In the interim

Hello from Mumbai!

There are some moments in life where you step back and appreciate the randomness in your life. I had one of those moments right around Binghamton yesterday driving in the freezing rain in a black rental Chrysler with a boy I probably would never have met except through research towards the Newark airport and a flight to Mumbai.

Since it’s been a while since I’ve written here, let me catch you up. My time in Rwanda was expectedly cut short for multiple reasons that would not surprise anyone who has worked internationally.  The three of us received the final news on my birthday, February 8, that we could leave Kigali. We were given a carte blanche for the next two weeks and were told to meet in Mumbai on March 1. One of the boys decided to fly to India early to explore the southern regions. I decided to go back to Ithaca.

It isn’t often that I get two weeks off. It might not happen again while I remain a grad student. While I enjoyed my time in Rwanda and like to think that I have a travelling spirit, I was exhausted and bored and lonely. I missed my friends. I missed my house. I missed having control of my life.  Therefore, I gave up two weeks of “vacation” in favor of my normal, hectic, grad student life.

I arrived in Ithaca on the afternoon of February 15^th. It was thirty degrees, and I had no coat. Eric and I took the bus into town. He got off at an earlier stop. It was strange to finally be on my own after a month.  I trudged home with my backpack and ukulele. The first time back in my house, I simply walked around looking at everything.  The richness of it all overwhelmed me: painted walls, hardwood floors, carpet in my room, warmth from the heater.

I quickly got back into my dancing routine (though it took a couple of days for me to be able to dance straight). I just happened to come home in time for two ballroom competitions: Binghamton and MADC.

I got 8th place in Gold Standard Foxtrot/Tango with a wonderful TBA partner at Binghamton.

And the following week at MADC, I danced with Josef and completed nine consecutive double reverse spins in waltz (I don’t expect that to make sense. Just know that it was really cool.)

I had a lovely time back in Ithaca seeing good friends and just getting  a handle on life. Now I’m off on my next adventure!

Rhythm is gonna get you!

See my introduction to this series here.

After my wonderful start with Smooth, I quickly changed into my new Latin dress for the Rhythm part of the day. I had some uneasiness about this new dress…it was completely backless and very short. One side was covered in red stones. It was by far the sexiest thing I’d ever worn. I unraveled my French braid and retwisted it ponytail English braid for more movement.

The reason I hadn’t worn this dress all semester is that I’m not allowed to wear fancy clothes until my partner and I compete in Silver. He was completely new at the beginning of the semester, and I had told him that my goal for us was to compete in Silver by the end. He agreed and was amazingly enthusiastic about learning the seven dances and all of the crazy technique that goes into them.

He was the one who would beg me to stay after practice to go over steps. He was the one who would say: “No! One more run-through. It’s 10:30? I don’t care; I’ll stay up all night to finish my work. Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaraaaaaaaaaaaaaah, one more time.” In other words, he is wonderful. 🙂

By the time Columbia came around, we knew that we weren’t at a Silver level of dancing despite all of our practice. It was our last time dancing together though, so we decided to register for both Bronze and Silver and see what happened.

We flew through the first rounds of Bronze Cha Cha, Rumba, and Swing. We were lookin’ good and having fun. We ended up getting 6th place in Swing. For Silver rhythm, we got cut the first round. We were ok with that; it was what we expected.

I was starting to run out of steam at this point. I laid down and almost didn’t get up for the Fun Dances. Partner wouldn’t have that.

The next day…we competed in Bronze and Silver Latin. Rhythm had warmed us up. We were ready to put on a show. We danced our first round of Silver. Cha Cha/Rumba was tolerable. Samba/Jive…well, our samba was pretty funny, but we rocked the Jive. Our number was 397, and we weren’t expecting to see it on the screen.

We watched one of the announcers slowly type the callbacks on the screen. 377…387…402… We looked at each other with a “good job” and a high five. We made our goal even if we didn’t get called back.

Then the cursor backed up. We watched with unbelieving eyes as 397 came up on the screen. We had a callback for Cha Cha/Rumba. Neither of us could say anything more than incoherent omigod!!! what just happened?? callback? WE’RE SO AWESOME!

Same thing happened for Samba/Jive. And again for Cha Cha/Rumba.

THREE SILVER CALLBACKS. First semester dancing together.

A Smooth Start

See my introduction to this series here.

I soon realized that I was the first of my team members to make it to the ballroom. I sent a few quick texts and then hurried to the bathroom to make the best of my hair and makeup.  My partner arrived soon after with my dress. This was our last competition together. We had improved so much and worked so hard. So far, this is how we had done…

Cornell Comp: 6th in Silver Viennese Waltz at Cayuga Comp
DCDI: 6th in Silver Smooth Foxtrot/Viennese Waltz; Semi-finals in Gold Smooth W/T/F/Vw
Ohio: 4th in Gold Smooth W/F and 6th in Gold Smooth T/Vw

My smooth partner is so much fun to dance with. He would scour youtube videos of cool moves and then eagerly text me when he found one he wanted to use. He put together all of our routines and was never afraid to throw something in at the last minute.

We competed at Gold at DCDI and Ohio completely by accident (because we were late for the Silver rounds). This time, we were going to make it on time and dance at our own level! So we signed up for Silver. It had never occurred to us to think of ourselves as Gold dancers. We were barely Silver at the beginning of the semester. We just weren’t that good yet. Even when our teammates suggested that we switch to Gold, we were like nahhhhhhhhh. 

Despite the crowded floor and my sleep deprivation, we sailed into the finals for W/F and T. My partner’s parents were there to see him dance. This was the first time they had seen him in action. Here’s what they recorded.

When the music ended, we walked off the floor pleased with ourselves but with no expectations. We each thought that we had danced tolerably…maybe we would get 3rd or 4th.

In ballroom competitions when awards are announced, the MC  will go from 6th place to first place saying 6th place, couple number ____, (insert names); 5th place, couple _____ (names), and so on. So we were listening for number 204.

The MC called 6th place

…not us.

The MC called 5th place

…not us.

The MC called 4th place

…not us…

Partner and I look at each other…no way…………..

…

…

The MC calls 3rd place

..

not us…

.

Partner and I are clutching each other’s hands now. This is it.

…

.

.

The MC calls 2nd place…………….

.

.

and it was NOT US.

MC calls: FIRST PLACE, COUPLE NUMBER 204

!

It was us.

We had won. Not only that, we had won in both W/F and T. We had surpassed all of our goals for this semester and had an amazing time doing so. It was such a pleasure dancing with my partner. He has the most incredible attitude about dance and is such fun to be around. This was the best semester of dancing I’ve had so far. I couldn’t be happier about the way things turned out.

Just for fun, take a look at our Viennese Waltz.

…and all of this happened before 11am. Stay tuned for the rest!

I’ve earned my first blood blisters!

(and other happy things)

Last night I went contra dancing for the second time.  Contra dancing is fun because you can get good just by being spun around AND because you end up dancing with everyone. In fact, I only danced once with the boys that I came with. Every single other dance I was claimed immediately by one of the men there. Actually, SP had to reserve me a dance before, and then I had to turn down three men saying “oh, I already have a partner for this dance.” It made me think I was in a Jane Austen novel. Usually at a dance, I get frustrated because there aren’t enough guys. Last night, however, I was frustrated (mildly) that I couldn’t dance more with my boys because I was always taken. It was a singular predicament.

One of the older men said it was a pleasure to watch me dance. That made me smile. A few remarked how this couldn’t be my first time. They didn’t believe it was my second time either until I told them I did ballroom.

I danced barefoot because my shoes restricted the movement a little too much. (“Well, you’re a lively one to dance with.”). After three hours, it felt as though I had taken sand paper to the balls of my feet.

Did that stop me? No. I had a wonderful night with my ballroomies and friends!

Other happy things, you ask?

1. I passed statistics!
2. I am DONE with my semester!
3. My friend Sarah graduates from A&M today!
4. …and last but not least, my friend Alicia IS GETTING MARRIED. 😀

Life is awesome.