After our Christmas dinner in the bar last night, Sam, Felix and I went back to the room we’ve been given to make up for the lost reservations. We drank wine and talked. We talked about Zambia and Peace Corps and being so far from home. I was happy just to sit with these two people who mean so much to me, but after awhile we decided that we were being antisocial and headed back to the party.
When we got there, the girl with the dreds was standing at the bar. I had a couple more beers to add to my mounting courage and waited for an opening. When the time was right, I rolled up to the bar and stood next to her. For once, I hoped that the bartender would take his time with my drink. I tried to say something that was smooth, unassuming and cool all at the same time. “Hey there. How are you?” Perfect.
Over the course of the evening, my table helped me out by sending me up after everyone’s drinks. I found out that the girl in the dreds has a name, and it is Alile. She was born in Malawi and moved to Belgium eight years ago. I told her my story as it is and we seemed to have some chemistry. She started to tease me about the number of drinks I was ordering. I swore that they weren’t mine, but reveled in the attention.
The night wore on and people began to either go home or become belligerent. On one of my trips to the bar, I invited Alile to come sit with our party. She said she would and after a bit sat down next to me at the table. I introduced her to Felix and Sam and Bizaro Us and some random Canadian girl that I didn’t really know. Slowly people left the table and before long, it was just the two of us.
We talked about life in Africa and life in Europe and I talked about going back to the US. Alile told me about her family in Malawi and her newer life in Belgium. She told me about her boyfriend from there- whom she was traveling with. He was the man with the moustache that I had seen earlier. His name was Jared. My heart dropped at first, but I settled into the idea and just began to enjoy the company of this wonderfully interesting woman. We talked for close to two hours.
When I left the bar, I positively floated back to the kitchen area. There was a balcony where I stood to smoke a cigarette. While I finished the Marlboro Menthol, I saw that Felix was in the kitchen making soup.
I went into the kitchen and told Felix about the conversation I had just finished. He shrugged at the part about the boyfriend. “The guy with the moustache, huh? Figures.”
We started to talk about Africa. Felix is extending for a third year. We talked about how the continent gets under your skin and I said that I don’t think that I can leave Africa forever. We talked for quite a while. While I remember what was said, I remember that the kitchen pitched and shifted and was out of focus at that point. I was excited. Nothing was holding me back. I was drunk.
Eventually, Sam came into the picture and herded us back to the room and I fell into bed. When I closed my eyes, I felt Africa all around and I could see only Alile.
I woke up this morning with a headache and the group spent the morning lounging around or in the pool. In the early afternoon, we drove to the Windhoek mall in the car that Bizarro Us had rented. We ate pizza at the mall- real-honest-to-goodness pizza with real-honest-to-goodness parmasian cheese- and then walked around. Everything is closed today because it’s Boxing day. Still, it was strange to walk around a mall. We rode up and down on the escalators and allowed ourselves to be captivated by all the displays in the store windows.
In the afternoon, we went to a movie. Sam and Felix went to some Disney movie where the characters come alive. I opted out of that and went with Frank and Jolene to “The Golden Compass.” It was just ok. At least it had Sam Elliot in it. I’ll take anything with Sam Elliot anyday over talking chimpmunks. We finished first and went back to the pizza place to wait for the other two.
There’s a place here called the “Hemingway Cocktail Lounge” that I really want to visit. It’s got big pictures of Ernest Hemingway and quotes from the book on the outside. I imagine drinks like “The Tequila Sun Also Rises” or “The Old Man and the Seagram’s,” or maybe just leather jugs of wine and big plates of raw swordfish. But I’ll have to wait. The lounge is also closed for Boxing day. Stupid British and their ridiculous holidays.
So now we’re back at the Cardboard Box relaxing and getting ready to go out. I’m waiting and hoping that Alile will come out, but there is no sign of her yet. I’m also hoping that her moustachioed boyfriend wandered away in the night. Not much chance of that.
When we got there, the girl with the dreds was standing at the bar. I had a couple more beers to add to my mounting courage and waited for an opening. When the time was right, I rolled up to the bar and stood next to her. For once, I hoped that the bartender would take his time with my drink. I tried to say something that was smooth, unassuming and cool all at the same time. “Hey there. How are you?” Perfect.
Over the course of the evening, my table helped me out by sending me up after everyone’s drinks. I found out that the girl in the dreds has a name, and it is Alile. She was born in Malawi and moved to Belgium eight years ago. I told her my story as it is and we seemed to have some chemistry. She started to tease me about the number of drinks I was ordering. I swore that they weren’t mine, but reveled in the attention.
The night wore on and people began to either go home or become belligerent. On one of my trips to the bar, I invited Alile to come sit with our party. She said she would and after a bit sat down next to me at the table. I introduced her to Felix and Sam and Bizaro Us and some random Canadian girl that I didn’t really know. Slowly people left the table and before long, it was just the two of us.
We talked about life in Africa and life in Europe and I talked about going back to the US. Alile told me about her family in Malawi and her newer life in Belgium. She told me about her boyfriend from there- whom she was traveling with. He was the man with the moustache that I had seen earlier. His name was Jared. My heart dropped at first, but I settled into the idea and just began to enjoy the company of this wonderfully interesting woman. We talked for close to two hours.
When I left the bar, I positively floated back to the kitchen area. There was a balcony where I stood to smoke a cigarette. While I finished the Marlboro Menthol, I saw that Felix was in the kitchen making soup.
I went into the kitchen and told Felix about the conversation I had just finished. He shrugged at the part about the boyfriend. “The guy with the moustache, huh? Figures.”
We started to talk about Africa. Felix is extending for a third year. We talked about how the continent gets under your skin and I said that I don’t think that I can leave Africa forever. We talked for quite a while. While I remember what was said, I remember that the kitchen pitched and shifted and was out of focus at that point. I was excited. Nothing was holding me back. I was drunk.
Eventually, Sam came into the picture and herded us back to the room and I fell into bed. When I closed my eyes, I felt Africa all around and I could see only Alile.
I woke up this morning with a headache and the group spent the morning lounging around or in the pool. In the early afternoon, we drove to the Windhoek mall in the car that Bizarro Us had rented. We ate pizza at the mall- real-honest-to-goodness pizza with real-honest-to-goodness parmasian cheese- and then walked around. Everything is closed today because it’s Boxing day. Still, it was strange to walk around a mall. We rode up and down on the escalators and allowed ourselves to be captivated by all the displays in the store windows.
In the afternoon, we went to a movie. Sam and Felix went to some Disney movie where the characters come alive. I opted out of that and went with Frank and Jolene to “The Golden Compass.” It was just ok. At least it had Sam Elliot in it. I’ll take anything with Sam Elliot anyday over talking chimpmunks. We finished first and went back to the pizza place to wait for the other two.
There’s a place here called the “Hemingway Cocktail Lounge” that I really want to visit. It’s got big pictures of Ernest Hemingway and quotes from the book on the outside. I imagine drinks like “The Tequila Sun Also Rises” or “The Old Man and the Seagram’s,” or maybe just leather jugs of wine and big plates of raw swordfish. But I’ll have to wait. The lounge is also closed for Boxing day. Stupid British and their ridiculous holidays.
So now we’re back at the Cardboard Box relaxing and getting ready to go out. I’m waiting and hoping that Alile will come out, but there is no sign of her yet. I’m also hoping that her moustachioed boyfriend wandered away in the night. Not much chance of that.
