Shyness Got the Better of Me
What I hoped was going to be a wonderful and fun night started out just like my Friday night out. Rain was pouring down so hard that even after the Mass ended (1 hour), Rolly & I had to wait at the door of the Parish of Saint Andrew at Kalayaan corner South Avenue (in Makati) until it kind of subsided into a drizzle. Only then did we brave the rain to walk towards the exit gates only to find out that both were quite flooded already!
Good thing we saw some tricycles coming in to get passengers. Getting one, though, posed a challenge as we weren't the only people lining the church's round structure and trying to get some form of transportation. Another good thing I noticed (although it's not really good to see them out in the rain working) were children running all over the place contracting with both customers and tricycles to earn some money. I consoled myself I will be helping them in a way, so we commissioned a young boy to get us a tricycle and he did and I paid him as I got in. Then we were on to our destination just a block away.
Wet from the rain, we went inside the Caffe Maestro, an Italian Bistro, which offered a "Red Hot Latino Night". I was so determined to get there on time because I heard free salsa lessons are offered. Thinking it might be quite a high-end type of establishment, I also prepared for possible expensive dining and I guessed right. No food was priced below P200 (no offense meant). It's just that the free-salsa-lessons phrase just put me in a trance and has drawn me to it blindly. Ok, ok, no more guilt feelings about this out-of-the budget expense (remember, you got yourself into this)!
Upon observation, I realized the crowd was made up of salsa enthusiasts. Seeing them on the dance floor just made me cringe and wonder what I was getting into. This is the first time I went into a club and didn't have the nerve to join the rest of the dancing bodies. I'd usually be there upon entering a club, enjoying myself and letting go. But that night was different. I didn't have a salsa dancing partner. Though I gave Rolly a crash course on the basics, it wasn't enough. So we chose to stay at a deserted area near the dance floor, ordered pasta & drinks then started observing the moves. I sought comfort in the richness of the flavor of spaghetti with seafoods in tomato sauce (I don't remember exactly what they called it) and kept an eye out for other beginners. Rolly and I danced to some Meringue, Bachata, Salsa and Cha Cha Cha tunes beside our table. We were the only pair dancing outside the dancing area but who cares? hehehe! So we tried to enjoy ourselves.
At one time, I saw a girl being taught by 1 good male dancer through simple patterns, which I was sure I would have performed better (down, ego, down!). It was quite comforting to know there was indeed somebody who's a beginner like me. The guy led the girl away from the dance floor and near our table for additional tips. I got ready to raise my hand but stopped myself from saying, "Please teach me, too!" when he didn't even turn his head in our direction and just walked straight out towards the bar. I was stumped! (...not sure if I used this word correctly...)
It was not until 10pm that a foreigner, a good lead dancer, started to call us up out of our seats to gather behind him for a few new steps. I was so happy and literally jumped out of my seat to get a good view. I could not hear all that he was saying but I followed his feet and learned 3 new steps. After that, Rolly saw that I was still dissapointed that I wasn't able to dance as I would have liked to. So he told me to approach that guy who was earlier teaching the beginner to dance with me and then maybe, I might learn more turning tricks. 15 minutes later I still couldn't get myself to do the asking that I gave up and, with a sad face, I asked Rolly to take me home. This night was a far cry from my gimik 2 nights ago, where my companions & I couldn't resist yelling "Ole!" & "Sige, sige!" while we were dancing as the band played on.
If only I had asked that guy to teach me even just through one song...but shame, my shyness got the better of me.
Good thing we saw some tricycles coming in to get passengers. Getting one, though, posed a challenge as we weren't the only people lining the church's round structure and trying to get some form of transportation. Another good thing I noticed (although it's not really good to see them out in the rain working) were children running all over the place contracting with both customers and tricycles to earn some money. I consoled myself I will be helping them in a way, so we commissioned a young boy to get us a tricycle and he did and I paid him as I got in. Then we were on to our destination just a block away.
Wet from the rain, we went inside the Caffe Maestro, an Italian Bistro, which offered a "Red Hot Latino Night". I was so determined to get there on time because I heard free salsa lessons are offered. Thinking it might be quite a high-end type of establishment, I also prepared for possible expensive dining and I guessed right. No food was priced below P200 (no offense meant). It's just that the free-salsa-lessons phrase just put me in a trance and has drawn me to it blindly. Ok, ok, no more guilt feelings about this out-of-the budget expense (remember, you got yourself into this)!
Upon observation, I realized the crowd was made up of salsa enthusiasts. Seeing them on the dance floor just made me cringe and wonder what I was getting into. This is the first time I went into a club and didn't have the nerve to join the rest of the dancing bodies. I'd usually be there upon entering a club, enjoying myself and letting go. But that night was different. I didn't have a salsa dancing partner. Though I gave Rolly a crash course on the basics, it wasn't enough. So we chose to stay at a deserted area near the dance floor, ordered pasta & drinks then started observing the moves. I sought comfort in the richness of the flavor of spaghetti with seafoods in tomato sauce (I don't remember exactly what they called it) and kept an eye out for other beginners. Rolly and I danced to some Meringue, Bachata, Salsa and Cha Cha Cha tunes beside our table. We were the only pair dancing outside the dancing area but who cares? hehehe! So we tried to enjoy ourselves.
At one time, I saw a girl being taught by 1 good male dancer through simple patterns, which I was sure I would have performed better (down, ego, down!). It was quite comforting to know there was indeed somebody who's a beginner like me. The guy led the girl away from the dance floor and near our table for additional tips. I got ready to raise my hand but stopped myself from saying, "Please teach me, too!" when he didn't even turn his head in our direction and just walked straight out towards the bar. I was stumped! (...not sure if I used this word correctly...)
It was not until 10pm that a foreigner, a good lead dancer, started to call us up out of our seats to gather behind him for a few new steps. I was so happy and literally jumped out of my seat to get a good view. I could not hear all that he was saying but I followed his feet and learned 3 new steps. After that, Rolly saw that I was still dissapointed that I wasn't able to dance as I would have liked to. So he told me to approach that guy who was earlier teaching the beginner to dance with me and then maybe, I might learn more turning tricks. 15 minutes later I still couldn't get myself to do the asking that I gave up and, with a sad face, I asked Rolly to take me home. This night was a far cry from my gimik 2 nights ago, where my companions & I couldn't resist yelling "Ole!" & "Sige, sige!" while we were dancing as the band played on.
If only I had asked that guy to teach me even just through one song...but shame, my shyness got the better of me.
posted by Giggle at 10:46 PM
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