shoutout to helen (and any other folk music fans) and margaret, my current favorite travel buddy

so, though being a bit homesick/companion sick, i wound up having fun today. at a loss of what to do my first evening in Hobart (spending every moment trying to get my plans set), i thought, i'll at least go walk outside. find a park or a bench to sit on to eat my dinner/snack, and call my Lalla, TAS farm people and maybe others. First, a crazy guy walks down the deserted street (seriously! at 8 pm! 1 car or pedestrian every minute or two! so empty!) shouting expletives while i'm on the phone with someone telling me i can't woof for them because they're not free during the day but that i can stay in their woofer accomodations if i'd like. ..... wow!

Then on the way back i'm walking by and there's a signboard out saying live music right now at The Loft. Turns out this place which was mostly a pool hall is now doing live music tues-sat nights! and tonight (thurs) was opening night! of course i didn't find all this out until I got inside. So at first i hovered outside for a few minutes because they were all female singers and i didn't want to walk into some unknown random angry-lesbian-singers fest and not know it because I'm not from here, or walk into a room with no one in there, as there was no one on the street.

so first i prepared myself that those might be the case but then it was fine! and i wound up sitting with these two nice girls from hobart, prob mid-20's, and we talked a bit which was nice. the main headliner band, which is awkwardly called Women in Docs (as in doc martins, but i don't think there's any implied stereo type there) were AWESOME (and from queensland!) and they're not huge huge huge but they've been around the US, to folk festivals and such (Helen they said they've trying to get in to Falcon Ridge!), and it was great. and their last song was a cover of Wagon Wheel, the only song that i can play on the guitar (sort of an old classic, which they told me afterwards they picked up in the states) , so i was psyched.

then on the way out these two random Brizzie (Brisbane, QLD) guys (Ryan and Travis) converse with me "you're from the US, no way!" and ask for my number kind of (and where I'm headed next--which would be home, alone!) but i tell them i don't have one. because for all intents and purposes i don't--i have an emergency phone. and they were drunk. and we all know how drunk people really bother me. But i played it off well, was pretty good socially even though i have very limited experience with the "adult" social scene.

anyways, it was fun and i was proud of myself for finding something cool, and something cool that is new to hobart and exciting, and being social and not too awkward, and being solid with my american ness and not trying to hide it too too much but sort of letting it flow gently as needed.

pictures and sound clips, in like, 2 years, when i have internet again (probably when i'm back in the US)