Adventurous souls tie the knot Down Under (OZ part 1)

During our backpacker trip in South America 2006 we met two wonderful people in a random hostel in the old Inca capital, Cusco in Peru.
The couple (G&C) did what we still only dream of; travelled around the world for a year (actually we dream of doing it for three years, but that's another story), and when we met them they had made it just about half way and were flying on a pink cloud of love as an engagement had fallen into place on the way.
They reminded us of important facets of what a relationship is also about and in that way they are an inspiration to us.
We met up with them a couple of times later on the trip (In Bolivia and in Argentina), but we haven't seen them since, so when they asked us to help them celebrate their marital ceremony in Australia this June, we didn’t hesitate to say yes.

The Wedding celebration was split over 3 days, starting of with an informal dinner at a beautiful old pub in Bangalow. We are sorry to realise that we don't have any pictures from there, as it really was a cool place. Never the less we had a great time chatting around with a lot of people. Australians have great people skills and they did a great effort to mingle with us.
The second day was when the ceremony took place. All guests were picked up by bus and transported to a beautiful French inspired castle, which made something clear to us. Despite what some Danish politician thinks, the thing is that when you pick up your feet for a while and plant them in another culture, you don’t put your old culture behind you, instead the new culture tie knots with your old culture and thus you now have two cultures close to heart. The thing is that G&C have spent months in France due to his work so choosing a location like this French inspired place as their venue, seemed like France has left a pretty important impact on their cultural paradigm…or maybe they are just very romantic ☺ What ever reason, it made us reflect about the fact that certain Brazilian and Japanese cultural aspects will be following us naturally for the rest of our lives, as the Danish culture will.

It was a beautiful wedding. All powers seemed to have decided to work together to commemorate the love of G&C. The sun shined from a clear blue sky and the energy of the people was summing and warm.

Special moments and details in random order from the day: the way the sun rays spread warmth’s on the walls during the ceremony, the sense of detail wrapped around the whole setup, the sincere feeling of joy and happiness everybody shared. The overwhelming candy table with hand made beautiful boxes, people dancing around with ties around their head (opposed to around their neck), smiles and laughter, the special glow you only find around a very happy newly wed couple, crowds of people on the dancefloor, the delicious appetizers served before dinner, the rings in the shell wandering from one guest to another before the ceremony picking up wishes of love and happiness to the couple. The romantic energy of the wedding enhanced by everyone and everything. Perfect. Beautiful. Relaxed. Momentous. When we were back at the hotel, a little tipsy and with tired feet after a whole night dancing, we looked back at a super evening.

The day after, everybody met up again at G&C’s apartment for a recovery Barbie. (Barbie is not to mistaken for a Mattel product, but just the Australians way of saying BBQ. red.) Really relaxed. Think lots of yummy salads and meats and laid back conversations. A perfect final.

For us participating in the 3 day festivities became an extraordinary experience. During the three days we had had immensely fun with G& C, their friends and family. They were relaxed, chatty and curious and so we had felt welcomed, comfortable and home. Home. Home, as we have only felt one time during our so far 1,5 year in Japan (and that was when we had a Danish Christmas lunch for a bunch of mostly western friends). ‘Home’ as in Denmark. We had sort of forgotten how that kind of home felt.
Living in Japan, expose us to many wonderful experiences and wonderful people, which we would never be without. Every day our cultural understanding is challenged and widened. We treasure it. We have made good friends and mostly embrace the challenge of nurturing new friendships.
Having said that, the cultural barrier is high. Japan and Denmark has so little in common in so many aspects, which means we always must stay alert, – both to understand correctly and to be understood correctly.
A place like Australia with deep roots in European culture makes it easy to feel at home. You don’t have to be alert. You speak the same language, figure of speech. The encounter with the open arms and familiar western mindsets of G&C’s family and friends was something, we realised, that we had longed for.
The encounter had an even stronger effect, as it was a knot tied group of close people who had known each other for what seemed like forever. They relaxed in each other’s company. It is something you can only experience with your own family and dearest friends. We miss that kind of qualitytime with our friends and family in Denmark and Brazil.
Thanks for a wonderful experience G&C. Thanks for letting us borrow your wonderful friends and family while our own are out of reach. And thanks for letting us take part in your love, - and a great party. We are really glad we had this great chance to meet up with you again and hope it won’t take ages before we meet up again. You are two wonderful people that together form a perfect couple.

The picture is from the Wedding ceremony. The mothers in law were asked to tie the bride and groom's hands together. An ancient tradition that really touched us.

P.S.: Now, we are SO ready to see our own friends and family for Christmas!!! (Yep we will be home for Christmas and part of January). Mata néee.

OZ part 2