Not a chameleon

I pride myself on being able to adapt to almost every situation. Being the small Asian man I can usually blend into the background and not really "stand" out. 

For the very first time in my life I came across a situation where I felt so out of place I didn't know what to do. 

Last Sunday I had dinner with my roommate from UM-Ross and his gf. After catching up with them and gorging myself on all you can eat pizza it was decided to have a drink at their go to Brazilian bar. 

Trudging across 14th street past Broadway, 6th and then finally near 9th avenue we stopped outside a indiscriminate looking bar. No real sign outside but the bouncer and doorman gave away the fact that this was indeed a bar. So far nothing out of the ordinary. Descending down the steps and to the bar my eyes cast a glance across the bar area. Something was off. 

All the girls seemed really tall. I'm not tall by any means but these girls made me feel Lilliputian. What the hell. All the girls were ridiculously beautiful. Tall, beautiful girls at a Brazilian hangout. I was starting to do the math in my head when my roommate, noticing my bug eyed look, said to me casually, "This is where all the Brazilian models hang out." Oh. My. God. 

I stood there by the bar and watched my roommate and his gf chat up the crowd. It seemed like they knew everybody in there. Surreal. Look over to the side. Hey, that guy looks familiar. Oh it's international soccer star Thierry Henry WTF.

The samba music boomed in the bar and I couldn't stop thinking that this was nuts. This is a world SO outside my normal social network that I just felt starstruck and dumbfounded or dumbstruck. I've heard that places like this exist but it was always part of some bad TMZ article so I kinda blew it off as society merely creating these fantasy worlds to support their celebrity worship. This was real. I got into a quick chat with one of my roommate's gf's friend and asked her "Are you a model too? Why of course she is. How stupid of me to even ask. 

I don't belong in bars like this. My self confidence can't take beatings like that when everyone, male and female, is perfectly proportioned and looked like they came out of a Diesel ad. I think I'm happy with my $5 Bud Lights at TGIF and slightly rotund men in their khakis and polos. But, I guess if there's ever another opportunity it would be rude for me to say no. You know, Brazilian hospitality and all.