Dancing the Night Away

I'm sitting in the kitchen right now. This house filled with nine people is quiet except for the moments of Kate and Lisa making their breakfast. I'm trying not to be too bummed out today because we all said goodbye to Gabriele last night. He has been here for almost a year, and he was offered a job in the best hospital in Italy, so staying here wasn't really an option for him. We took him out for his last night, and it was so much fun! But before I talk about that I should back up a little.

The last few days have been pretty boring. Everyone came home on Sunday, and we were supposed to have the house somewhat in order for the new people who were arriving Monday and Tuesday. Kaitlyn called Sunday morning and informed us that she had the date wrong on her flight and would be here in a few minutes! Erin and I were hoping she wouldn't mind the mess because we had no time to clean! But she arrived and was very understanding and even offered to help clean. She is from LA and was previously working with children with autism. She'll find this job much easier I think. Later that day, she helped me dye my hair, which I told her was her hazing! (Unfortunately the "deep burgandy" which looked brown with a tiny bit of red on the box turned out to be brown with a lot of purple.) We watched two movies that day, so I think I was feeling especially lazy and not ready to start working again! Pan's Laberinth and Hannah and Her Sisters. Two very different movies! I liked both of them, though. I am a big Woody Allen fan, and I think Hannah and Her Sisters has made it to my top 3 favorites of his.

Anyways, the next day, we all had to start getting the house in order, and we had the bosses here. The cleaners never came while we were gone, so we had our work cut out for us. We were also responsible for clearing out a lot of junk that has accumulated for what looked like two or three years! But I LOVE throwing stuff away, so it was kind of fun for me.

Yesterday started out the same as Monday. We all got up and began to finish our cleaning duties. We also went grocery shopping which was MUCH needed and now we are all happy because there is lots of food. Lisa was the first to show up yesterday afternoon. She is from Germany and she is my new roommate. She just finished seconday school and is taking a year off before college. I like her. Siobhan (pronounced "Sha-VON" because Gaelic is crazy) was next to arrive after lunch. She is from Ireland, and she will be here for three weeks before she begins her last year at college in Cork. She is as cute as a button! I really love Irish accents! Anyways, the last to come here was Lennart, who is also from Germany. He is taking a year off before college as well, because apparently he had a choice between doing that or going into the German army for nine months. He was almost silent for the first two hours he was here, but he answered questions asked him, and we figured he would open up in time.

After everyone was settled we had dinner together. May made chicken curry. Mmmmm. Then we all got dressed up and went out for Lele's last night. We started at the Porterhouse for a few drinks. I'm still not drinking beer, but whiskey is better anyways! After a few hours there, we went to the Q Bar for dancing. The dance floor consisted of three couples and a small group of girls. But once all 10 of us went down there it really started to pick up!! I have never dancing that much in all of my life! I was on that dance floor for at least two and a half hours without a break! Even Lennert was out there dancing with us until the very end! I was so happy to see a little bit of personality break through. It was a perfect way for the new people to get to know us as a group and join in. It was so much fun, and they practically had to pull me out the door to come home. We lingered a bit in the kitchen, but eventually I had to say goodbye after two very big hugs.

Now I'm here and trying not to be sad. I'm planning on making it to Italy at some point this winter, so I know that the goodbye is temporary. I don't really feel like working today. We just have to do some meetings and training, and I've done it all before. we'll see if I learn something new.... :)

Until next time,
Claire