umm. is this real life?!

so, after all, perhaps i should have stayed at my peaceful hut.
let me set the scene for you:

 

the theme of the night at this gross party hostel is "bikinis and boardshorts."  right up my alley, right?!

so, there are lots of drunk people walking around in little clothing.  also, there is a pool outside, which means that there are drunk people swimming, which i hate.  they are all wearing glow bracelets and glow in the dark face paint, and there is terrible cheesy music playing.  it is about 85 degrees and humid outside, and since i spent the day walking around some pretty gross parts of this city, i feel like i am covered in a later of sweat and a layer of bugs.  it is just past 11 at night, so now people are drunk enough that the girls are becoming annoying and dramatic and crying and shit.  The bathrooms at this place smell like shit and I may get more dirty than clean when I decide to use the shower.  My room is directly next to the bar....which is oh-so-quiet.  And, the keys on the computer have leopard print stickers on them, which makes it really hard to type since I can't see the letters!

 

early in the night, i was sitting outside reading my book and drinking a beer.  this annoying british guy started talking to me.  he came down to this town a few months ago, and has pretty much been bumming around since.  so clearly, we already have nothing in common, and i am just trying not to be totally rude.  he was pretty convinced that he was going to get me to go out later in the night...obviously he doesn't know how stubborn i can be.  he and his cousin were discussing their night, and it seemed to consist of drinking, cocaine, and acid.  maybe some pot stuck in there.  oh, and lots of cigarettes.  awesome.  just what i was hoping to do tonight.  well, either that or to sit around in my sweatpants with some friends and probably go to sleep before midnight.

 

i was happy to have a few drinks and hang out with some friendly people.  unfortunately, i chose the wrong place for that!

so, i decided that i would just be a total lame ass and sit around and read my book.  i have been sitting here for about two hours, reading "Three Cups of Tea."  Many people come up and ask why I am reading..."It is New Years Eve!!!"  Yes, I know.  Just another night of the year as far as I am concerned =)  I can't tell you how many times people have walked by and said, "A book...?" or "Reading?!"  I am sitting there reading, and behind me is a fog machine with people dancing on the bar and screaming.  Don't worry, I did take a small break from reading...that's when I went into the kitchen to make myself a snack of cheese and tomato.  The only other person in there was washing out shot glasses.

 

Surprisingly, I have not met any other Americans on my trip.  Until tonight...

there are a few here.

Three of them are peace corps volunteers, so I had some small hope that they may be friendly enough to invite me out with them, or to engage in a conversation.  Not so! 

 

I am now at the point where it is actually comical.  I am not really uncomfortable anymore...just looking forward to tomorrow.

So, i decided to use the computer to write this update.  but, when i signed on to my email, I saw an email from Chase card services stating that there was a charge that they want to verify.  It was for $160.93.  I was sure that I never bought anything at this cost.  Shit.  So, I push the button to say that this was not made the attempt at a purchase, and a notice came up saying that they would be calling me shortly.  Knowing that I wont be answering my phone, I called them.  I used almost all of the minutes on my phone to make this call, only to realize that it was in fact me!  It was not actually charged.  It was an attempted charge that was declined!  Yesterday, I tried to take out cash at an ATM.  After two tries, I realized that I was accidently using my credit card instead of my ATM card.  OOPS!  So, that was the attempted charge.  Nobody stole my credit card.  I was just dumb yesterday...and again tonight. OY!

 

Well, there you have my New Years update.

I hope that you all have a great night that in no way resembles mine!

 

Love,

Cori