Cross Culture

Ah it's my good old favourite picture again :-) So why the international theme when I'm back in Durham?? We've got a Canadian group in college at the moment for a conference. So tonight I decided to head to the bar- not to see them but just for a break from thinking. To begin with, everyone who came in was far too over-excited at the fact we were serving Carling, a Canadian beer. Becky didn't have the heart to tell them we're changing them all next week. Good job I wasn't working- I appear to have mislaid my heart! We also had the football on cos Liverpool were playing and Becky was working, so we were half-watching that, when someone at the bar asked someone else 'So are you into football' (10 points to him for using the correct terminology), and she gave a far too over-excited response. I love the way everything always seems so over the top. It's probably not, it's probably just that we're all so low-key in the UK but sat watching these people all night was highly amusing. The best part of the night was when someone asked where the toilets were, and one guy in a ....you guessed it!....far too over-excited voice declared 'TOILETS....NOW THAT'S JUST VERGING ON OBSCENITY'. :-) I love the way everyone elses culture delights and repulses us all. We then got talking of our own experiences of cross-culture, from the little things like the fact everyone tonight was tipping the bar staff for their service to things like my experiences at the ballet in Moscow. What fun, I could talk all night, and observe all week!

And then, as if to make my week the only person there under about 40, good looking, tall, dark, came over to talk to us. Opened his mouth, and alas, was Irish!!! That's the third Irish person I've heard in two days. I don't know where they're all coming from, I've never noticed Durham to be particularly Irish-dominated before (and apparently I've got an amazing ability to pick them out in a crowd-or so I've been told!), but they can keep coming as far as I'm concerned:-)

well that was a good night wasted when I could have been working.......