On February 2, 2002, Kazumi Ohira of Japan and Julio Urbina of Peru, former residents at the Cosmopolitan Club House, were married in Champaign, Illinois. Julio and Kazumi first met at Cosmo and grew closer over the years as both worked toward their degrees. Kazumi graduated with a Ph.D. in Education and is now working at a Japanese school in Chicago. Julio is A.B.D. and will graduate with a Ph.D. in Engineering this year.
Kazumi was a lovely bride in a long white dress and Julio, a gallant groom. Friends came from across the U.S. and their parents came from two different continents. The wedding ceremony included poems from Ogden Nash ("Tin Wedding Whistle"), Hiroshi Yoshino ("The Wedding Celebration Song", and Mario Benedetti ("Let's Make a Deal" and "I Love You") read in three different languages: English, Japanese, and Spanish. There's no room for a copy of all the special poems here, but the one given below has good advice for married couples that might also apply at times when people from different cultures struggle to understand one another and the situation becomes tense:
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| Kazumi and Julio cutting the wedding cake |
The Wedding Celebration Song
Hiroshi YoshinoIn order for a couple to be harmonious,
They'd better be foolish.
They'd better not be too worthy.
They should realize that the marriage won't last long
If they are too worthy.
They'd better not pursue perfection.
It would be better if they brag
That a perfect marriage is an unnatural thing.
One of them should take things easy
Or should sometimes make mistakes.
Even when they blame each other,
They should wonder later
Whether or not they themselves had a right to blame the other.
When they say the right things,
They should be modest.
When they say the right things,
They should realize
That saying the right things can be hurtful to the other.
Rather than wishing to be worthy
Or always to do the right things,
They should amply bathe in the sunlight, relaxed,
Without being too serious or tense.
It would be nice
If they have a day
When they both are healthy,
Being blown by the wind,
And they are deeply touched
Just by the fact that they are alive.
And,
We hope they will know
why they are deeply touched
Without telling each other.
Julio and Kazumi are living examples of Cosmo's motto: Above all nations is humanity.