Grand Opening

Last week I (Melissa) was visiting a friend, and while I was there, she stepped out for a few minutes to walk to a nearby furniture store to buy a set of table and chairs for her apartment. When she came back, she gave me an invitation (the card kind) to a furniture store's grand opening and explained that we could go together and eat there. Well, free food sounds good anytime, right? Other than knowing I would be with my friend and that we would be eating food, I didn't know much else.

Today was the big day, and while I wasn't sure what the proper dress code for such a gathering might be, I decided to go with a little more than casual look. Mark decided he was up for the adventure, too, and off we went.

When we got to our friend's studio, I was really thankful that I had gone with a little dressed up look because my friend was the most dressed up I think I've ever seen her. Then she told us that she and her sister had to go to a florist to look at some flowers to present to the new store's owners. At this point we still weren't sure what we were getting into. I was thinking, "What kind of gathering is this going to be? Small, intimate, and rather formal? Large, impersonal, and casual?" And I couldn't quite figure out if this was the kind of thing fellow business owners, good customers, or just anyone off the street got invitations to.

After our friends came back with a pretty (but somewhat different) arrangement of flowers, we walked around the corner and waited for the service "bus" to pick us up. We then learned that the new store was on the road that heads out of town - which means it was too far to walk - AND that because the same people that opened the new store have a smaller store around the corner from our friends - which makes them "work neighbors" - they got the invitation. And we just got to tag along as their friends from America.

When we arrived at the store, I couldn't believe my eyes . . . the parking lot was full of tables, plastic chairs/stools, and people! There was someone speaking into a microphone, and behind him was a steady stream of people entering the store. Our friends called someone they knew on the inside and got the OK to bypass the sitting and listening so we could go on into the store. We walked around 3 floors of furniture, appliances, rugs, linens, etc. All along the way, we kept meeting other store keepers/owners we know - who had all come to celebrate with this store owner. Can you imagine celebrating with your competition?!

We wound our way to the chocolate table and then ventured outside for the meal. Rice, stewed beef (kind of), a yogurt drink, and a dessert that I was fortunate enough to have tasted for the first time earlier in the day (that means, it made me gag once already today and I knew better than to push my luck a second time!). The rice, meat, and drink was rather filling, to say the least. Of course, after all of that, hot tea was served (in clear plastic party cups) and we just sat and chatted.

To get back into town we had to wait for the service "bus" again. We lined up on the side of the street and waited. The van drove up and rolled just past us in front of a group of about 6 other women. We jogged over to the van, hoping to get a seat. We were almost too late, but based on the "rules" regarding packing a vehicle here, we all managed to get in, with no room to spare. Mark ended up in the front seat between the driver and his gear shift on one side and a little old lady on the other side. I was the last one to get in the van, and thankfully, our friends made sure everyone else knew I'm pregnant and made a place for me on the corner of a seat. It was a wee bit crowded, but we all got home safely!

I don't think I'll ever think of grand openings in the same way again!