Amy got ready to head out. It was about noon and she had to get some groceries for her house before coming back to work.
John was off to see his mom, who is sick with diabetes- relatable- and so I spent a few minutes planning my day. I decided to walk down to see a big park called Parc de Bastions and I got my route off the internet. It was still raining, but oh we'll. I got my stuff together and, despite my refusal, John slipped 10 francs in my pocket and told me to get something to eat. We hugged and made plans to see each other again at the Cactus Bar the night. Amy would be bartending again.
...
I knew at this point that if I headed in a general northward direction from the river, I'd end up at the train station. What I didn't factor in was that I'd only ever been to the Cactus Bar once- and I found it by accident while lost. I knew it was near a McDonalds, but beyond that- shit. So I kind of just found the station, found the McD's nearby, then wandered up and down the streets near there looking for a landmark. My shoulders were screaming again from the weight of my backpack and guitar, but I had no choice but to keep going, looking for the bar.
Luck again was on my side. I turned up a street lined with restaurants with outside canopies, not recognizing anything, then there, on the far corner *angels sing in glorious harmony* the Cactus Bar! I worked my way inside and met Amy at the top of the stairs and we went down together.
Turns out she's only 19! I could have sworn she was in her early 20's. She's really sweet, too. She got me a salad and told me she's moving back to London to study Journalism. We talked for a while about writing. She loves writing and research, which is wonderful, and she says she has a passion for history as well. I think that's pretty rare these days. When the people started to trickle in she had to get to work. Before long the place as packed and the night went crazy!
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The bar ended up packed wall to wall with loud excited teens just finished with their IB's and ready to unwind. My favourite part about them was that they were drunk, but they were HAPPY! I loved when a song they knew would come on and they would all start to shout the words and dance. The first time I heard the song "Call Me Maybe" it was at my mom's friend Cheri's house a few weeks ago. Her daughter Shelby, 8 or 9 years old I think, was singing it with her friend in the in the living room on repeat. And here I was surrounded by dozens of drunk teenagers screaming it at the top of their lungs! It was hilarious!
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I loved getting to know Amy better and meeting her friends, Mimi and Doreen. I got to meet Mimi later in the night. She works at the restaurant above the bar- a slight girl with two small children and issues with their father. She and I have a lot in common, moving around a lot as kids an now having the urge to keep on moving. Doreen is from Uganda- Erick and Doreen were old friends and he actually introduced me to her first. She was a so much fun- a bit drunk and very sweet. She'd moved around a lot, too, going between Europe and Africa to study. Now she's working to help empower the Ugandan people to help them become more Independant and off of foreign aid.
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Once the bar was closed we headed across the street to another bar still open and sat outside. They had another round of drinks and we all sat around and chatted about life and traveling and what 'home' is. I said I was looking for 'home'. They said "Home is where the heart is." So I said "Then I'm looking for my heart."
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At the end of the night I said au revoir to all my new friends and headed back across the river with my hostess, Doreen. It was a long walk and it was very late and I was so tired. Once we were across the river and Doreen saw me change shoulders with my guitar for the umpteenth time, she insisted on carrying it for me. She insisted, telling me then about her work with the Ugandan people and saying "You have to help yourself, but sometimes that means asking for help from others."
I agreed and told her, "It's all about balance. You know that in this world you can't expect help from anyone, but at the same time, you have to learn to accept help when it is offered- because you're not unworthy of it. I'm working on learning that balance."
So she carried the guitar.
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