Day 11

Day 11: Being An Adult

Today was spent mostly on the bus. I saw Ian through the window saying good-bye to some people but I didn't get out of the bus. I was sitting there thinking I should get out but being me, I didn't.

We got some new people. None of them are even close to being RG. A perfect looking couple sat in front of me and acted like they were in love. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

At our first stop at some shopping mall, we saw Tim and arranged to meet up for lunch. I spent an hour trying to find the shoes that I saw yesterday, unsuccessfully. When I came a minute later than the time we arranged, Tim had to point it out. I love it when people are on time so I had to make sure he knew my reputation of coming when said I would. After arguing about it, he let me have my way.

At our next stop, Tim stayed and talked with us. Found out he's a really picky eater.

On the bus I started getting really bad stomach cramps while everyone was running across the bus, playing games. Would've loved to join in but it hurt too much to move. The couple, sitting in front of us, noticed and kept looking at me weirdly. Thankfully the pain passed and I was able to enjoy the scenery.

We drove past orange fields. There were endless rows of orange bushes. They were almost rectangular, dressed up with plump juicy oranges. I also saw a few trucks full of orange crates driving on the never-ending highways with the orange sunset in the background. It was beautiful.

When we got to our destination (a park), we were paired up with other people. Although our tour guide tried to separate all the guys and girls, some people started complaining so Lauren and I got to be with the left-over guy (and another woman). The guy (or man, since he was in his 30s) was very considerate. He offered to carry all our bags and let us choose where we wanted to sleep. Lauren and I got the best spot - the bedroom. The woman got the couch ('cause she wanted it) and the guy got the fold-out bed.

The room next to us has four new guys so some of them were over here (congratulating our guy on getting to be with three females, as if he had anything to do with it). Some 30 year old Scottish guy wouldn't leave. He was so self-conscious and sensitive, I wanted to tell him to toughen up. I don't know why but it makes me really uncomfortable when grown-ups (especially men) are overly self-conscious. Maybe it's because I don't like to pity anyone but with them I can't help it.

It's cool how age doesn't matter on this tour - everyone's here just because they want to travel. It's great! I would've never talked with these people otherwise. I took advantage of no one knowing how old I was and talked to the 30 year olds as if we were all the same age. If I was home, I'd usually feel a bit intimidated but here I did not care which I felt really good about. Definitely a nice confidence boost.

Later, Brad (the guy staying with us) mentioned how we (Lauren and I) looked really young. So maybe my pretending to be a real adult didn't work as well as I thought.

At dinner, Tim sat next to me (even though there were lots of empty seats all around the room). Even tiny things like that make my trip that much better. The dinner was ok. I didn't overdo on the dessert like last time. A girl at our table said that Keith actually got an underage hooker in Las Vegas and boasted about it. What a sleazy creep.

Tim was acting his usual boyish self and I got to talk with him which was nice. There was another couple sitting with us (my favourite one) so talked with them for a bit as well.