La amistad

Fall is finally here and although I hate shopping, I love buying, and I am encouraged to know that relief from the heat is coming when I see sweaters in the store windows.  My new Spanish classes bring me once again to Calle Colon and the throngs of women in high heel shoes managing the cobble stone sidewalk.  I smile not only because I secretly expect to see one fall, but also because I want look as cool as they are holding all those shopping bags.

I am also a little jealous of them hanging out with friends. Laughing, drinking, gossiping and spending money are what make the world go around, and what is sad and pathetic when done alone, is super fun and “chulo” when done with others.  I’ve been introspective and contemplative for three months now, and its time to come up to shallower waters.  But to be clear, I don’t just want friends for partying and shopping.  Oh wait, yes I do. 

The best feeling is laughing with friends until you just can’t breathe and maybe even pee a little bit.  That laughter through tears thing rocks too.  But developing the deep friendships you need to pull this off takes time, opportunity, and perhaps a bit more personality than I can buy.  Laughter cleanses the soul, and as much as I’ve come to enjoy the noise it makes when it is quiet around here, I long for the howl of a good, wet belly laugh. 

My life, which is based on a true story, is full of people I adore.  One of who is coming to see me in a month and I simply can’t wait.  Jenni is the type of person who loves me for what others judge me for, and likes beer, so she is near perfect.  I am planning our trip, detoxing my body, and shopping for shoes that will take me from bar to store to museum and back again.   So I am headed to Colon, and if I don’t come back, please put my picture on the back of a bottle of wine so my friends will know to look for me.

How I feel when I think about my friends…