The wedding I just came back from was a very Christian wedding. A very CHINESE Christian wedding. My medical officer married a pharmacist. How apt :) Though she's the daughter of a reverend - aren't they supposed to be celibate?

Everything was in Chinese, with nary an English word to be heard. Okay, that's not true, most parts except for the hymms and songs of praise, the vows and the slideshow of the couple's lives, were translated, albeit in halting English. But hearing so much Mandarin, and proper Mandarin to boot, not the half past six crap that I hear everyday in camp, was a real shock to my system. However, the background music played was totally in English, probably because no one sells CDs with songs of praise in Chinese!

Since all of us medics met up before going to the church - Sion Presbyterian Church, we were naturally late. And since the wedding started on time, a rarity I would assume, we arrived just as the processional was about to begin. So we were herded to the "cry room", a soundproof room on the second floor of the church, to witness the proceedings. What a sophisticated church.

There was a reading of scripture, Ephesians 5:22-33:

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."

Together with the wedding vows, where the wife-to-be vowed to obey her husband and the citing of the sayings of Ancient Chinese Scholars about a woman's place, I thought that this was just a touch chauvinistic. But no one really follows them to the letter anyhow, just to the spirit which, of course, is infinitely more important. Then again, the groom pledged his worldly goods to his bride, so. :)

The choir sang a song in English, and it's enunciation was atrocious. The harmony was also off and they didn't blend very well. Oh well, I suppose they don't practice very often, being adults and all.

The priest related the story of this pretty girl who was pursued by 3 brothers. To prove their love, she asked them to run into and bang their heads on a wall. The first two refused and the second two, naturally, assented. In the end, the wall was made of paper, and the two got married. This story is supposed to be about the power of love, but I think, rather, that it is about the power of stupidity and erroneous definitions of courage as involving pointless, self-destructive acts. Bah.


On the way there, while on the MRT, I witnessed a public display of affection. Teenage love is so sweet. They way they looked at, talked to and lovingly touched each other brought a smile to my face. But the part when she put her hand on her hip would've scandalised many. Oh, did I mention that they were both girls? :) One was very clearly the dominant 'male' partner, while the other was obviously the more submissive 'female'. Lest anyone accuse of of mistaking best friends for lovers, it has to be known that their body language made their relationship very obvious, so.

On Bus 9 to the church, I saw this woman with a tudung and a Hard Rock Cafe baseball cap. Heh, cute!

My "China Bag" has now been decorated. I've pinned my RJ badge (note distinction. RJ vs RI badge. I've counted at least 10 differences between the two before) and my Raffles Voices choir badge on it. Now watch me get beaten up by Hokkien Pengs.