Waygooks at a Wedding
About a month ago, good friends Warren and Ashley got married and invited yours truly to attend. Warren, being from Canada, invited many of his waygook friends and family and we participated in the festivities. I, along with seven other foreigners, had the privilege and honor of carrying one of the two cart/throne contraptions that contained either the bride or the groom. I was forewarned about this task, but I was overjoyed that I was considered worthy of participating in the wedding and entrusted with carrying one of the betrothed; however, I thought this would be a relatively easy feat. I, along with three other strapping white guys, would carry the throne contraption containing the bride approximately 15-20 feet down a carpeted aisle and that was that. No, life had more in store for us than that. First we had to carry the bride and groom approximately six times the distance estimated, uphill, with a switchback. At one point the wedding procession took a time-out so we could hoist the cart/throne doohicky to our shoulders so we could tackle the switchback. The Korean ring leader told us to go slow and then kept stepping frantically on our heels. The hats we were wearing didn't help either. They kept falling off, despite being tied around our chins (see pics below).

I make the procession sound like a painful process, and while it wasn't easy, it was very rewarding to be part of something like that. When I first came to Korea I had a lot of doubts. Doubts about whether I would like the experience, doubts about whether the students would like me, doubts about whether I would like the students. Basically I was worried about not being accepted; however, my worries were ill-founded and being invited to take part in something special and very unique was wonderful. I was happy to take part in the wedding of my two friends.

Afterwards there was the traditional reception and drinks followed by more drinks at the romantically named "Road King" bar. It was a great time and I wish Warren and Ashley all the best.