I ate bird vomit.
Went to a wedding yesterday, specifically one of C`s best friend`s wedding. It was a very Japanese affair. The ceremony itself was held in the chapel of a luxury hotel, presided by a “minister” who was probably a moonlighting English conversatin teacher. (And who also sounded suspiciously like Kermit the Frog.) The ceremony itself was all of twenty minutes long. This last Saturday was a good luck day to get married. (based on Chinese numerology, I believe.) so the hotel of course, was booked solid, and I would not be surprised if they cranked out fifteen weddings that day.
A quick note on Japanese weddings.
Japanese weddings usually have three consecutive receptions. The first one is very formal, with several speeches, toasts, formal dinner, etc. for family and business associates. The next reception is for friends and involves lots of drinking, karaoke, and silly games for cheap to expensive prizes. The last one generally involves binge drinking at a restaurant or bar. The ceremony itself is usually in a Vegas-like wedding chapel, and may or may not involve a more traditional Shinto ceremony.
Not being terribly interested in playing bingo for an hour to win a hello kitty note pad, I only attended the first reception. Little did I know this would later prove to be an unwise decision. This is where the bird vomit comes in.
The formal reception has, of course, a formal dinner. This particular dinner had a course of birds nest soup. Bird nest soup is made from the nests of a cave swallow that lives in islands in south east Asia. The bird constructs the nest out of its own saliva and vomit. It only looks slightly more appetizing then it sounds. It is supposed to be a rare delicacy, but to me it tasted alot like runny eggs. Most people finished their soup and the guests I talked to had no idea as to the origin of their food, and for the sake of politeness, I did not disabuse them. (Though I did have the urge to scream “Soylent Green is made of bird spit…..BIRD SPIT!)
Too bad for me, I have been to a cave where these swallows nest, and I have seen them under construction. The image of a bird vomiting up my soup did not help my appetite much for that particular course. The rest of the meal was very good, the steak course looked like it had been cooked by being briefly passed over a zippo lighter. Which is, of course, just how I like it.
Of course, yesterday the bride and groom didn’t get a chance to see the first reception as the bride spent most of the timing changing her clothes and getting her hair and makeup redone. (Entering in a tux/wedding dress then changing to a pair of formal kimonos and then changing to a different tux/evening gown)
After the reception, I excuse myself and wait for C to finish at the second party by reading an entire book at a book store.
When I go to pick up C and friends the first thing she says is “Don’t be angry but….” and proceeds to tell me how she went to the party, and won a complete home theatre system. Since we are changing continents in the near future she decided to give the prize to the bride and groom.
a complete home theatre system.
No joke.
It really isn’t something we could bring with us size-wise (yeah, it was that nice) but it is still… frustrating? I am still expecting some major karmic reward for this, though. Yes I know I had nothing to do with the decision to give it away, but C and I are married so I can horn in on the credit.
Repatriate 