Rebecca and I went to our first Marines Ball on Friday evening over at the Naval Club. This annual event celebrates the anniversary of the Marine Corps, and includes food, drinks, ceremony and dancing.The ball welcomed several members of the embassy community, and several guests and dignitaries from the diplomatic corps and Brazilian military.The night was fun, and we sat with good company with several other entry level officers. Of course, this also meant we got seated far from seeing the processional events and against a wall, but we weren't too far from the food.
The dessert table was beautifully arranged, and the desserts were tasty. One of my favorite desserts is maracuja, or passion fruit, pudding (not shown). It has a sour flavor that reminds me of Sour Patch Kids.
One of the main problems Rebecca and I had was getting enough to drink since we don't drink alcohol, and alcohol flowed like a river at the Ball. The bar was only preparing drinks for the waiters, who carried trays about the room with glasses of beer and cocktails, as well as bottles of wine and whiskey. They did have a about one or two fruit juices on each tray, but those disappeared quickly. Water was only served during dinner, and there was no drinking fountain.
As part of the ceremony, and this was my favorite part, the Marines have a "Marching of the Cake". A contingent of Marines march in half time to the Marine's Anthem ("from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli..."). Anyway, the guest of honor, who was Ambassador Shannon, uses a Marine's sword to cut the first piece of cake. Then the oldest military serviceman at post (a navy commander) serves the youngest (a marine corporal) and bite of the cake. This cake was made by Mrs. Shannon. I think we should march cakes in for every birthday party, and then cut it with a sword.
Rebecca has been preparing for this event every since we got accepted to the Foreign Service. She searched scoured the web, and we went to several stores to find a dress that would fit modestly and look good, and not cost too much. She considered making a dress, but there wasn't enough time to do so before we moved, and she couldn't find a pattern she liked. She found this one at Loehman's in Falls Church, and then added the cap sleeves from remnants cut from the hem.
I provided the freshwater pearl necklace that I bought at a jewelry store near our home in Brasilia. They were have an anniversary sale, and the pearls were half price and just as beautiful. I also bought a tux for me.
Well, tonight, we were one of the Clubes blasting music that could be heard clearly all the way across the lake. This is actually a weekly event, loud music that goes late into the night from the clubs on the weekends. Brazilian really like the loud music. I had a lot of fun dancing, but it took a while for my ears to recover.
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