Partying

Today, I had my first day off since the week started. I took advantage of it too! We were supposed to attend a graduation party for a temple member's daughter. I thought at first that I was not going to go because I did not really know the girl but then I remembered that her mom was always there for us so I got up, bought her a present, and decided to go. I found a dress in my closet that I had only worn once before and actually forgotten that I had it. Actually, Nan bought it for me as a graduation present. It is one of those sixties style, totally black dresses that wears off the shoulder, has a little polka-dot ribbon that ties at the waist, and the skirt flares out. The only thing is that I was worried that the dress would not fit because I know for a fact that I gained some weight. It turned out that the dress fit the same way it did a year ago!
The party was done with mostly Trinidadian soca music and some reggae, chutney-soca, and the good ole parang music. Oh, and my boy, Elvis Crespo with "Tu Sonrisa" (your smile). When the music started, no one wanted to get up and dance. For me, it was almost unbearable. Music wastin' and everybody sittin' down! Finally, I got up and started to dance by myself. Everyone else jumped in after. Two hours passed as if they were only a half hour! We left after midnight but it didn't seem to matter as much. There is a big difference when you are on the dance floor as opposed to sitting and watching those on the dance floor. Time.
Last week, we attended a party that my brother's boss was hosting. They are Indians and when they told me party, I got dressed up in a little sleeveless top with a very low neck cut and a skirt that reached to my knees. We arrived there and the people were dressed in saris, shalwar/khameez, etc.! The strangest thing happened there. When we first walked in, we only knew the boss guy, one lady and Vin introduced us to a Rabbi that comes in where he works all the time. At the time, I did not know he was a Rabbi but when I put out my hand to shake his, he held my head in his hands and gave me a blessing and a kiss on my forehead. I thought it was a very sweet gesture for a first meeting. Whatever he said in his blessing, I could tell that he was sincere because I got an instantly happy feeling.
Now back to the party. For the while we sat at our tables, there was an indian woman dressed in a sari and all her finest jewelry just staring at us. I smiled at her several times and even nodded hello but her face seemed so frozen! the lady just kept staring. I felt as if my family had become specimens for this lady!
After a while, I figured that there was nothing to do, after all, it was a party and I was wearing what I thought were party clothes. Furgie was dressed in pretty much the same kind of clothes and when the music started, she was up on the dance floor. A little while later, Vin even started to boogey down! When Vin is dancing, his head, his shoulders and his waist all move at the same time. It is something you gotta see to believe. Then I figured that it was time for me to have some fun. I was moving in four inch heels! Nan had kicked hers off a long time before. While up there, an older guy came up to me saying that he wanted to dance with me. I danced for a little then moved back to Furgie. She was looking at him as if he was a wierdo. He probably noticed. In this party, all the music was Indian and everyone else there understood the lyrics but I realized something. Music has a power greater than words. It crosses languages and cultures. I cannot dance to Indian music as well as I can move to Soca but I learnt one good thing from Furgie, dance and forget about how you are looking out there and what other people will think about you. Just enjoy yourself. It works!