Jewel in the Rough

I got my first case of food poisoning this weekend!

I went to back to Copan Ruinas to pick up a lost ATM card, before heading back to Antigua for a spell of hostel and bar work. I was in town for just about 24 hours, but I managed to eat the wrong thing for dinner. Quesadillas with a bit of cabbage and cilantro on the side. Never eat the vegetables. I woke up at about 11pm not feeling so hot. I woke up at 2am vomiting. It was a long night in the hostel bathroom. Luckily my dormmates claim that they slept soundly through it all, and by about 7 in the morning I was able to keep down some ginger ale. I convinced the dorm manager to let me stay an extra hour after checkout, so I got to sleep til 11. Then I hoisted my pack and stumbled over to the shuttle to Antigua, bought a ticket, and promptly collapsed in one of the chairs. Once the shuttle came I rudely stretched out in back seat, forcing all the others in the van to double up in their seating, but luckily it wasn’t that crowded. After sleeping most of the way to Antigua, I dropped my stuff of at the dorm…and went to work! It was supposed to be my first day training at a bartending job at the Monoloco (Crazy Monkey). I tried my best, but the bar manager was very understanding when I only managed to stay about an hour. I have my first real shift today but it should be easy: it’s ladies night, and I am working the ladies bar. Basically just lots of cuba libres, and other mixers.

I am actually going to be busy now, after months of doing whatever I wanted. I am working at the hostel that I am staying at (the Black Cat), which is 6 shifts a week, 4 1/2 hours each shift, and then I work 4 nights a week at the Monoloco. So, basically, my food, lodging, and booze are all paid for, and I am getting some cash from the bar job. If I really get motivated I am going to try to sneak in a few hours of Spanish a day too, but that might be a little ambitious. It will definitely feel good not to have a steady stream of outgoing cash for a while. It is amazing how easy it is to spend and spend and spend.

 Wish me luck tonight.