I don’t know what to make of Nicki. I think she might be a giant pain in the backside! The nanosecond I met her I thought “here is the weak link in the group! Here is the itch that can’t be scratched!” She seemed bright and bubbly and up for a good time at first but I get the feeling that she has low self-esteem and tries too hard. I know that sounds harsh but I think I have reason to think this way. Last night, we all stayed at the Hostel International in Boston. Trek America had booked three rooms, one male dorm, one female dorm and one mixed dorm. Because Kobus and I are married, we went into the mixed dorm. Rachel, Tracy and Nicki also stayed in the mixed dorm with us. Jokes were banded about regarding Kobus’ new pimp status as the only male in the room with his bitches. I’m an easy going woman so I found these jokes quite funny, actually I had instigated them. That night, Nicki paraded around the room in her t-shirt and a thong! Kobus nearly spontaneously combusted, “Ja, eh, I’m going to go find the lads”. My mouth was wide open, jaw trailing along the carpet as I turned to avert my eyes. Rachel was also taken aback,
“Jeez Nicki! Isn’t it a bit drafty down there?”
I really like Rachel. She is a 26 year old, porcelain skinned, strawberry blonde haired beauty. Her beauty is somewhat disguised by her boyish and crass behaviour but I liked her the second I met her. I admire her “get on with it / fuck off out of my face you annoying cow” attitude that sprinkles her fun loving, easy going persona.
Tracy and I have also hit it off straight away despite our eight year age gap. I know 8 years isn’t a long time but there is a profound difference between an average 21 year old and an average 29 year old. When I was 21, I was only interested in having fun with my friends and I believed the sun rotated around my own arse. Tracy works in a dispensary in a hospital. Before that she was a holiday rep in Ibiza. She’s really independent and confident for such a young girl. She’s cool. I think she likes me too. Yesterday while we walked the Freedom Trail, she told me that she was going to adopt me as an older sister for the week and ask me questions. She reckons I am the most intelligent person in the group because I was reading the guide book about Boston as we were wandering around. In fairness, she’s probably right about that.
This morning, we all went on the Harvard or “Hahvahd” tour. Bostonian’s can’t pronounce the letter “r”. I assume this is because they are mainly of Irish descent. I was excited about the “Hahvahd” tour. I am a bit of a nerd! My mother said that when I was about six I’d bounce around every time we passed the University in Cork, proclaiming that one day I would go to school there. So I nearly wet my knickers at the thought of visiting Harvard. Two students called Colin and Martha brought us on the tour. Both donned maroon university t-shirts and straw bashers. Colin stood on a crate at the Porceillian Gate outside the University and told us to do the “primal scream”. It’s not the real Harvard “primal scream” where the students streak through the University before final exams while onlookers shriek at the exposed “franks and beans” that are shrivelling in the midnight air. We kept our clothes on. No wonder taxpayers hate students!
The tour was good fun. It’s obviously scripted. Colin and Martha bounced along the footpath while dramatically and humorously recalling the history of Harvard. I wonder do they ever get sick of telling the same jokes?
When we got to the statue of who I thought was John Harvard, the first benefactor of the university, I ran up to it, instructing Kobus to take a photo of me rubbing his foot. I had seen other tourists do it so I thought I might as well do it too. Colin was soon to make an example of me. Apparently many of the students piss on the shoe of the statue, which may not even be John Harvard since according to Colin the statue’s sculptor didn’t know what he actually looked like. After swiftly removing my hand from the pissy shoe, I scrambled around in my bag looking for hand sanitizer while Rachel and Kobus broke down laughing.
After the Harvard tour, we had a little wander around Boston, stopping at the Cheers bar for a photo and a quick beverage. The people are not very friendly here! I thought when we went into a coffee shop to get a tea and the famous Chocolate chip cookies we would be greeted with at least “hello” and a smile. All we keep getting from people are grunts and funny stares! I’m not impressed! And it’s such a shame because it’s such a beautiful place. There are lovely green areas, lots of museums and old buildings. And there are loads of bookshops! Aesthetically it’s heavenly. Socially, it’s moronic! Kobus and I won’t be living here after our trip I can tell you!
At about 3pm, we all clamboured into Sheila and headed towards the Berkshire mountains in Western Massachusetts for our first night of camping. We pitched our tents in the forest. Our little village of tents was surrounded by tall trees tucked within the mountain ranges. The stars glistened overhead as we made dinner and drank cheap booze to keep warm. It was bloody freezing! I think I had every scrap of clothing on me that I had brought for the trip. Wearing two pairs of woolie gloves, I clutched my plastic cup of warm wine. I reckoned I should just get a little tipsy before bedtime to help me sleep. What a fine idea Loren! After a cup and a half of wine, I was drunk! So was everyone else! When Rachel suggested we go look for bears, Scott’s eyes widened in horror. He tried to persuade us to go to bed but we all laughed at him. Except Jai, she didn’t really understand what was happening so Verity decided to sign language what Rachel had been trying to say. Being a drama student, her impression of a bear growling frightened Jai so much, she shrieked at Jeong and uttered something in Korean before fleeing to her tent. Jeong giggled as she dashed after her while attempting to explain to Jai that she wasn’t in danger.
The rest of us ventured to bed after midnight. Kobus and I had lined our suit cases on the side of the tent that we thought the wind was hitting in order to provide insulation while we slept. I crawled into my sleeping bag. The sleeping bags we had bought were the cheapest in the store so they were no good at keeping out the cold. Another lesson learnt! You get what you pay for! I pulled the hood of my sleeping bag over my head and zipped the bag right up so only my eyes were visible. Perished by the cold, I lay on the ground listening to Kobus snore and fart through the night. I thought morning would never come. As I lay in silence, my imagination started to run wild. What if I needed to wee in the night and a bear came and ate me? I would just have to hold on until morning!
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