So, today is a bank holiday. We had the day off work, but unlike in the US, it was unclear as to what we were celebrating. It wasn't Labor Day, Memorial Day, or (my favorite) Casimir Pulaski Day. (I say it is my favorite because of a long ago story when my brother John came to visit me at college. I'm not sure he would remember, but it still cracks me up. As this is a story that involves underage drinking that I'm not sure that Mom has heard yet, I will hold off on spilling those goods.)
At any rate, while I'm not sure what the reason for the holiday, I wasn't going to argue with a day off. My friend Lisa had a BBQ today in honor of this random holiday. Since it is a school night, I wasn't really sure how many people would be up for a day/night out. It was a beautiful day, though, so I think everyone wanted to take advantage of the nice weather.
I found myself at one point in a conversation with a group of people: a Russian by way of Israel and Canada, a South American, an Indian by way of Germany, and a Norwegian. And that was just one group on one side of the room. Including Lisa and me, I think there were only 3 Americans in the whole party. This isn't uncommon (which most of you are saying "duh, Chris, you aren't in America." I realize that, but it's still sinking in).
I have to admit --- I kind of like being the minority. It was kind of refreshing (although it was nice to not have to explain American phrases like "jones-ing" to the 3rd American). It's one of the many things that I love about London ---- the vast diversity of cultures and the openness to those cultures.
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