I've been staying late for work for the past two weeks... since I'm soon quitting, might as well earn as much moolah as I can, right? Anyways, late nights make people think differently.. like people are on an overtime high. And here circulates the nicest stories you wouldn't otherwise hear about during regular work hours... because at night, the supervisors go home. As they say, when the cat is away, the mouse will play...

These are stories I overheard on overnight shifts I've worked from 10:00 p.m till midnight. Remember that my team mainly consists of Africans (from Liberia, Guyana, Kenya and Nigeria), Asians (Laos, Vietnam and me, Philippines) and one or two from White America. So cultures clash and well, it's a fascinating insight into different cultures when they start talking...

***
Bride Market. For the lonely people out there who can't find love and devotion through Match.com or some sleazy phone service, short of an arranged marriage, you can troop to Morocco's mountainside where you will find the Bride Market. Here you'll find different women all ready and rarin' to get hitched. But wait, there's a catch. You must do all you can to woo her. Once you've done that, you can go right ahead and get married...

In Kenya, a traditional wedding lasts for 2 days straight. First, the bride and groom celebrate with the Bride's family. There'll be dancing and singing.. and lots of food to keep you awake--for the next celebration with the Groom's side. Here, there's more singing, more dancing, more food and some consumation... Bride and Groom can't sleep for those two days because they host the celebrations, common hospitality, you know.

In the mountainous side of Laos live the Hmong people. The Hmongs have only 13 surnames between them and a person with the same surnames can't marry because they are technically family (even though they're really not). Traditionally, Hmongs marry early and sadly, by parental or "clan" agreement. Lucky for some, they've become a little bit more liberated that the arrangements are sometimes waived for the girl and boy to find somebody they truly like...

Liberia's marriage culture is quite like the American's. Guy asks girl if she wants to marry him. Girl pays guy's family some dowry and pays for the entire wedding. However, that's about the only thing she pays for. Because for the rest of the marriage, traditional Liberian men play the role of provider, not even wanting their wives to work. Of course, Liberian-Americans are now working but the guys still would rather not...

***
This is how I like to learn about cultures you know. I can read many history books and forget tomorrow what I just read. But when it's real people talking about themselves... it has more impact. I wish I were like Truman Capote though, with a 94% recall so I can tell more. But right now I'm groggy. I can't even recall the events of today. Sigh. Bah-humbug.