Out With the Girls

I am losing weight. Not just because I was sick, but also because I have been moving constantly and sweating incessantly. I can see in my face that I lost the extra ring of padding around my jaw line that crept up on me over the past six months. I can also see that I am relaxed - no stress hanging on to my face. My eyes are brighter, my skin looks phenomenal. I feel good - my clothes are starting to get loose. I am doing what I came here to do :) Take care of me.

Last night was Girls Night Out. The ladies asked me to join them in a little shopping trip to the big mall. And I do mean big - four levels of the best of the west and east combined. Quite the change from the famous Night Market of Chiang Mai where we have been doing our shopping. No bartering here at the mall ;) Anyway - we were looking for dresses to wear in a night out on the town, and I (fortunately) found one right away. It looks very me - loose and flowing and rich in color. It looked perfect with my headband and funky hippie bracelet.

After a couple of hours of shopping and makeovers for Ally and Ellen at the MAC counter (I opted out, because I felt just grimy after class and riding all over town on a scooter), we headed back to the hotel to get ready. I was excited. We weren't going to go out until AT LEAST 9:00 (my usual bedtime, ha). We all looked fabulous and ready to hit the town.

We were looking for a Reggae bar that we had no name for and a place that I thought was called Zoe's and Yellow (it is actually called Zoe in Yellow). No cab driver even had a clue where this place was. So, after walking several blocks from where we were dropped off and asking locals and foreigners alike, we finally found it - thanks to Ellen for asking every person she saw where this place was.

It is an open area with lots of small bars and open spaces for dancing. There were food stands, foot massage stands and a plethora of bottles of alcohol scattered across several areas. The dj's were just getting started when we arrived - shortly before 10:00 (we were told to not even show up until 11, but I think the group was anxious and we were meeting up with our teacher from class - Mint and our classmate Mieke.

First stop was the Reggae bar. They weren't messing around with the rum - it hit me quickly and I found myself ready to just jump up and groove to the island sounds that were strangely at home in Thailand. But, no one was quite ready - so we moved on to another bar and sat and chatted and drank and sweated in the heavy night air.

Finally - enough was enough (actually it started to rain, and everyone was forced onto the dance floor). It was on. I started dancing and didn't stop unless we were switching locations or for a brief food break. My body was drenched in sweat and my feet and hips were burning, but I didn't care. I was a woman on a mission - I had to shake everything I had until I felt like there was nothing left to shake.

On the dance floor, I was everyone's partner :) I moved around and danced with Mikie and his girlfriend (from Denver) and the stinky guy from Canada and all my girls. It was truly a blast. I would have done it all night - but all good things must come to an end. We laughed so much and on the hilarious and somewhat funky cab ride back. It did my heart good.