yesterday.  There have been heat advisories this week (which is interesting for me, because even on the hottest days, without Taiwan's humidity it didn't feel too bad for me), but the temperature broke yesterday, leaving us in the 70's for he ceremony.  Following the ceremony was the reception.  Before the food began, several members of the wedding party gave speeches, and though I was not the maid of honor (or the best man for that matter), I was still asked to write a speech for the groom.  So, in honor of our friendship, I shared a tribute to our high school days by recreating an old memory.  In our Sophmore-year I wrote the groom a list of rules for how to behave at the dance (just silly things like 'you must hold the door open, you must sit near me at dinner, you must not wear a short, short blue dress), so for his wedding I wrote him a list of rules for marriage.  I have biased friends, but I'm told my speech went over pretty well.  Following the speeches was a delicious dinner (of either pork, chicken, or walleye), and of course, cake (wither orange dreamsicle or chocolate).  Dinner introduced one of my favorite wedding ideas (and a game I will certainly be taking to my own future wedding), in which, when a person clinks there glass to prompt the couple to kiss, that person must first serenade the couple.  Each table was given a slip of paper with a single word on it, and that word had to be used in a song, then, if the couple enjoyed the performance, they would reward the audience with a kiss.  The bridesmaids selected a paper reading 'kiss', and while there are many songs which contain this word, we opted for a rendition of the Little Mermaid's 'Kiss the Girl'.  Finally it was time for dancing, and so, after the first dance of the couple, I was led to the floor by my counterpart from the groomsmen, and we kicked off the night.  Most of the dancing was a lot like it was in high school, with similar dance moves, some of the same songs, and I even danced with my old prom date.  After hours of dancing and party games the evening came to an end, and it didn't take any effort to collapse for the night (well, until the 4am phone call from the police told us to let our drunken 4th roommate back into the room, but that's a different story).

The beautiful couple, cutting the cake

And finally, the wedding festivities were wrapped-up this morning, by means of a certain un-wrapping.  The gift opening took place this morning, then we packed up and moved on out of the hotel to finish up a day of non-wedding activities, and proper catch ups (those that didn't involve an air of stress, the presence of cameras, or loud music).

Obviously the wedding was the most important event of the week, but in other US-news, I had a brief reunion with my former city of residence as well.  I spent a whopping 32 hours in Milwaukee this week (starting with an overnight bus ride), mainly so I could see my beautiful (though not biologically related) nephew.  When you want to accurately measure the passage of time, I recommend using a child, because this kid is the best way for me to remember that I have really been gone for a year.  When I left he was a little guy, only a few old, and now, at 16 months, he is walking, talking (well, babbling), and even appears to have recognized me from our chats on Skype.  Because I am told I might be the only person he does this with, I have to share my favorite memory with this little kid.  I was sitting on the floor, and he was eating blueberries from a box on his mommy's lap.  I pointed to my mouth, so he came over with a blueberry and placed it in my mouth for me to eat, then went back to the box, so i pointed again, and he fed me a second blueberry, then, when I pointed a third time, he grabbed a blueberry, put it up to my lips, then retracted his arm and ate it.  He properly teased me with most of the box of blueberries, he didn't allow me to eat any more after those first two.  I can't wait to see how much this kid grows over the next 12 months.

The last major event that happened this week was my tribute to Minnesota, and by that I mean, I attended the state fair.  It occurs to me that state fairs are specific to the US, so lets cover the bases on what happens in these get-togethers.  Hundreds of people gather together to showcase their state, mainly through food (primarily anything creatively served on a stick like spaghetti, hot dish, or deep fried everything), animals, vendors (who are known to give things away, like bratwurst-flavored lip balm), and entertainment (like musicians or the internet cat film festival), while hundreds of thousands of people attend and enjoy.  I'm ashamed to report that I did not partake in any unusual state fair foods this year because I was too excited to eat the fair foods I have been missing out on for a year.  But, I did get a chance to enjoy my new favorite 'booth' of the fair, the Great Minnesota Sing along, where 20 or so microphones at varying heights are placed in the ground, and a rotation of 50 songs plays while projecting their lyrics on a giant screen.  It is a massive group karaoke, and it is ridiculously entertaining!  I also have a new favorite competition, courtesy of the 4H club: the llama costume contest.  You read that correctly, and it is exactly what it sounds like, contestants will dress up themselves as well as their llamas into partnered costumes.  Some examples from the contest included Thing 1 & Thing 2, Dr. Who and the TARDIS, and Paul Bunyan & Babe.
I wish I could spend more time in the US on this vacation, but I'm already approaching my last days.  I have had so much fun being back home.  This has been a perfect labor day weekend.