Traveler Introverted: Welcome to Katra Lounge, New York City!

He sat there respectfully, as I gyrated rhythmically to music blaring from the speaker at Katra Lounge. He kept both of his hands on the top of my thighs and allowed me to groove in any fashion I saw fit. He was kind. He was caring. He was Jason, one of the other admin of our facebook group. My place on his lap only came about because he was sitting there, in one place like me, but he had food. Jason always had food and if he was eating it, I knew it was probably good.

I sat across from him and wanted to get his attention, as he had arrived at the lounge much later than I did. It didn’t make sense to scream over the music. So I got up, walked over to where he was seated, and placed myself upon his lap. We were friends. There was no risk of rejection and food was guaranteed. My sudden decision was an easy one, and a much needed escape from all of the socializing I had been doing prior to his arrival.

We had our first official New York City meetup in August of 2017. We fondly refer to it as a “Popup”, because no one ever knows where we’ll “pop up” next. We give members about four weeks of notice, and believe it or not, they fly in from all over to participate. That’s the advantage of being in a group full of travelers. We love traveling to meet one another.

New York City was an easy choice for a meetup. Three of the four group admin lived in the area, and Jason was more than willing to fly in for the festivities. He was on a journey for good chicken and waffles anyway (I took him to Amy Ruth’s in Harlem).

I arrived at Katra and it was still early. The after work crowd had just begun trickling in. Therefore, there was still room to move around. It was happy hour, and many people were just trying to unwind.

I formally introduced myself to group members who had arrived early. I asked them their names and where they had traveled from. One of them had come from Pennsylvania, while the other commuted from Connecticut. One of them was already in town on business though. It reminded me of the group’s charm. We were already unique, as a group of single black travelers, but an added bonus was that we were also a group of intelligent professionals. We could be boardroom ready in the morning and “turn-up” royalty, by the evening. Our duality was so surreal.

The crowd began to grow, as more members began to come in, I felt pressure to actively engage. Being a host was quite different from simply showing up at an event. I wanted everyone to feel welcome.

As I was about to get up to introduce myself to other members of the group, Aisha came in. She and I created the group together but she’s a super people person. When she enters an event, she wants to make sure that she meets EVERYONE, and they all get hugs and high fives. She extroverts all over the damn place and we love her for it.

The drinks began flowing more freely as the hours passed by. The DJ began playing music from the 90s and early 2000s. I think I must’ve danced for hours. FYI, I have zero sense of time, by any measure, when I drink socially. Hours may have been a matter of minutes, so don’t quote me.

Aisha and I may have been sitting down somewhere calmly, but our alter egos #LitBae and #TwerkBae danced so hard, that the DJ had to call attention to our corner. He said, “I hope it’s somebody’s birthday over there”. Mr. DJ sir, it was no one’s birthday, #LitBae and #TwerkBae are just an explosion together. Sorry,about the stains on the couch, One of us thought it was still the floor. Clearly I forgot that I was in a lounge, as I gave Jason what seemed like a four minute, super close, lap dance. I later found out that four minutes was actually three hours, but again, we shall not be judged. I told you that time evades me in states of inebriation. I will always be honest.

I wasn’t going to go to Katra that night. Nothing was wrong. I just didn’t want to go outside. I was looking forward to a netflix binge and some shrimp from the House of Seafood Express. I’m glad I went out that night. Katra set the stage for our Atlanta meetup. One of the members at Katra became our host for Atlanta.

Every time we get together it’s a new adventure, with new characters. I’m beginning to poke fun at the new ways that my introversion will present itself. Yes, I was in a club full of people, but my introversion sat me on Jason’s lap for hours after all of the interactions I had verbally and rhythmically. I find it comical that I can be in a room full of people and still somehow, find myself in the most quaint of places.

Next stop, Atlanta. It’s not international. We’re taking baby steps. I’m still a traveler, though introverted.