Footnotes from the Dancefloor #1

July 19 - Badaboum, Paris

Celebrating the Frenchman’s birthday while he and his friends from all over the world Dj’d at a trippy club in Paris was a beautiful night.

Anytime I’m out dancing, moving energy, and listening to good music, I have revelations and interactions that warm my heart, so I wrote a list the morning after to cement the moments in my memory.

In no special order:

1. Meeting a guy from Vietnam and following him while he impressively whistled back and forth with his friend to find each other on the dance floor. And who also fed me kitty in a corner to keep me going til sunrise. So kind.

2. A short story of being happy with what you have and the value you bring instead of yearning to be someone/somewhere you’re not.

3. ‘I don’t want to teach a person morals.’ What I said to the British/Nigerian man when he asked if I’m having kids. He was impressed by my candidness.

4. Taco Mesa! Spreading the word for my new favorite taco spot in Paris.

5. Twirling all night like I’ve been envisioning lately in my future self-hypnosis sessions.

6. ‘You give so much, do you make sure you receive as well?’ Concern from a mom when I told her about my newest book I’m writing to help partiers take mind altering drugs responsibly and be intentional with their experiences.

7. ‘OWwooohH!’ So many howls. The dance floor is the only place I can yell in Paris and it’s not weird.

8. A company I’d love to work with reposted my Instagram story and it’s the beginning of me pitching myself and showing my value. Here’s the brand if you’re curious.

9. That woman’s DMT experience when she got betrayed by her friend and confronted her in real life and then couldn’t tell what was real or a vision from the drug.

10. Important memory: the best and worst blow of my life have been in London.

11. ‘I don’t think the French are rude, they’re just racist.’ Me to an American after he told me he’s been having the best experiences in Paris. This isn’t a blanket statement, of course, but it comes to mind the more I learn. There are a lot of people who believe the right wing is the right way and the foreigners need to leave.

12. Being reminded that you can feel a sense of home anywhere in the world when you connect with people on your travels.

13. ‘Colonization is when we started losing touch with the earth and abusing her generosity.’ 6 am conversation on a couch while DnB played in the background.

14. Solo travel comes from being financially underprivileged. If you always had friends and family able to afford to travel, why would you feel the need to go on your own?

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Thanks for reading <3

The whole night I was dripping sweat and trying not to overheat after the bouncers let too many people in the club. The constant dancing also didn’t help.

The Frenchman organized a great lineup of DJs including Substack’s own Daniel/mdl:tso plus some friends from London and NYC. A time was had.

If anything I shared sparked something in you, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments.

And if you haven’t already,

I’m excited for the one coming next Sunday, written with Natasha, a fellow partying traveler currently in Mexico.

Til next time,

Have you read about my first time in London? I did not know what I was signing up for: