#93: More Weddings

The past 3-day weekend (August 31 is the Independence Day) was packed with important events. I was in Osh at K&M's wedding, while also joining MT for kyz uzatuu, a feast given by the bride's family to relatives, friends, and neighbors.

Early morning on Friday we hit the road to Osh (my hometown). I, as the best man, joined MT and his family on a 10-hour road trip from Bishkek to Osh to get his fiancée ET from her parents' home. Because MT is from the north and ET is from the south, his parents were worried about differences - it becomes even more sensitive because they are subtle - in traditions and rituals of approaching bride's parents and relatives and take her from the house she was brought up in to a house where she will spend the rest of her life. Despite all the worrying, none of that mattered because both families took everything much easier than expected.

As for the K&M's wedding, it was the biggest wedding that I've ever seen, not that I've seen many. It was pretty impressive. A lot of food and drinks. But I could enjoy none of that because of my diarrhea. All I needed was water to keep me going, but even that was a problem. The day we arrived in Osh, a major accident occurred leaving half of the town, including the part where we lived and had the wedding, without water for 3 days.

This reminds of one important thing that Kyrgyz people need to think about - toilets. Kyrgyzstan will never improve, if we don't learn to build nice toilets with water and to keep them clean and odorless. And it is not only public restrooms in cafes or parks, but also private ones. I have seen enormous houses that some families have build, but their their toilets are outside. Put extra money, please!

As for the Independence Day celebrations, whole Kyrgyzstan watched Bakiev's dancing on the central square in Bishkek. Lots of pictures here.

Update: This is K&M's wedding motorcade.