First thing: Last week I ended up on a AA-meeting. I live in a small Mexican town called Catemaco, where I am doing my research (I am a biologist) and, well, my friend Miriam has a boyfriend who is in the AA and I went with her to pick up her 3-year-old (who was at the meeting with her father). As we came to the AA-house, Miriam said “come on lets get in!” and I was like “With the alcoholics? Really?” (always thought that the AA-meeting was kinda private). There were around 10 people there, only 1 woman. I was a little bit nervous, but they gave me a cigarette and we started to talk, I was talking fast and moved my hands a lot, I talked about my investigation, about the monkeys I am studying, about being Swedish in Mexico, about being Swedish in Sweden. Finally I asked politely: so why did you end up in Catemaco? The guy I am talking to, Manuel, smiles at me, takes a deep breath, and:
“I was an alcoholic.”
“….”
I can feel how my heart is sinking a little bit. I have problems handling private confessions, don’t like other peoples feelings, and here is a stranger who feels like sharing addiction-secrets? Please God, save me.
But there is nothing to do but to smile and ask him more, I mean, what kind of person would I be if I was not there for a lamb that got lost from the big herd but now has returned? Shaken, but with a growing interest, I listen to his stories about being homeless in San Fransisco, going to jail, loosing his family.
“Alcohol made that to me”, he explains. We are silent for a while, there is no need for words.
Then he asks me if I like to dance.
“Yeah! But only when I am drunk!”
(No need to further explain the weird silence that followed on this statement. I left not long after that.)
Second thing: I am invited to a wedding. Miguel who invited me is the cousin of the guy getting married, and I really like Miguel, so I was trying to look cute and make a good impression. After the food we go up to the newly-weds. Miguel introduces me and the groom grabs my hand and makes a little attempt to kiss me on the cheek. However, I hate being kissed on the cheek and I am never able to make a smooth move towards the other persons cheek because I feel so uncomfortable, I tend to do a rapid attack-movement instead, scaring the other person, or ending up at the ear or the nose. So with the groom, I chose not to kiss him, leaving him mid-air with his cheek waiting for my lips. The second I decide to kiss him anyway, he of course have already turned around, making this introduction a stupid little dance of short robot-movements. Anyway, he smiles, just married, he is so happy and proud of his wife. “We are so glad that you could be here with us”, he says. Ida, “freakgirl”, smiles at him, and then says in a high-pitched voice that sounds nothing like me “yeahyeahthanksandthefoodwasawesome” and then… rub my stomach, and then…. take off. My only chance of talking to the couple, and I manage to be Rob Schneider rather than Blair Waldorf.
Third thing: after the wedding we go to a sort-of-party in Miguels aunts house and I am gonna say goodbye to parts of the family before going home and happily walks in front of the fan. My dress blows up and shows my underwear to everyone. Since it takes me like 3 seconds to react, everyone gets a good look as well.
Sum-up of the week:
1. making a fool out of myself at an AA-meeting
2. acting like a homeless brute at the wedding instead of oozing finesse.
3. Giving Miguels family a full-frontal view of my knickers.
Gotta love being me.
“I was an alcoholic.”
“….”
I can feel how my heart is sinking a little bit. I have problems handling private confessions, don’t like other peoples feelings, and here is a stranger who feels like sharing addiction-secrets? Please God, save me.
But there is nothing to do but to smile and ask him more, I mean, what kind of person would I be if I was not there for a lamb that got lost from the big herd but now has returned? Shaken, but with a growing interest, I listen to his stories about being homeless in San Fransisco, going to jail, loosing his family.
“Alcohol made that to me”, he explains. We are silent for a while, there is no need for words.
Then he asks me if I like to dance.
“Yeah! But only when I am drunk!”
(No need to further explain the weird silence that followed on this statement. I left not long after that.)
Second thing: I am invited to a wedding. Miguel who invited me is the cousin of the guy getting married, and I really like Miguel, so I was trying to look cute and make a good impression. After the food we go up to the newly-weds. Miguel introduces me and the groom grabs my hand and makes a little attempt to kiss me on the cheek. However, I hate being kissed on the cheek and I am never able to make a smooth move towards the other persons cheek because I feel so uncomfortable, I tend to do a rapid attack-movement instead, scaring the other person, or ending up at the ear or the nose. So with the groom, I chose not to kiss him, leaving him mid-air with his cheek waiting for my lips. The second I decide to kiss him anyway, he of course have already turned around, making this introduction a stupid little dance of short robot-movements. Anyway, he smiles, just married, he is so happy and proud of his wife. “We are so glad that you could be here with us”, he says. Ida, “freakgirl”, smiles at him, and then says in a high-pitched voice that sounds nothing like me “yeahyeahthanksandthefoodwasawesome” and then… rub my stomach, and then…. take off. My only chance of talking to the couple, and I manage to be Rob Schneider rather than Blair Waldorf.
Third thing: after the wedding we go to a sort-of-party in Miguels aunts house and I am gonna say goodbye to parts of the family before going home and happily walks in front of the fan. My dress blows up and shows my underwear to everyone. Since it takes me like 3 seconds to react, everyone gets a good look as well.
Sum-up of the week:
1. making a fool out of myself at an AA-meeting
2. acting like a homeless brute at the wedding instead of oozing finesse.
3. Giving Miguels family a full-frontal view of my knickers.
Gotta love being me.
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