First Friday Night on the Town: The Director's Cut

Tonight was exactly what I needed! Though initially hesitant (see previous post), I went to Floyd (my bar/café) for a beer and social hour. I met some people my age – all of whom were nice enough to be patient with me as I stumbled through Italian – and hung out with Luca and his girlfriend, Elisa. Luca made me a “Big Mac” for dinner, though it was better than any fast food hamburger I have ever had. They invited me to go to a bar with them after Floyd closed (Floyd is an establishment that can only sell alcohol until midnight), but I ended up making new plans. And those plans were dancing!

A group of three women that Stefano had introduced me to earlier that day came into Floyd and asked me if I liked to dance….

Oh man, I love to dance! Though my ability to converse suffered on the way to the discoteca (no joke, that’s the Italian word for dance club), I knew I wouldn’t have to talk at all once we hit the dance floor. Dancing is in my language. Oh it felt good; all that frustration that has settled into my body – from trying to express myself with only minimal success and feeling stupid – all of it evaporated, I was able to release it. Funny enough, it was American music night, so I knew all the words to all the songs that played (Madonna, Roxette, etc). In fact, I was probably the only person in the discoteca who fully understood the lyrics. It made me laugh to myself.

So let’s talk about Italian dance clubs: Not that I’ve frequented a ton of American dance clubs (I go to dance night at bars for my fix), I must say that the Italians are a classy bunch. The dance club, which my new friend assured me was totally normal for Italy, was huge. Two big rooms featured different dance floors with different music. Both rooms were full of futon-like couches, which is common I’m told. And both rooms glittered with the lights of disco balls – fitting, methinks.

I had so much fun! My friend assures me that we’re going out dancing again. I can’t wait.