the lovely lotus

symbols. our world is full of them. some we create, others we find in nature.

the beauty of symbols is that they are wonderfully objective. we all use symbols in our own way. we find our own meanings, apply them to how we live our lives, even use them to forecast the future sometimes. some of us only have one to live by; others have many for different situations they find themselves in.

living in china exposed us to a whole new set of symbols - some we were already familiar with - and others that are not so common in western culture. it was fascinating to learn how lives revolved around auspicious symbols and important decisions were made based on individual interpretations.

because of what is happening in our own universe (read: getting married!), we found meaning in the lotus flower.

based on chinese customs and buddhist beliefs, the lotus flower is a powerful symbol for beauty, faithfulness, and light. they are used to inspire people to continue striving through difficulties, to mirror the way the lotus flower itself grows: bringing beauty and light from the murky darkness at the bottom of the pond.

The words for lotus in Chinese have the same meanings as: to bind, connect (in marriage), one after the other, uninterrupted, to love, and modesty.

who knows how accurate these interpretations may be, but like i said, the beauty of symbols lie in our own ability to apply it to our personal experience.



*thanks to these sites for info*

chinese symbols
lotus legend

be prepared to marry a mexican...

with all the bureaucracy and paperwork involved in getting married...jeez. it's no wonder couples run on to vegas!

just to give you a rundown of all the red tape, here is what i have to present at the civil registrar's office in cuernavaca:

• original and 3 copies of my birth certificate with the proper stamp or seal of the issuing authority of the country of origin OR legalized by the mexican embassy in the issuing country. documents must be translated into spanish by the officially designated translator of the municipality of cuernavaca.

• original and 3 copies of the authorization to contract marriage issued by the national institute of migration.

• original and 3 copies of my passport.

• original and 3 copies of my actual status in the country (as of now, tourist).

PLUS!!!

• blood tests for sexually transmitted diseases and blood type.

• medical certificate from an approved hospital or health center confirming health (and once you have this certificate, it's only valid 15 days, so rush rush!)

• copy of the id's of all the witnesses (4).

• certificate of attendance to a family planning course.

• all documents have to be presented with 8 days minimun in order to reserve a date for marriage.

do you have a headache yet after reading all that??? i hope not because there is more still...

to get the authorization from the national institute of migration, they need:

• original and copy of the application form signed and approved.

• original and copy of my passport and all pages.

• copy of my migratory card.

• original and 2 copies of the official receipt of payment for migratory services.

• a letter signed by both of us in which we declare that we have no legal impediment to contract marriage, and to indicate when and where we plan to contract marriage.

sigh. i don't even have the energy to write anything more after all that.

if you ever plan to getting married in mexico to a mexican, check out these sites for the exact information:

registro civil cuernavaca
instituto nacional de migracion

don't forget china

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April 5 - 3:27pm - Shanghai

over the last couple of weeks, rodrigo and i have been pondering over some of the things we are going to miss about shanghai...and of course there are things that we are also going to forget in a second (or better said, things that we don't really want to remember ). our friends who live in shanghai will probably understand what i mean

anyway, thinking it over, we realized that there is a lot we can take advantage of being in china that will definitely help us make our wedding day unique and really, for lack of a better word, US.

chinese calligraphy is so beautiful and we were thinking of ways of how to incorporate it into the wedding, while at the same time not going overboard. well, yesterday, we finally 'executed' our idea and it came out perfectly! so we are really excited and so anxious to see how it will look and what you all will think...heehee

so...that was one more item ticked off the list of things to get done before we leave! time is flying by and before we know it, november will be around the corner. and there is so much to do yet!

by some miracle, rodrigo is in the kitchen (just kidding gordo! ) cooking up our lazy sunday afternoon late lunch, so i'm going to join him with a glass of wine and get ready for the malaysian grand prix! yay!

besos!

the beginning

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February 25 - 8:32pm - Shanghai

uuuuffff! i just got done trying update this website with more photos and info for guests...took me forever to figure out the photos, so i hope they are appreciated

anyway, so the idea came about to write some sort of a blog on here to let you know how the planning is coming along AND since i'm doing most of my planning from 10,000 miles away, i'm never that far from my computer, so i thought it wouldn't be too hard to keep this updated. we'll see how that goes...hmm.

so anyway, that is it for tonight. after battling with linking images, i'm done for now. rodrigo is ALREADY rolling his eyes at my constant whines for help. heehee =)

besos!