Weekend in Washington DC
In November of 2013, I had the opportunity to go to a conference in Washington DC with an organization I volunteered with. I was no longer working in Foreign Country, so I hadn't been on a plane since March 2012, and I was thrilled to fly the friendly skies, but bummed that I didn't even need my passport.
I went to the conference with the founders of the organization DM and JM, one of my favorite married couples. During one of the breaks in the conference, DM went to the Starbucks in the lobby for a caffeine pick-me-up. He came back with a small coffee and an incredulous look on his face.
"I ordered a tall blonde," he told me and his wife (both brunettes). We looked at each other to see if perhaps the other understood what he was talking about.
"On the menu, you can ask for a dark, strong coffee, or a medium blend, but the light blend is called a blonde. I asked the barista for a tall blonde and he looked at me like I was harassing him."
JM and I decided to peek into the Starbucks. Surely this was a joke.
Nope! One could indeed order a blonde! A tall blonde!
During the conference, the three of us met some representatives of another chapter, MB and SL. They were quite friendly so we all decided to go out to dinner together that evening. We were all a little surprised how few choices we had. Most restaurants were closed by the time we went out. But we found a great Indian restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal.
After we walked back to the hotel, SL went up to sleep, but the rest of us hung out in the lobby. We noticed a couple of attractive young women going into the hotel bar. DM whispered "tall blonde" because one of the women was indeed a tall blonde.
"She doesn't look a day over 25," he said. I took a closer look.
"Nah, I think she's in her 30s," I replied.
Neither JM nor MB had an opinion.
"No way. Maybe late 20s" DM continued.
"She is not that young."
"Want to make a bet?" Did I want to make a bet? Of COURSE I wanted to make a bet! I LOVE making bets! Win or lose, I enjoy the thrill of making bets and when I win, I expect my reward. And when I lose, I graciously pay up.
DM leaned in and whispered conspiratorially: "Find out her age without her knowing that's what you're doing. $20 says you can't." We shook hands.
MB and I stepped aside. I needed a wing man and MB was it. We planned. I wanted to get the information as naturally as I could. MB was going full-on Mission Impossible with a convoluted plan of how to get her purse to "accidentally" fall, then without her noticing, slip her ID away to look at her date of birth. Or bribing the bartender to tell us her age without her knowing.
"No, no, no.... Look. Let's go in. I'll figure something out. Just follow my lead," I told him.
We walked into the bar, and chose seats close to, but not directly next to, the young women. One was a brunette. My mission was only to find out the age of the blonde, who was sitting closest to me. I asked the bartender for a glass of water. I needed a conversation starter. Plus I really was thirsty and I'm not much of a drinker. The blonde turned her head ever so slightly to see my glass of water. I met her eyes and gave a rueful grin. Then I told MB in a louder-than-necessary voice how I needed that water after walking around so much in DC. I listened to the young women's conversation for a bit. They spoke with an accent. Eastern European perhaps? MB and I continued talking. We mentioned the conference. I could see the young women glancing our way, because our conversation was borderline too loud. So I turned to them and smiled.
Me: "Are you ladies from here?"
Blonde: "No, we're from Russia."
Me: "Oh wow! What are you doing here? Going to school?"
Brunette: "No, we work as liaisons for the government."
Me:" No kidding! Sounds pretty serious! How long have you been doing that?"
Blonde: "7 years."
Me: "7 years? You don't look old enough to be doing any job for 7 years!" They laughed. "How old are you ladies?" I asked.
Blonde: "I'm 34."
Brunette: "I'm 31."
Me: "Wow. I'm really impressed! Good luck with everything. Have a good night."
I gulped down the rest of my water, left a tip, and gave MB a smug look. He looked duly impressed. We stood up and walked out of the bar, right to DM and JM who were discreetly standing outside.
JM: "We heard every word."
DM: "I didn't think you'd do it, but you nailed it." and he held out his hand to shake mine. I took the two $10 he had put in his palm.
I turned to MB and gave him one of the $10 for being my wing man.
Mission accomplished.
The following evening, I had arranged to meet "my best friend I've never met", JS. I knew JS through a mutual friend and she and I got to know each other on Facebook. I was living in El Paso. She was living near DC. But now, here I was! In our nation's capital! So I contacted her and told her I was here and let's meet.
We had a date: dinner then a night out at an Irish pub where her brother would be DJing 80s music. Sounded like a winner. Where was this place? JS told me how to get there by metro from my hotel in the heart of DC.
I have an affection for public transportation. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 26 so public transportation was how I got around for many, many years. On the way there, I was fine. It was late fall, the sun set early, so it was dark although it was only about 6pm, but the streets were full of people. JS and I met and there was hugging and talking and chili-eating and beer-drinking and that was all before we even made it to the pub, where we danced the night away. I left after midnight. I would have to return by metro as well.
The thought of getting to the Washington DC metro at night made me a little nervous. I remembered all of my lessons of a single woman walking the streets of a city at night: walk tall, with a purpose, look slightly pissed off, keep my keys balled in my fists like a weapon. I made it to the metro station without incident and got down the stairs exactly as my train was pulling away. I'd have to wait half an hour. There were few people waiting at the metro station. I sat down on a metal bench. A minute later, a young man of slight build walked down the stairs carrying what looked like a grocery bag. He looked around and saw an empty spot on the metal bench and came and sat next to me, leaving as much space as possible between us, I assume, so that I wouldn't feel threatened.
"Did I miss the train?" he asked.
"Yeah, it left just a minute ago. "
"Ah well. The next one shouldn't take long."
"I think it's due in just under half an hour."
He seemed completely non-threatening so I was happy to chat with him while we waiting for the next train. I'm rather friendly by nature and I think that having lived in Foreign Country for so long also made me a lot more open to talking to random people, as long as I felt safe. Plus, as I said, he was a small man. I probably could have kicked his ass in case of emergency.
I found out he had just come from his uncle's wedding. He was an attorney from Los Angeles and he came to Washington DC to represent his side of the family at the festivities. He was Lebanese so someone had to go to the uncle's wedding and as luck would have it, it was him. After a few minutes, he removed a sealed box from the grocery bag and opened it.
"Would you like some Turkish delight?" he offered.
"No thank you."
"I'm sorry. Some random guy offering you food in the metro station... not a good idea."
"Oh it's not that. I'm just not a fan of Turkish delight. Now, if you had offered me Lebanese sweets, I'd be all over that."
He looked at me wide-eyed, then pulled another sealed box out of the bag. Lebanese sweets! These sweets and the Turkish delight had been given out at the wedding as gifts for the guests and this young attorney had taken some home with him. He opened the package and we shared some until the train came. He asked me how I knew about Lebanese sweets and I told him about my experience living in Foreign Country where I had been introduced to the sticky heavenliness that are Lebanese sweets.
When the train arrived, we got on but he didn't sit next to me, although I wouldn't have minded. I suppose he wanted to be as non-threatening as possible. But since we didn't sit together, we no longer chatted and I didn't get his full name. I would have added him on Facebook.
I made it to my hotel just fine and had a great night's sleep in my cozy hotel room.
The next day was the last day of the conference. After the morning sessions, DM, JM, and I got a taxi to the airport where we'd be heading back to our normal lives.
Thanks DC! It was fun!
