Riau day 3 - the Family Dinner (or mum's family anyway)

Today was a family day at ina's and her mums family gathered to buka puasa and give speeches etc. Whilst at home the extent of this gather might seem extravagent in both terms of size and the relationship (probably reserved for funerals and weddings at home) this is a yearly occurance here.


As the token bules we arrived home late with Ina (Ina's fault - she wanted to escape the kids) and rushed to mandi and get dressed! What wasn't expected was the entiRe family was dressed up and every other female there was wearing a hijab making sophie and I feel quite out of place as we buka puasaed.

After buka puasa we were scooted off into Ina's room where all the women were praying! We watched them pray and then before going out to dinner we put on headscarves as a mark of respect. We thought this was kind of awkward going without then appearing with but the reception we got was hilarious (and we have the photos with every single family member to prove it).

The Kids

Dinner was fabulous and the speeches touching. They were so happy to have people of a non-indonesian, non-muslim background there to celebrate with them and join in the festivities. As Ina put it in her teary speech, she was thrilled that we had come and so happy her family had embraced us with such openness and vice versa. This night definately made coming here worth it and all the more special experience.
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