Cuban Night (unfortunately does not equal Cuban boys)

Last Saturday, a couple girls from couch surfing got together in Leiden and went to Cuban Night at the Anthropology Museum. I was super excited. I arrived in Leiden at 5:00…or 17.00 military time which is what I remembered. Of course the time I was actually supposed to be there was 7:00…whoops!
Fortunately, Lily was there early anyway visiting a friend. We found some great stir-fry place where I got my first spicy meal in the last three weeks and then took some time to walk around and get ourselves a little home town lovin’…Pat and Kate...You know you jealous!
Then it was time to meet at the Anthropology museum. We met Giulia who we knew from Amsterdam Museum N8, along with Nicole from Germany, as well as some girls who split off once we got there from Poland, Argentina, and Italy. The best part was that seven of us were my height…not something that happens often (and also a surprise in the country with the tallest people by average.) Of course Lily was a giant among us so it was a lot like Snow White…At the Anthropology Museum we were able to see some great exhibits from all over the world. My favorite was the Turquoise skull from South America…We also had fun dancing…And listening to some Cuban music…Of course me, being the adventurous one, wandered off while no one was watching and found the kiddy section. After dragging the girls over and knew they’d enjoy it, we acted as if we didn’t speak Dutch (and by Dutch we mean pictures) and went, over six years old and with our shoes still on, into the Explorer Bus…After a great photo shoot, we also made the amazing discovery of…A SLIDE! As well as a Polar Bear…Then we went to a lovely restaurant where the 12 ounce bottle of soda I ordered was only one euro less than an alcoholic drink. Of course no one else ordered anything alcoholic, so I stuck with my coke. It’s crazy because I ordered it thinking I’d be able to quench my thirst, BUT they do not offer free tap water as well as refills. So I finished my drink pretty early and then sat there dying of thirst. However there was DELICIOUS olive tapenade! But now I know. It was still a lot of fun...It was a great night. It also ended the way a night at an Anthropology Museum should - an exploration of other people’s cultures involving the practice of greetings. You see, in the Netherlands you greet people by three kisses starting with the right cheek. In Italy, you do two kisses starting with the left. In Argentina, you do one kiss on first meeting (a little too personal for my taste.) In America you handshake, or sometime hug, depending on your pre-correspondence. In Germany you just handshake. So before each of our good byes we had to agree on what greeting we were doing. Pretty funny, but also awesome!
Anyway, the night was great, and I made even more friends. Can’t wait to join these ladies again!!!