An Irishman, an Australian, and an American Walk Into A Bar…er Pub…

I sat down the other day and realized that there is something incredibly cool about being surrounded at a table in a pub with people from all around the world.

Every time I go out to a pub, or have dinner at someone’s house, or even ride the train, I am surrounded by people from all over – Irish of course, but also Polish, Australians, South Africans, Portuguese, British, New Zealanders, Welsh, French, Scotts, Argentineans – the list goes on. I am regularly meeting and making friends with people from different countries and having conversations comparing cultures – how the Portuguese are always late for informal meetings, how Ireland has a whole social culture built around Pubs, how the French and Portuguese greet with a kiss on each cheek (pseudo kisses really), or how you spell the word “curb” (spelled “kerb”) in Ireland.

And then I think, this probably isn’t all that special a situation for someone who lives in Europe. This is just how it is. Ireland is particularly full of people from all over at the moment, but in any European city you can find folks from all around the world. But because I am American and very few of us even have a passport let alone go hopping around Europe (in our defense, traveling to Europe isn’t exactly a weekend trip), it is something I haven’t really ever experienced.

I am making friends from around the world; hopefully friends that I will know for a long time. People that I can visit when I am hopping around Europe, passport in hand.

This alone makes this whole experience worthwhile.