Kitchen party.

Kitchen parties (aka Bridal Shower) are a legend in Zambia and I attended my first one today. Getting married is a big deal here (well, maybe it's a big deal everywhere) and the parties and celebration reflect that. On the weekend in Lusaka, it feels like every fifth car you pass is decorated for a wedding.

So the kitchen party: only women attend, bring kitchen related gifts, drink kegs of beer, sing, dance, eat, and dance some more. I did not expect to be attending a kitchen party so soon, seeing that I know all of twenty or so people in town. I am of the opinion that any large gathering of women leads to craziness, but several hundred tipsy Zambian women and two random foreigners is chaos. I enjoyed seeing the crash of tradition and modern trends. There were women wearing chitenge (traditional printed fabric) outfits and others wearing very revealing nightclub outfits. Next to the pile of gifts which included a snazzy stainless steel fridge were women sitting on straw mats drumming. When I have time (and money) I will have a traditional outfit and matching head scarf made.

The party was supposed to start at 13hrs and my friend and I forgot about Zambia time so showed up right at 1pm. For the next two hours we enjoyed Mosi beer and gossip. When the bride finally showed up she and her matron are covered with a chitenge and they crawl to a mat. The bride sits on the mat for the duration of the party without facial expression or making eye contact with anyone - the party is really for everyone else. The groom makes a brief five minute appearance to kiss his bride in front of hundreds of screaming women. Then each person brings their gift up to the bride and dances for her.

I cannot yet dance like people do here and I was hoping that no one would notice if I didn't, but I guess no one was going to let the foreign people get away with that. My butt and hips just don't move distinctly from the rest of my body. I really need to practice. So, my evening ended with a bunch of women hooting and screaming at my dancing.