It all started Friday afternoon when a couple from church stopped by the school. The husband is one of the pastors at church and his wife taught the 3yr old preschool class last year at school. They're also in charge of the Sunday School program, which the couple getting married is involved in. They came in to give me and a few others the invitation to Patricia and Christian's shower the next day. That isn't too uncommon, to be invited to something a few days or less before the event so I wasn't too surprised, just happy that I was invited. It's such a privilege to live here and be a part of people's lives, to see an Ecuador that most North Americans don't get to. Anyway, on the invitation was a suggestion of something to get them, so there wouldn't be duplicates and mine said disinfectant. So, on my way home from school I stopped and bought some good stuff that also is supposed to scare away cockroaches and bugs, too.
The shower was supposed to start at 5, but I didn't get there until 10 after, or so and they hadn't started yet, so I didn't feel too bad getting there late. :) About 5 minutes or so after I got there, we started. Patricia and Christian, the couple whose shower it was, were upstairs, in another apartment, with the little kids, while Lucia and Klever, the couple throwing the shower told us a couple things before they came down. Lucia said that one of the activities would be for Patricia to make Christian a salad and a cup of coffee, to show that she can take care of him, but that they were going to make sure the coffee had no sugar, without either of them knowing it, and that Christian would have to eat and drink it all with a smile on his face, to show that he wouldn't hurt Patricia's feelings. At least, that's how I understood it. :)
They came downstairs and Lucia and Klever's son had a game for us to play. We all got into a circle and held hands, except for 2, leaving a hole in the circle. The 2 on either side of the hole had to grab hands, leave the circle, find someone else to fill the hole and go back to their spot, leaving another hole. Then he was going to randomly start counting down from 10 and when he got to 0, the 2 on either side of the hole would have to pay penance. It was hilarious!! People forgot what they were supposed to do, so everyone else was yelling at them to run and find someone and every once in awhile it was 2 guys who had to grab hands, which inspired whistling and catcalls. We played a few times and then they decided that we had enough people who would have to pay penance. The first 2 had to stand and be puppets while half the group went up, 1 at a time, and positioned them however they wanted. :) The second pair had to dance like ducks, per majority vote of the group while the last pair had to dance a really silly kids song which ended with them stomping their feet, flapping their arms like wings and wiggling their backside like a duck or chicken or something!
Then they had Christian tell the story of how he and Patricia got together, while one lady kept warning the dads in the room to pay attention for when their daughters grow up! It was probably one of the most amazing stories I've heard, it sounds like it's straight from a fairy tale. He would come in to town to see her when she got off work, to walk her to the bus, half a block away. He'd wait with her for the bus and then go back to the country, walking at least a foot away from each other, but that 5 minutes was worth it, to him, to go into town to see her. :) This was all before they ever dated, then when he actually asked her to date him it was over the phone! They had everyone laughing so hard!
After that was the traditional dress the bride and groom. We got toilet paper and tape for her dress, while the guys got newspaper and tape for his tux. I was amazed at everyone's creativity! Patricia's dress reminded me of something from the early 1800s, like Pride and Prejudice or something similar. Then they put toilet paper sashes on a couple of the high school girls and made them the bridesmaids. Christian's costume was even better, though! He looked like a cross between an ancient knight and a robot. :) They even gave him tails in the back, and a pocket in front with a little flower sticking out of it. They made a hat for him, but I wasn't quite sure what kind it was supposed to be. At first I thought it was a bandanna, but then it looked a little like a VERY short chef's hat! Then I saw that they were giving him facial hair. At first it was just a Hitler mustache, but then that got removed and made into sideburns with a handlebar mustache and then one of the sideburns fell off, so he looked lopsided. :) After they were all dressed they had a mock wedding ceremony full of jokes and more puppetry. During the ceremony, a person stood behind each Patricia and Christian, pretending to be their hands. It reminded me of the skit we used to do at Sonshine about morning routines, or something, where the person behind has to do everything the person in front is supposed to do, without looking. 
Later Klever read some comments about matrimony that were supposed to be funny. Most of them were, but there were a few where everybody just kind of looked at him confused. The one I remember the best was something like: archeologists make the best husbands because the older you get, the more beautiful you look to him! :)
All in all, it was hilarious and a great time! I loved the mix of ages, everyone from an 70 something retired missionary to 2 year olds were there, although the kids were mainly playing outside and upstairs, but those of us who were actually attending the party were a mix of a few high schoolers, some of us in our 20s, a few in their 30s and 40s and a few that had to be at least 70 or more! It was great! :)
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