Update

Hello

This is Jenny. Again, I apologize for no pictures. We don't have our camera with us this afternoon. The wedding festivities are over. They began Friday night, with the dinner for the men. When cooks, waitors, and relatives began to fill the house Friday morning, Rob and I escaped to our favorite Marrakech hotel, Hotel Akabar. Akabar means "the best." It is a 3 star hotel in the French district of Marrakech. It has three very important things: 1. Air conditioning 2. pool 3. Quiet

While Rob attendend the men's dinner Friday night, I relaxed in the hotel. I spent most of the time sleeping, but I also did some reading and relaxing at the pool.

Sat night was the big event at Rita's house. I will let Rob fill in the details when he gets a chance to add pictures. We were very confused about what time we were supposed to meet at her house. At first we were told 2pm, later Rachid said 10:30 pm, Rita's sisters told me 5pm, at 2:30 Rachid called us at the hotel and asked us to hurry over. When we arrived, Rita's sisters said, "I thought you were going to be here at noon!" This time misunderstanding is definately one of the big differences between Moroccan and American culture.

We arrived just after the henna party. During the henna party, Rita, her sisters, and her mother have their hands and feet decorated with henna. I had mine done the night before, so I was ready for the wedding. For the henna party, Rita wears a nice jellaba (Moroccan traditional clothing, like a long overcoat that both men and women wear, but the women's are more decorative). Rita also had her hair and make up done for the henna party.

I have finally figured out why Moroccan women have such nice hair. They go to the salon to have their hair styled regularly, about a few times a week. So there is no need for hair dryers and curling irons at home. Last week, I went to the salon near Rita's house to have my hair blown straight by Nadia. In 20 minutes, I had great looking straight hair, and it only costs about $5. For the henna party and the wedding night, Rita and many of the guests go to the salons for updos with glitter and accessories, and bright shimmery make up.

After the henna party, there was a break for Rita to just relax before she had to get ready for the wedding. At 7pm, Rita and I went to the salon for the updos. Her father asked that we be back by 9pm because there were still many things to do for the wedding and guests would begin arriving around 10pm. By the way, most of the wedding festivities happen in the middle of the night! So we went to Fadli Abrahim, the best stylist in the Mohammid district where Rita lives. When we stepped into his salon she pointed to all his awards from the annual national comptetions in Fez and Casablanca. Fadli's salon was very busy. We waited an hour before he began to work on my hair. Rachid stopped by the salon and told Fadli that both Rita and I needed to be done by 9pm. Fadli said he would be done with me by 9pm, and Rita at 11pm. So I guess everyone would have to wait for the bride.

Fadli did a nice job with my hair and make up, but here they use very dramatic colors, and with my fair skin I looked somewhat like a clown. Rachid had tea and cakes delivered to Fadli's salon for Fadli and all his customers while Rita and I were there. Fadli is the first Moroccan I have seen who did not take a break from his work for tea. He truly was very busy.

Taha, Rita's brother took me back to the house on the family's scooter. I left Rita with Fadli. Rob was waiting outside the house by himself. Rob said Rachid was off running errands to prepare for his part in the wedding. Rob waited outside for Rachid and I went up to the roof of the apartment with all the women as the wedding began. The roof was covered in carpets, there were about 100 chairs, there was a band, and there was a throne for Rita. At first the band played just for the women guests. By the third song, the women began dancing in the center of the roof. When Rita walked in around 10:30pm, everyone sat down and clapped and cheered for her. She was really beautiful. Her hair was piled high on her head, her make up was dramatic but beautiful, and she wore a white shimmering traditional taksheetah. It truly was an amazing site.

Now I must go. I will let Rob explain the part of the wedding when Rachid enters. There was a bit of a delay, about a 2 hour delay, which is common in Morocco.

The wedding went until 6am when the sun rose. Rob and I returned to our hotel and slept most of the day. Last night was the second wedding, this time at Rachid's parents' house. The second wedding had no band and was quieter and more traditional. Fortunately everyone went to sleep by 2 am or so.

Now we are back in Marrakech. We had planned to take the bus to Agadir today to get out of the heat and to swim in the ocean. Unfortunately, Rachid is having a difficult time getting his paychecks from his various employers. He is a high school English teacher, but he has been teaching summer lessons at a private schoo. Since we are so tired and because Rachid is not ready to go anywhere, we are going to check back into Hotel Akabar. There we will have some pizza, popcorn, and coka light for $6 and spend as much time in the pool and air conditioning as possible.

I have no idea what the temperature is, but I am certain it is over 100 degrees, and it is very sunny.

I don't know what our plan is for after tomorrow. Hopefully Rob will add a blog entry describing the wedding. It was amazing, and he can desribe it better then I can!