This weekend was pretty spectacular, which was a complete surprise to me. The week dragged on and on. The internship is going well, but sometimes I feel small and unimportant, like a field mouse. The girls are fun but it's never a relaxing day with them- there is always laundry and cleaning to be done, fights to break up, and friendship drama to navigate. Friday, I was spent, and looking forward to immersing myself in a good Netflix movie and some War and Peace and shutting out the outside world.
Then I got a text from Matt, one of my oldest friends from high school. "Come with us to Nellies," it beckoned coyly. Since we hadn't seen each other since 2010, and Nellie's is the best gay sports bar I've ever been to (think brightly colored lanterns hanging from the ceiling and a giant sparkly ball on the top of the roof), I relented.
Being at a gay bar is an interesting experience as a straight female. Everywhere you turn, there are men. All types of men! Burly men, effeminate looking men, older men, men with earrings and long hair who look like they stepped off of a 90s grunge album. And all of them don't give a damn about you. As a straight woman, you are a wisp, welcome but not noticed. It was nice. Basically the same as any other bar but with more men, less cleavage, and better clothes.
Somehow, I got dragged into going to the drag show at Town, a gay club across the street. I've never seen a drag queen up close and personal and was wildly curious. The host of the drag show was sassy, asked questions like "If you've got a big package, make some noooise!" Then, the performance started. These drag queens were decked out in gorgeous wigs, the longest eyelashes I've ever seen, glitter, and NO body hair whatsoever. They must've paid dear money to a waxer to remove it. One of them, Tatyanna, was on Ru Paul's Drag Race. She looked like a woman, sounded like a woman, and danced like a woman. It was hard to believe she was a dude. I'm still scratching my head over how makeup and clothes managed to morph her so amazing. I wonder if you call drag queens "he" or "she".
Then, Saturday was my cousin's son's bar mitvah. Shimmy is 13, and his story is amazing. He was born deaf, but thanks to cochlear implants and an unshakeable will, he was able to read all of the Hebrew at the service. Saw all of my cousins and their kids. It's weird to be one of the "adults". I am the oldest cousin who does not have kids now. The girl three years older than me, Shoshi, already has two. It seems like only yesterday we were talking about dating, and now, she has two toddlers!
Saturday night I went to meet an old college friend to see Beach House. On the way there, transferring from the Red to the Green lines, I ran into a girl with fabulous fishnet tights. We started talking, and I learned she was a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in West Africa for three years. She was awesome. She said being in the Peace Corps was like being in Survivor; hard as hell, but totally worth it at the end. I love all the international people who crop up everywhere in DC.
BEACH HOUSE was awesome. In a weird twist, one of Kellie's friends at the concert brough another friend with her. This girl turned out to be the roommate and good friend of Kimmy, Justin's brother's girlfriend. We got really close to the stage, and, even with people pushing us trying to get up to the stage, we managed to stay close. The lead singer has a raw and powerful voice, and I love their mix of electric guitar riffs and keyboard sounds. Their lightshow was filled with twinkling white lights on a black backdrop, so it looked like stars in the sky. They used a defogger too, which gave the whole concert a dreamy, ethereal feel. It also made me hella dehydrated, but I didn't want to get out of my spot. I spent half of the concert wondering if I was going to pass out. But they were so great, I hardly cared.
Sunday, I helped Jane run some errands and saw Justin for the first time in ages, since he's been working everyday at a conference. CODIE left for Asheville for massage school, making her the first of the two of us to head out on her own. I can't wait to visit her.
Tomorrow is March. Where is the time going? Just three months left until the Peace Corps. I've STOPPED obsessing over it- I really don't think mulling over the details will make the transition any easier. I just want to enjoy warm showers, good beer, and the beauty of here as much as possible before heading crossing hemispheres.
Happy end of February!
Anrea
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