I think I did have a little too much fun with some of the vocabulary in this piece. I agree with that assessment. It'd be an interesting one to revisit again. Funnily enough, this is my second time trying to write this piece, and even while it's quite a bit stronger than the original, it really isn't up to my current standards. I'm curious whether you see a difference within just these past 8 months or not with some of my travel/memoir writing. With that fest baby one, for example, were there moments that took you out of it in the same way as in this one? Does the language in my "Jungle taxis" Belize story from recently feel too much or do I achieve a better balance there? (only if you have the chance to read it.)

And I never did hear back from any of them sadly! I suspect a few of them might remember the night, but I'd be pretty shocked if they recognized me.

Thanks so much for the comments!! Definitely the sorts of things I could only expect a very astute reader to pick up on.