I’ve been learning Chinese since June, and it is certainly Harder than Arabic, in any case.the most difficult language I’ve tried. I have private lessons three times a week with Rose, who insists on explaining everything in Chinese first and English as a last resort.

As a result, everything I know about Rose I have learned in Chinese — that she is from Ningbo: A city twice the size of Brussels that nobody outside China has heard of.Ningbo, that she is learning French, and that she is marrying Frank, a C# programmer.

They’ve been legally married for a few months already, but the wedding parties were saved for the 60th anniversary Chinese national day weekend — one in Ningbo, for her family, and one in a farming village that is quickly going urban about an hour South of Shanghai, for his family. I and some other students were invited to the Shanghai party.

It was to be my first Chinese wedding, and I had no idea what to expect. I ended up capturing a series of vignettes on my iPhone, which I collated into a 10-minute mini documentary. Here it is:

Note: A lot of tasty animals were harmed in the making of this film, so if you are a vegetarian, watch through your fingers. Also note: I did not eat any turtle; and no shark-fin soup was served.