Fraz wedding was pretty awesome. I don’t feel like writing something in-depth right now, but I can tell you that I had fun.
The first night I was there we had the bachelor party for Fraz… oh MAN! The stories from that night will go down as legend. They are so legendary I can’t print them here. Let’s just say it was… sinfully good.
The second day was the Nikah– the wedding ceremoney. Before we got started, it was prayer time. So I got to see that ritual inside a mosque for my first time. It was pretty cool. During prayer, Cameron (Fraz’ nephew), was being a little irreverent and speaking during prayer. When he turned around to look at me, I put my finger on my mouth to “Shhh” him. He nodded to me as if to say, “Ok”. Thereafter, every time they stood up during the prayer, Cameron would turn around to look at me, and give the me a thumbs up to let me know, “Don’t worry. I’m being totally reverent.” I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Then the Nikah got started– right after technical difficulties were solved for broadcasting the ceremony over webcam to India. (Seriously, how cool is that?!) Because of the wonders of technology, Amrin’s brother in India got to view the wedding first hand from the other side of the world.
After the Nikah ceremony, there were a few pictures taken. Amrin’s brother (the one on the computer) was introduced to everybody by her father. I got to meet Omar (Fraz’ cousin), and liked him instantly. I was recalling the text messages that I got from Cris earlier that day, and told Fraz how Cris thinks I should be at the wedding to pick up chicks. Fraz asked me if that’s why I came, and before I had a chance to respond, Omar said, “That’s why I’m here!” We were on the exact same wavelength. It was brilliant.
After leaving the mosque, the families got together and had dinner. The food was really good, and I ate way too much of it! They served burfi for dessert, and I really liked it. After that, they made some chai tea… and it beats the hell out of Starbucks’ version of the chai tea latte. It goes without saying that, the whole time during dinner and after, the Muslim elders were trying to get me to convert to Islam and marry a Pakastani or Indian girl before I left. Well, not the whole time. I suppose they also made time to tell me about history of Chai tea, the divorce rate of arranged marriages, the utility of a camel versus a horse, and, of course, what good wives Muslim girls make. 
Right after dessert, I asked the elders what was on top of the burfi. (There had been something metallic, yet edible, on top.) They told me that it was silver, pounded so thinly that it could be eaten. And, of course, it had many health benefits. I let them know that, yes, I enjoy eating precious metals.
That night Jeff arrived, and Omar took me and Fraz to see him at his hotel. It was pretty awesome, in an uneventful sort of way.
The next day, Jeff, Sophie, and I went to Joe’s Crab Shack and ate tons of crab for two hours. It was a lot of work, but delicious. After that we went on a quest for sunglasses and a swimming suit (for me). We went swimming for a couple hours, then it was time for the reception.
The reception was awesome. And had even more Indian food. I learned Fraz started college at the University of Missouri when he was only 14. I thought I’d heard that before, but damn. That’s worth repeating. I finally got to meet Amrin, who was as cool as a cucumber throughout the whole thing. She seems nice, and I hope I get a chance to get to know her better. Apparently I used up all my charm and personality the prior two days because I had no idea how to speak to her.
From left: Nadeem, Salman, Fraz, Mariam, Jawad, Amrin, (unknown), and (unknown)
Damn. I'm looking good!
Jeff enjoying that lemonade a bit too much...
...and these are shoes. And Cameron's foot.
