Typical Backpacker Life

I am now in Hvar, Croatia. It's a little resort island about an hour's ferry ride away from Split.

It is finally warm enough to be wearing shorts (well - i have decided it is warm enough because it is laundry day, and I want to wash all of my pants). It is pretty beautiful here, which is nice. It is a tiny town - i just wondered around for about 30 minutes searching for the public library so i could get on the internet. All the internet cafes in the area seem to be closed right now since it is the low season. The woman at the tourist office told me that i couldn't miss the library, but turns out i walked in circles all around it for a while. when i picture a library, i picture a big stand alone building with big doors and posters on the window saying, "read a book!" i don't picture a row of houses and doorways that are on a "street" that is really just a stairwell, where a tiny little door says "gradska knijizica," but that is what the library is in Hvar.

these towns are wonderful and frustrating all at the same time. hvar doesćnt have any street names, so you just sortof wander around in circles until you find what you are looking for.

at the moment, i am actually getting a bit annoyed at having to find my way around new places every day. i am a bit annoyed that it is also just not QUITE warm enough to be warm yet. i am seriously considering finding a flight to southern spain and just hanging out there for the next 2 weeks. but maybe i am just grumpy today? i am not sure.

seriously - i think that i probably have no right to be grumpy when my biggest decisions today have been - veggie scramble WITH or withOUT cheese? and beach or other beach? and now, ljublijana, budapest, zagreb, or all 3?

i did just look at the weather, and it is going to be cold and miserable in ljublijana for the next week - they are predicting snow. so i might skip ljublijana, spend more time along the coast, and just relax. i am learning that i am not the best at relaxing.

ok - anyways - back to the title of this post. i stayed at a hostel in split for 3 nights, and while there, i met adam. adam is 23, australian, and on his own traveling for the first time. in a lot of ways, adam reminds me of typical me. he is ALWAYS looking to meet someone, to go out, to be doing something. i haven't really seen him sit still for more than a few minutes. if i am reading a book, and we're both at the table, he will start talking to me. it is endearing and annoying at the same time.
saturday night we went and grabbed food, then he talked me into going dancing with a bunch of locals and a bunch of other aussies/canadians staying at a nearby hostel. THIS was what i picture most backpackers are looking for while in a town. meeting people, hanging out, then going out dancing until 5:30 in the morning. it was quite the experience. we were in this TINY bar that was packed. and, as far as i could tell, it was packed with dudes. i feel like women always outnumber men when i go out dancing, but that isn't true in croatia.
i also thought that it would be techno music that we would be dancing to all night (i feel like i hear techno a lot around here), but it wasn't. i am not sure what it was - croatian hiphop? it was good dancing music, and i enjoyed myself. and i appreciate the experience.
i woke up yesterday morning (after completely sleeping through my alarm and missing my morning ferry) irritable though. looking back on it, i am actually really glad that i went out, experienced the nightlife, and had a fun time. but i realized that this trip is REALLY not about that for me. it's weird - i love dancing more than almost anyone i know. but i don't want to be out dancing and partying right now with people that i know i will never see again. i think i want to be spending time in other ways. i still haven't figured out what those ways are yet, and i am a bit frustrated that i haven't figured that out.
it is nice to know that i figured out something that i really do NOT want to be doing right now. i think i would like to meet some interesting people who are also not just in the area to party like crazy, but we'll see if that happens. if not, it is nice to spend time thinking, reading, and writing a bit. plus walking in circles.