It's our first Friday night and we are ready to unwind and enjoy one another's company in a less formal and less "Hotel-ish" way. July, our lovely concierge, has arranged for us to visit one of the favorite local restaurant/bars in town called Papa Bills. Sounds like fun! Good food, good friends and fun! Papa Bills is attached to the mall that is just down the street from our hotel so it's just a quick van ride over and we're ready to party. As you can see above, we were all looking dapper and ready for our first opportunity to see one another outside of the hotel. (I'm getting sweaty palm's just thinking about it).Papa Bills seemed like the perfect spot when we walked in. There were projection screens playing classic videos from the 1980's and they were even in English! Wow, now this is Mexico! The music was loud and the patrons were happy, or just smiling and nodding because they couldn't hear what the others in their party were saying. Anyway we sat down and ordered some beverages and as it worked out, the two individuals who were not partaking in the adult beverages both ended up at the FAAARRR end of the table. I was a little nervous that things might end up this way most of the time on this trip. (I'm happy to say that it has not turned out that way, I have felt a part of the group in every way)
The food was great and as the night went on, the music became less and less English. It started with some Shakira and then maybe a little Enrique Iglesias, then it was all Espanol, all the time! However, as you might expect in Mexico, the crowd seemed to get a little more "social" as the night went on and before I knew it there was dancing! First it was kind of sit in your seat and sway or do some arm motions, then it became short bursts of standing up but then a sense of appropriateness and self awareness would encourage me to sit back down. Once the rest of the gang saw my moves, (think Fred Astaire meets MC Hammer... except they both suffer from lower back pain), they were encouraging me to strut my stuff. Pretty soon the whole place was buzzing about me, "Check it out!"..."Look at him go!"..."Hey look at that bigger but smaller white guy who has some sense of rhythm but looks very unnatural!" OK, I'm joking, I made up those first two things.
After a couple of hours of dancing and signing autographs it was time to go back home (read Hotel). It was a fun night. Definitely not something I do all the time, or ever, when I'm at home, but it was nice to get a little exercise and break down some misconceptions about the need for alcohol to have a good time. Chris W. from Jamaica told me, "I'm never going to encourage you to drink alcohol because after seeing you without it, I'm afraid of what you might be with it." Not exactly the message I intended but it will work for now.
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