he is from UK, she is from Mexico. they met when they were doing their masterals in US. this is what i call an internationally love story, haha! let us just say it was love at first sight, for after their initial talks, Barbs obviously got Guy running after her... even after she left for Mexico. no mountains, nor seas can stop him from pursuing her... not even culture nor the language that were poles apart. Guy flew to mexico, and with such a very traditional mexican family, Guy has to break in so strongly, and persistently, which he did. he not only absorbed the typical mexican ways, but moreso studied spanish which has connected them more strongly. in short, they got married and started the so-called path to 'bliss'...
that was almost two decades ago... last week, we went to Barbs bday celeb, as we have been privileged to be part of her important day. well, for lack of preparation and creativity, we just brought a Moncaro Italian red wine as a gift, wrapped in pink crepe paper and pink ribbon. being pinoys in an expected international and beyond-our-league crowd gave me some tingling sensation in my spine. thoughts of being out-of-place, of insecutrity and of dry oldies fun, crept into my mind...but between staying in the flat doing nothing and fulfilling our promise, we opted for the latter... so there, we drove to their place, and headed to their unit. from behind the front door, we already heard fun noises and good music.
walking past thru the guests who made it earlier than us gave me a confirmation of a 'united colors of benetton' party. we met all sorts of couples: indian, lebanese, canadian, british, arab and pinay. and of course, met all who didn't have their better-halves, such as the palestinian, brits, pinays. barbs was so kind to tell us some bits of info about her guests, and we found out they were also not connected to each other. most have met only now, and yet they talk as if they've known each other for ages. after that, barbs left us and attended to her other guests. well that leaves us to either be stuck in the corner, or explore the wonderful inter-cultural community! ;)
surprisingly, talking to each one was quite effortless! no need for formal intro, just pop up a topic, and bingo, you start to talk. later the very vibrant latino music started to fill the air, and everyone started dancing... note, most were in their late 40s dancing to the grooves! my eyes feasted on the different dance steps they have. later, women started teaching each one how to do the arabic hip moves, the spanish salsa and the egyptian walk! the guys pumped up the la vida loca music by the bongos or hand drums and various sized maraccas. much later, we were treated to Guy's suave saxophone performance! one can see that Barbara is very pleased with her hubby's show... no sign of exasperation though it seemed a routine one to her and close friends... in between the rhythm and beats, the sweet dance, one can feel the love and cool company they share...
as typical of mexican festivities, tequila was overflowing drunk as if it was water! and they don't drink it with the 'western' salt and lemon. finger foods were here, there and everywhere, provided by intercon hotel chefs and cooks, who by the way were pinoys! ;) later at 12 midnight, we started to assemble at dining table where the cake was. barbs asked all the ladies to put our rings onto the candle to make our wishes for her come true.. hmm.. something new... then, we all sang the familiar bday song ending with her blowing of a candle! it was a nice, cool and relaxed party...the qatar trip and this bday party.. brief encounters with them that proved that the bliss is not gone.... instead, there were more pluses... fun, friendship and company. sans a child, they've shown that a husband and wife can rightfully complete a family... crossing over distance and cultural barriers...
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