However, we landed in Portland to be almost immediately caught up in another hurricane: Hurricane Wedding Preparation Madness! This is a much more fun and somewhat less dangerous hurricane than the one raging on the east coast and we were actually very glad to take part in the efforts to make Dad and Lisa's wedding perfect.
I say we got almost immediately caught up in planning because on out first day in the States, my aunt and her man, my two younger cousins and one cousin in-law and my first, and adorable, baby second cousin on my mom's side all came to collect us and take us out for a picnic for the day. The day was perfectly sunny. It was the kind of day that tricks a naive Californian like me into thinking that I could live in Oregon. However, that day was only an exception to the other 257 (or something similarly outrageous) consecutive days of rain that Portland boasts. Anyway, we enjoyed the warm sun in the Rose Garden with sandwiches, homemade pizza, wine and beer, family, good conversation, silly photo ops, and laughter as I tried to teach my baby cousin (4 months old) how to smell roses. She just wanted to eat them! (Tim note: and I tried to learn how to wield a baby!) The fam took us birthday shopping at Crocs outlet (I had been craving mary jane crocs for my post-peace corps South America trip) and hung around for coffee before dropping us off at Dad and Lisa's house.
Then, in between crossing things off the wedding to-do list, we had the pleasure of relaxing in the backyard, watching football, drinking coffee, eating amazing foods we missed like Greek yogurt, berries, BBQ, fresh corn on the cob, Haagen-Daaz, squash and broccoli, fresh pasta and ravioli and more. We got to meet new friends who were in for the wedding who we absolutely adore. We talked and drank wine (officially tasting it for the wedding, unofficially because it was GOOD!). Oh and, did I mention we crossed things off the to-do list?
On Friday, after four days of attacking the to-do list and “tasting” wine, the wedding events began in ernest. My broski landed in Oregon along with my grandma and some of my dad's cousins. It was so great to see my bro! We checked into our hotel downtown to find some amazing surprises; we were greeted in the lobby by an officially greeting dog named Timmy, there was a complimentary wine and beer tasting in the lobby every evening, a stuffed bear in our room (who Stephan and I decided was Russian and liked to drink vodka), and animal print robes in the closet. We had an amazing dinner with the grandma and family at a thai food restaurant and slept like babies in the hotel.
The next day we spent the whole day exploring downtown Portland with my bro. We had a leisurely breakfast and found ourselves at the Saturday Market, a Portland must see and do. It is a giant craft fair with local food vendors and tons of street performers who come out of the odd Oregonian-hidey holes to entertain us tourists with juggling, bucket drum ensembles, one-man bands, creepy performing clowns and hula hoopers. After losing ourselves in the weirdness for a while, we headed over to Powell's; the book lovers mecca. We lost Tim for a few hours in the multiple storied, color coded monstrosity that is this bookstore. (Tim note: I worship that place) Stephan and I escaped to a consignment store across the street for a quick bit to do a little wedding attire shopping and could only coax Tim out of Powell's with the promise of lunch and beers at Dechutte's brewery (Tim: a continuation of my Saturday devotions :) ). Lunch was fantastic, great beer and food and they even had a gluten-free menu so Stephan was able to eat a grilled cheese sandwich. Thanks for being awesome Dechutte's.
We got dolled up for the pre-wedding dinner on Saturday night which was at the hotel. It started off with a cozy, get to know you, style cocktail hour where we mingled with guests and got to know Dad and Lisa's unique, worldly, interesting, fun friends and family. The dinner was delicious, followed by equally sweet toasts and dancing and martinis into the night. Fun times!
Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful and we headed off with my grandma to the wedding venue looking sharp in our new digs. Everything about the wedding was beautiful and perfect. The location, with a pond, geese, peacock, turtle, beaver and other wildlife was idyllic and perfectly landscaped. The weather was sunny and warm, the chuppa and flower arrangements were impeccably decorated. The bride and groom were stunning in outfits personally designed by their talented Israeli designer friend. The brunch and drinks were mouth watering (who doesn't love a waffle bar, really?). Everyone enjoyed themselves and all the planning and to-do-listing paid off!
Before we knew it the wedding was over and we had said goodbye to friends and family and were back at the house catching our breath. We spent the last few days in Portland finishing up our errands and shopping we wanted to do before we returned to Guyana and celebrating (belatedly) my birthday with a sushi smorgasbord. (Tim: Sushi!So, so much sushi! It was on conveyor belts I loved it and thought it was my birthday rather than Chels'!) And then we blinked and we on plane after plane and back in Guyana.
I think this time it was harder to come back than our last vacation. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it is because we know we only have seven months left and that seems like a long time. Maybe because on our last trip home we were bouncing around from place to place and were relieved to come back to a steady home and during this trip we stayed in one place which started to feel like home so coming back felt like an uprooting. Maybe because we have just had enough of the heat, mosquitos, cold showers and other minor inconveniences. Again, I am not sure. But I know that the transition back to life in Guyana is more difficult this time.
I was talking to my friend Emily the other day and she described how she feels about going back to school for her final year in her master's program and we have similar feelings. We both want to be done with the phase of our lives and move on to whats next but we know we still have a LOT of work to do before than. We know that the work we put in in these final stages is necessary, beneficial and will be formative to our characters. When we aren't being whiney babies we actually enjoy what we are doing but sometimes we wish we had a remote control so we could fast forward.
Tim and I do have a LOT of work to do here in Guyana. We have projects to start and finish, we have holiday events to attend, family coming to visit, one more Peace Corps conference, law schools to finish applying to, jobs to find, a South America travel adventure to plan and more. So I guess I'm not really complaining. Plus, we packed our suitcases full of Oregonian coffee and wine that ought to last us a while so that should keep us happy and reminded of home until, in another blink of an eye, we actually are home for realsies.
We want to send a word of extreme GRATITUIDE to Dad and Lisa for making it possible for us to enjoy the celebration of your wedding with us. You gave us an amazing gift! We had a wonderful time and miss you already! THANK YOU!
Glad to hear the trip was a success! Weird to think it's only 7-8 more months till you guys are back.
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