I'm in my hostel after a fraught
day, drinking my third beer when a tsunami of personality, in the form of a
beautiful blond bursts into the room:
"HIMYNAMEISBROOKEIM22FROMTHESTATESNABRASKAWHATACOOLHOSTELTHEYDOPIZZAHERELETSHAVEPIZZAHAVEYOUGUYSTRIEDARAKWHOWANTSADRINKIAMGOINGTOGETAJUGOFSANGRIA - AWESOME". Like a shooting star Brooke from Nabraska is off to the bar. I look around the room at the wreckage of people knocked off their feet by the shock wave of optimistic enthusiasm.
At the bar we can hear Brooke at six decibels above everything else: "WHATACOOLBARHOWLONGHAVEYOUWORKEDHEREIWILLHAVEAJUGOFSANGRIABETTERMAKEITTWOICANTELLITSGOINGTOBEAGREATNIGHT - AWESOME"
Then she is back and placing her intoxicating pair of jugs on the table, immediately sits opposite the most grizzled curmudgeon in the room.
"HIWHATSYOURNAMEHOWLONGHAVEYOUBEENINBALIWHEREHAVEYOUBEENTRAVELLING????"
"I'm Laen, had a shit day. Lost my credit card and had to rent a goddam motorbike, which I can't afford, and visit every goddam place that I went yesterday. In this stinkin' heat with the traffic and all. Then I had to call Australia to cancel it, but my phone wouldn't work, so I had to pay ten stinkin' dollars, which I can't afford, to use the hotel phone. The cow at ANZ was no help and now I have to get my sister to send me money to the stinkin' Western Union.
Yes I've been travelling for about 5 months and I've just come from Vietnam. What a shit-hole that was, let me tell you ...".
An unstoppable wave of optimism just crashed onto an immovable wall of pessimism. Brooke's perfect L.A. smile did not wax or wane, but stayed frozen on her flawless face, radiating out from perfect Hollywood teeth. The Joker would be proud of her.
Then her gaze drifts lazily two feet to my left. "HIMYNAMEISBROOKEIMFROMAMERICA", she offers the guy next to me.
"Hi I'm Jeff from Brisbane and I'm here for the surfing. What a cool place eh?"
"AWESOME!!"
Two hours later Brooke and Jeff are examining each others tonsils in the pool and I am scowling into my 10th beer, muttering: "awesome".
Despite the outward appearances, I was having a pretty good day.
"HIMYNAMEISBROOKEIM22FROMTHESTATESNABRASKAWHATACOOLHOSTELTHEYDOPIZZAHERELETSHAVEPIZZAHAVEYOUGUYSTRIEDARAKWHOWANTSADRINKIAMGOINGTOGETAJUGOFSANGRIA - AWESOME". Like a shooting star Brooke from Nabraska is off to the bar. I look around the room at the wreckage of people knocked off their feet by the shock wave of optimistic enthusiasm.
At the bar we can hear Brooke at six decibels above everything else: "WHATACOOLBARHOWLONGHAVEYOUWORKEDHEREIWILLHAVEAJUGOFSANGRIABETTERMAKEITTWOICANTELLITSGOINGTOBEAGREATNIGHT - AWESOME"
Then she is back and placing her intoxicating pair of jugs on the table, immediately sits opposite the most grizzled curmudgeon in the room.
"HIWHATSYOURNAMEHOWLONGHAVEYOUBEENINBALIWHEREHAVEYOUBEENTRAVELLING????"
"I'm Laen, had a shit day. Lost my credit card and had to rent a goddam motorbike, which I can't afford, and visit every goddam place that I went yesterday. In this stinkin' heat with the traffic and all. Then I had to call Australia to cancel it, but my phone wouldn't work, so I had to pay ten stinkin' dollars, which I can't afford, to use the hotel phone. The cow at ANZ was no help and now I have to get my sister to send me money to the stinkin' Western Union.
Yes I've been travelling for about 5 months and I've just come from Vietnam. What a shit-hole that was, let me tell you ...".
An unstoppable wave of optimism just crashed onto an immovable wall of pessimism. Brooke's perfect L.A. smile did not wax or wane, but stayed frozen on her flawless face, radiating out from perfect Hollywood teeth. The Joker would be proud of her.
Then her gaze drifts lazily two feet to my left. "HIMYNAMEISBROOKEIMFROMAMERICA", she offers the guy next to me.
"Hi I'm Jeff from Brisbane and I'm here for the surfing. What a cool place eh?"
"AWESOME!!"
Two hours later Brooke and Jeff are examining each others tonsils in the pool and I am scowling into my 10th beer, muttering: "awesome".
Despite the outward appearances, I was having a pretty good day.
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