Vie Miller CP#3

This evening, my conversation partner Kubra and her fiancé Said invited me to their home for dinner. We compared American and Turkish weddings--mostly by watching celebrity weddings posted on Youtube--for over an hour, and found many similarities but many differences. Everyone left feeling very surprised! Kubra and Said told me that Turkish weddings are always large, so that the bride and groom can receive many gifts from family and friends; that Turkish weddings are accompanied by many ceremonies (including a noxious cocktail for the groom prepared by the Bride), so that all of the family can enjoy in the festivities; and that Turkish weddings always have wonderful music and dancing, so that everyone can fondly remember the special occasion. In turn, I began to tell them about American weddings--the generic pop music, the short ceremony + long after-party, the flower toss, etc--but I stopped halfway through: many American weddings (especially those of immigrant families) are not so bland. I ended by speculating out-loud that many white Americans gave up the wedding traditions of their ethnic forebearers in the process of assimilation, which I thought--especially after viewing the beauty of a Turkish wedding--was a shame.