Our world is huge. At the same time, it's teeny. I met Liel on Saturday. He's from Israel. Liel came with us to Mr. Fish- the daytime party disco I went to on Saturday with 2 other backpackers and 3 staff from The Point where we had the time of our lives shaking our tush's, consuming overpriced beer, and making eye contact (mostly me) with handsome men (but also the fabulous Mateo). Liel and I were chatting about where we were from and when he told me Israel, I responded 'beautiful country!' So of course he asked if I had been (duh-twice! Thanks mom and dad!) but he didn't ask me anything about it, just where I was from. I always say Washington D.C. because it's where I was actually born and it's much cooler than saying Maryland. The normal response is 'Ohhh Washington.' Then I correct them, adding the 'D.C.' and explaining the difference. Well Liel was different. He said 'but where are you actually from? Because no one is from D.C.' Well i begged to differ! I explained my story and Liel told me he lived in Rockville. Then we got to street names and I asked if he went to Walter Johnson. He sure did! He graduated in 2007 but I didn't know anyone from that year. Teeny world, ey? The next day we were talking about vegetarian food and vegetarianism as a group of about 5 people and the topic of falafel came up as a delicious vegetarian option. I then proceeded to tell Liel that both the best schwarma and falafel I have had in my life has not been from Israel, but in fact in Maryland, at the kosher deli where I (and Jason adn Hariel) used to work, Max's. Well not only does Liel know Max's, he's been to Momi's house- the man who makes the falafel and schwarma. Whatttttt???? The world is freakishly small. Well last night I decided to grill out on the terrace so I took counts as to who wanted to contribute a few Soles to my vegetable-only barbecue. I grilled eggplant, zucchini, red onions, spring onions, and pineapple over a wood-burning fire. I had 7 people with me eating warm veggies as they came off of the wood-burning grill. I offered Liel the use of my computer for his ipod touch as he told me he didn't have any music and I have over 50GB. No problemo! My taste in music is eclectic and there is something for everyone- except country and heavy metal lovers (though probably not the same person...). Liel connected his ipod and wasn't sure how to respond to the message that popped up. I came over to assist and thought I knew what I was doing and quickly/without thinking too much, clicked the option that said 'restore ipod.' Mistake. Huge mistake. Because what proceeded to happen over the next 30 minutes was that everything that Liel had on his ipod was replaced with the data from Thomas' ipod. Now you're probably thinking, 'now wait just a second there Lauren, who is Thomas?' The strange thing is- I have no freaking clue. Somehow Liel ended up with pictures, messages, phone numbers, and icons from a complete stranger's ipod/iphone. There was 1 Thomas staying at the hostel, but he took a look at the data and it was all foreign. Plus Tom didn't own any Apple products. The worst part- Liel's 1129 pictures from South America had all been replaced with Thomas'. Liel went to the lower level to acquire internet to see if he could undo what had been done in some magical way. He was unluckily unsuccessful. While I felt horrible, Liel seemed surprisingly calm as I would have been flipping out if that had happened to me. He told me that he had accepted the situation and that there was nothing he could do. Apparently there is still a possibility that he can recover his old data but I don't think he was feeling too optimistic. Luckily I didn't have to feel the embarrassment in front of his face too much longer as he had a 12 hour bus ride and left 30 minutes later. I bought him a beer, didn't make him pay for the BBQ, and sent him on his way with a hug and another 'sorry...'
On anther note, I had a letter waiting for me in the bar yesterday from Matt. It read:
"Hey Lauren, I can't bare to tell you this to your face so i've written you this note. First of all thanks for taking me on for these few days on the bar. It's been a ball but a few days ago I also applied to work at The Wild Rover and today they got back to me to offer me a position as bar manager. I've gone to check it out and I'm afraid to say i've taken the position. It's a paid job and they have a pool! So anyways, thanks again and see you soon. Matt. P.S. I'll be back later to collect my stuff.'
My heart jumped into my throat. I had just hired this guy, turning down an awesome couple from New Zealand simply because Matt could stay for at least 3 months. He really had grown on me. The reception Manager, Kate from Montreal walked by and I showed her the note with a blank look on my face. She looked at me and said 'well the good news is, he'll have to pay for the last few nights he has slept here because he doesn't yet qualify for free room and board since he didn't stay for 2 weeks. I was pissed. I mentioned that when I met Eoghan, the general manager and bar manager from The Wild Rover, our hostel competitor and rival here in Arequipa, he told me that he had heard a lot about me and that if I didn't like working at The Point that I could go work for him. Kate told me that it was common for Eoghan to do that and that apparently he had won Matt over. Again- frustrated! I couldn't wait for my afternoon chat with my read-headed ex employee about how much I didn't appreciate what he was doing. I went on with my day, ran some errands, and returned to the hostel to see Elsa, my almost no longer bartender as she left this morning. I showed Elsa the note from Matt. While she was holding the note, I saw something on the back of the paper. I took the paper from Elsa's hands and read aloud 'April Fool's Amiga.' I had officially been April Fooled. I walked into the kitchen where Matt was preparing his dinner. He looked at me with a grin that said it all: 'Gotcha!' I was still angry from thinking I was going to have zero bartenders after the weekend, but so incredibly relieved that my little leprechaun man was staying! I am in the process of planning revenge.
On a final note- yesterday was my parents 33rd wedding anniversary. We skyped last night and briefly caught up. Love you guys! Tomorrow marks 4 weeks until my flight home. Yikes!
