Domsetic or International?

I was on the phone with American Airlines and while listening to the endless loop if computerized information, I heard a phrase that sort of confused me.

"...in the domestic United States."

Isn't that redundant?  Or are there actually international parts of the US? 

That makes me think of when I was at SOM and the receptionists would sometimes announce that someone had an "overseas" call instead of saying "international" or "long distance."

Ceremony - Act II

The second half of the ceremony was the Jewish part.  As you may probably guess, Ecuador doesn't have many Jews.  Apparently there is a small community with a rabbi in Quito, but all the Jews that once lived in Cuenca are dead.  I know that may sound terrible, but I say that with respect.  I mean, I've done my research.  

Carlos and I live across the street from the cemetery and there is a small Jewish section there with about 30 graves.  Most of the deceased were born in Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century and the last burial here seemed to be in the 1990's.  There is a Panama hat shop here that was owned by a German Jew (K. Dorfzaun), but apparently he died about two years ago and was buried in Quito.

But I digress.

Ceremony - Act I

As you probably know, Carlos is Catholic and I am Jewish.  So when deciding what type of wedding ceremony we wanted, we knew had to incorporate both religions.

The family priest is a bit old.  Carlos wanted a younger, more open priest.  A few recommendations led us to a young Colombian priest.  He was great.  He explained the rules to us, which I found to be very complicated.  He was able to marry a Catholic and a non-Catholic only because the non-Catholic was a foreigner.  If the non-Catholic was Ecuadorian, the church (not the state) would not sanctify the marriage between the non-Catholic and the Catholic.  But that wasn't a problem for us.

My New Favorite Food...

...is homemade chocolate mint ice cream. 

It doesn't take much hands on time or effort or skill to make.  You don't even need an ice cream maker.  You just need lots of patience and about 24 hours.

Here Comes the Groom (and the Bride)

After about half an hour of waiting for the guests to arrive and get situated, the ceremony was about to start.  I was a bit impatient because being sequestered is a bit boring.  I know that people (including Carlos) think it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, but I wanted to socialize.  I mean, I did, a bit, with the people who were waiting in line for the toilet.  But I was ready.

The music started and Carlos began the long circuitous route to the huppah.  It wasn't even actually a huppah, because even with all my explanations the wedding planner/florist still got it wrong.  It was to parallel arches covered with flowers, but they were separate from each other, not attached to form an area.  Anyway, Carlos made his way over there with his parents to one of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Spring.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

We both woke up when we heard the crash.  Was that glass?  Was it a window?  Was it the neighbor?

Actually, neither of us spoke, or even knew the other one was awake.  It was about 1AM, maybe 2AM.  Neither of us even moved.  We were both listening.  I thought that maybe someone had broken in, but there were no other sounds.  Then, moments later there were footsteps upstairs.  Whew.  It was probably just the neighbor.  The baby is about a year old so it's not unusual to hear some noises at night.

But we were wrong.

When we got up this morning, this is what we saw...

Set Up (aka, "What I Didn't See")

When we arrived in Challuabamba, a scout was sent out to make sure that Carlos was no where in sight, then I dashed across the lawn to my hiding place.  I wish I had a moment to take a look at the decor before the wedding, because it looked amazing.  However, I only know that because of the photos...

Ceremony tent/Future dance floor