Row, row, row your boat!

Last weekend I had an outing with many of my co-workers. We had a blast! (Quite honestly, a lot more fun that I had expected.)

3 of my co-workers had birthdays this month. So, to celebrate we went out on a boat. We all chipped in for gas and food. I think there ended up being about 20 to 30 of us- just a small gathering ;-) The plan was to cruise down the river to an island and there have a BBQ. Meanwhile, it was about 120 degrees outside- scorching- and as we passed other islands we looked out and saw masses of people in the water. It looked like the "beaches" were swarming with ants. I have never seen so many people on the coast here!

The boat ride took about an hour and a half, during which everyone-my co-workers included- had their cameras out taking pictures and were chattering away. When we finally reached the island and were getting off the boat (mind you there was no dock and this boat was fairly large, there fore getting off the boat was a process in itself as we had to basically jump into the water to get out) we look up at the sky and see a dust storm coming. So we put everything except the people back on the boat, covered our heads, faces, mouths, noses, anyway the dust could get into us and waited it out. There was tons of wind, a little lightning, and a few drops of rain. The storm lasted longer than we had anticipated but we stayed it out.

Then we grilled some meat and ate, had a splash fight in the river, sat in the river in plastic chairs, sang and danced to a drum- overall it was a "blast and a half" as one of my roomates says. I think what I enjoyed most was being able to be myself with the people I see everyday but don't get to hang out with all the time. And likewise with them- being able to see the true people and not just their perfessional personalities. Some of them I just could not stop laughing at because they were a lot goofier than I had imagined and others I got to have amazing converstations with. Everyone enjoyed the trip so much that they would like to have another before all of us leave for the summer.

Another fun thing I got to do last week was attend one of my close friend's dowry party. Yes, that's right, dowry party. I guess you could sort of compare it to a bridal shower. The groom's family brings in all kinds of clothes, gold, perfumes and incense, unmentionables, and food to be prepared for the party after the wedding (along with many other things). Each bride has a different dowry but there are a few items culturally that must be included. It was fun to see how excited my friend was and the same with her fiance' (though one of her friends told her it was shameful to smile, ha).

More fun stories to come ;-)

Here is a link to a slideshow I made of some- not all- of my pictures from this year.
http://www.slide.com/r/bnPN-eYC6j8Xz6oGE7YfuGVKw44cnnEJ?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original