Craziness!

Wow.... how can I even begin to describe the craziness that was the club last night? I don't know where to start! Well, we went out to this club called Maracana to celebrate Deborah's birthday, which was Monday. The club has a Cuban theme, which means that they have a pen of four peacocks (don't ask me why!) and performances of Cuban dances in the beginning of the evening, around 11pm. This was wonderful -- the dancers were sooooo hot! Ohhh my goodness! They started out doing this dance with soccer balls, and the guys had soccer jerseys and everything *but* -oh glorious night!- with each successive performance the clothing got less and less. Tee hee! The next performance was of capoeira. It was so cool! I can't believe how strong they all were and what they could do with their bodies. It was really amazing! Ahhh, there was this one guy who looked sooo much like Malcom on Y&R! Jialin and Akila, I think you're the only people who know what I'm talking about, but daaaaaaang! He was soooo hot! And I got to talk and dance with him later! Tee hee! Oye, I am geting a little ahead of myself. Well after the capoeira there was this guy who did this very intense performance with these heavy balls on strings which he was swinging around and hitting on the floor and he looked veeery intense, like a hunter in the rainforest! And then there was the final dance that would have been very much appreciated by all the guys out there because all the women were very scantily clad and they were dancing and shaking their nearly-naked and sparkling bodies, and it was actually pretty cool but I was a tad scandalized by that.

Yes, so during this performance we had soooo many people at our table, I think maybe 18 or so at a table meant for 8. It was a cacophony of English and Italian and Japanese and laughter and clinking of glasses and music and dancing, all so crazy! Oh, and then there was the waiter. He was from Brasil, and very very forward and persistent, as you shall hear presently. Apparently, I was the most beautiful girl that he had seen that evening as well as lots of other things in rapid Italian which I didn't quite comprehend. It was all flattery and smiles and me not quite comprehending and being shocked and "ma no... ahh, grazie" with all modesty and what is your name? Carina? ahh, Erina ma sei carina! and then he came on the other side near to me and *very* near to me and put his arm around me and was telling me how he couldn't live without my eyes and he wanted to taste my sweet mouth and please wouldn't I give him just one kiss. And please wouldn't I go home with him and he could massage my body all over, and had I ever had a Brasilian kiss? During which I had been pulling away from him but he just kept pulling me closer and closer and kissing my neck... Which, folks, was just the beginning to a crazy evening...

Finally on the dance floor, I went and found my circle of girls and, though we were definitely surrounded by a crowd of guys, we were having lots of fun dancing. Then all of a sudden the guys started grabbing us one by one so I found myself in the center of a circle of five or so guys, which was actually sort of flattering because I had my space to dance and I wasn't really dancing with any of them, I was just dancing and it was nice to feel admired especially since I was feeling a little bad about myself recently. Hell, this evening cured that! Have I mentioned how much I love dancing? Oh it is so wonderful! When I am feeling so bad I can feel so good just by dancing. So I was definitely enjoying myself, and feeling desirable. Ha, I would just have to look at a guy and smile and he would come over with the rest of them. I definitely had two drink offers in the course of a couple of songs (both of which I declined, thankyouverymuch), and couldn't keep track of the guys who loved to say --Sei bellissima! --Sei carina! --Sei fidanzata? and more of rapid Italian which is difficult to comprehend in a crowded room with loud music, at which point they would say Ah, ma non sei italiana! Di dove sei? so I guess it is pretty cool that they don't realize that I'm not italian until they have to repeat things 3 times and then I am always reluctant to say that I am from the U.S., americana, because that solicites even more presumptuous moves on the part of the Italian guys.

For example: periodically throughout the night the dance floor was filled with smoke so that it was impossible to see anything. Which was evidently a perfect opportunity to grab me and kiss me. Yes, I think that at least 7 different guys kissed me throughout the night. On the hand, ooh, on the neck was really popular, and then the most bold of them actually kissed me on the mouth (including the two smoke filled discoteca incidents). I'm telling you-- it was an absolutely craaazy night! I didn't stop dancing until 4 in the morning, and still I wasn't tired!

And then there's Claudio... what am I going to do? I told him that I am pericolosa... but of course they never listen...I don't want to be cursed! He took me home on his motorino and it was so fast! Si si, vedi, sono pericolosa, ti ho detto. Non mi conosci, no, no, non puoi me vuoi bene... si, sei simpatico, carino, ma... But alas.... what is a girl to do?

This, my friends, concludes the evening's crazy adventures. And, as you can see, I am here left in its whirlwind...