hanging on by a bare mayonaisse

Once Cindy and Jeff found out it was my birthday last Tuesday, they promised we would celebrate during the weekend after the first few days of school. And celebrate we did!

It started on Friday evening as we got off the bus from school and walked to a local watering hole that both Cindy and Jeff knew called Frederico's. Joining us were Richard and Bridie, and our collective thirsts for cold beer. We ordered a round, a little food, and began a nice conversation. As the night closes in, I notice that as the waiters bring more rounds, they keep a running tally on a small yellow pad. The math teacher in me sees that it's a 10 x 5 array! I point out that we've had 26 beers so far, and I wonder if any table has ever filled that array of 50 beers. Seeing as how we'd already gone more than halfway, why not go for the whole enchilada? That was the opinion of the others at the table, and the challenge was on! The waiters must have eventually figured out what we were doing, because they stopped asking if we wanted more, and just took away our empty glasses and plunked down new ones before we could blink. We also played some cards, betting packets of condiments (and small amounts of money) to make it more interesting. We filled that card up, and were even given some complimentary beers by the waiters for our bravado. Of course, I was credited the idea for the challenge, and blamed for any decisions thereafter.

Richard and Bridie went home, but we picked up Maggie and headed to Rhino, a pub just down the street from my apartment. Great atmosphere, and a live band, though everyone insisted that the bands are usually better. These guys were a bit hit-or-miss, and I remember thinking at one point, "how are we supposed to dance to a Creed song?!" All in all, a great night.

Saturday was supposed to be a day where a few of us were going to go to school to get some work done, but when we went to pick up Jeff and Josh from the restaurant where they had lunch, they ordered two more glasses for us to help them drink the giant bottle of beer they'd ordered. The weather was lovely, and the invitation too good to pass up, so we put off our work and had a great afternoon sitting in the sun while chatting.

Later that night, we meet up at Jeff's for some darts and cards before going out to a club. Flavia has put our names on the list for a place called The History, where the music changes to a new decade every half hour, and the floor lights up like Studio 54 (or what I imagine Studio 54 was). After the craziest entrance into a bar I've ever experienced (men dressed in all black, people handing you cards, taking your cards, opening doors, closing doors...I felt like a celebrity), we checked our coats and proceeded to dance for three hours straight. No stopping (there was a bar right on the dance floor), no sitting, no resting. The music was really fun, and team America definitely showed the Brazilians a thing or two about dancing (people were looking at us like they'd never seen The Sprinkler before! Imagine that!). I got home around 3:30am, and we left a few of us there to continue on the night!

What an awesome (two day) birthday celebration and introduction into Brazilian nightlife!