V Nights

I went to town Thursday evening to enjoy some true American food in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday: pizza. Giordano’s makes pizza in three sizes: small, medium, and extra large. Although it feels excessive to order an extra large pizza for two people, food is one thing that is always supersized in this country, so titling the large pizza extra large kind of makes sense, and ordering one for two people has begun to feel a bit more normal. I need to remember not to do that in America though or I will be eating pizza for at least the following three days! Size aside, the pizza was great: half BBQ chicken, half spicy Thai chicken. Sweet and spicy in perfect harmony.

Following the dinner we decided to head down to V-Bar where a company Christmas party was being held. I have never gone to V-Bar on a Thursday and was pleasantly surprised by the packed dance hall, costume party, and music going to till midnight (it typically cuts off around 10pm). The theme of the party was “International” and so people were dressed as geishas, Egyptian kings and queens, tourists, and other fun outfits. At one point, a group of about 10 people busted into an impromptu (yet planned) “Beat It” performance which truly did honor to Michael Jacksons name. It was awesome!

Friday was “Fiesta Night” at V Bar, so a bunch of us decided to hit it up. We got there around 5:30pm, began dancing around 6, and didn’t stop till midnight! Jordan and Dan were celebrating their last weekend on the island and it was a really fun way to say bye and send them off. At one point “Empire State of Mind” came on and Lili, Dan, and I busted out our collective New York pride and honored the state we all love so much. Everyone was in rare form and the dancing was better than ever.

Saturday was the spectacular Thanksgiving feast at the Charge D’affair’s house, and being that I was too full to move I feared my three night dancing parade might be cut a night short. However, after a few hours of laying on the couch I was functioning at about 75% and figured what better way to feel better from over eating than to dance it off? So back to the V Bar we went to dance off those calories and enjoy one last evening in the “big city.”

Returning home Sunday, my body felt like it had been through a marathon. I fell asleep around 9pm and didn’t wake up until my snooze had been hit three or four times. Still feeling the effects of the Dramamine from the ferry the day before I hazily went about my school day before returning home and sleeping for another three hours. It’s now 8:30 and as I write this I feel myself sinking into the comfortable calm before sleep. I can say I have successfully carried out my first dance marathon in Apia and although I am exhausted now, I know it will only be a matter of time before the dance party returns. If I have learned one thing here, it is to dance freely and frequently!