On Thursday I saw the new weirdest thing I've seen in Uzbekistan. It was at a farewell aprty for Kir's boss. The party was hosted by a group of artists, and each artist had created something for the party. A painter presented them with a painting as a gift, a composer had his new piece played, and so on. And then came the fashion designer, who presented a composition. Which consisted of several outfits, worn by models, who struck poses and moved to music. All very normal, right? Except the outfits were long, tubular skirts of different materials, covered in ruffles and other decorations. The skirts were paired with midriff tops in jewel tones.

The outfits were worn by men. Clothing that would be strange if seen on fashion TV, being worn by Uzbek men in Tashkent. I told this story to Gulnara, afterward, and her response was "Are you sure this was in Uzbekistan?"

And more about the wedding:

Tea was my maid of honor, and Rani, Juan, and Gwen were ushers. Rani was a balloon usher, so it was her job to hand a balloon to each guest to hold during the ceremony. I didn't know if it would be pretty or ridiculous, but I figured either effect was fine. It turned out to be very, very pretty.

Yes, Juan is a boy, but I can have male attendants if I want, right? Kir had his sister on his side. We were not going to let gender interfere with having the people we love stand by us.

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USAID is one of many donors for the project I work for. The views expressed herein are the author’s own views and do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer or especially those of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. And I mean it. I probably give the US government heart attacks.