Why Europe Rocks: Reason #14

I can't believe I ate the whole wedding!

(note: the above photo is not from Monika's wedding, it's from my fake camp wedding with 19 year old Jirka.)

Our former roommate Monika got married in April, and Lucka and I were invited for the WHOLE wedding...not just the actual ceremony, but the whole day with a select group of friends and family. Before I went, everyone asked, "Are you going to be at the WHOLE wedding?" and when I responded in the affirmative, they said, "There's so much food!"

Okay, like...I guess I just didn't take them seriously. However, as soon as Lucka and I got to Monika's parents' house, the truth of that started to sink in. It's 8:30, and they hustle us upstairs for breakfast, which is a huge spread of danishes, breads, cold cuts and cheeses and sausages and spreads and a huge bowl of goulash. After a while (after the groom comes and "finds" the bride and "pays" for her, it's cool) we all go the church. After the ceremony (which anyone can go to) we who are invited for the WHOLE wedding pile into cars and go to the reception place. We get there, and on the table are chips, nuts, cookies and little dishes with salad. After the bread and salad came the soup, after the soup came these big pastry wrapped chicken breasts with gravy and potatoes and...okay, that was still okay. I ate the WHOLE plate and even some cookies. But I was full. But I conquered (I thought).

Then I was talking to one of the other guests, and he said, "You know there's still more food, right?" So when he said that, I smiled smugly and said yes, I know (because we hadn't had cake yet, right?) But, in Czech the word for "food" and the word for "meal" are the same: jidlo. After the cake, we played some more games around the table, and then I realized that he meant the OTHER jidlo. When the waitresses brought out plates of pork chops with gravy and three piles of rice I almost felt angry. I managed to get down all the rice and half the pork chop...that's when I looked up from my plate at the man across from me. He'd polished off his food and was popping those little fancy sugary cookies into his mouth. I felt my stomach lurch so I excused myself and went outside for fresh air, trying to put all thoughts of food far behind me.

After all of that, we all played more games and Luc and I left before the big buffet appeared. Now, when people ask me how the wedding was, I say, "It was beautiful, Monika looked gorgeous--but there's so much FOOD!"