Japandamonium!!!

Aikipub

I'm glad to discover that the intrinsic and spiritual connection between Beer and Aikido is one that the English unfalteringly support.

Friday night I met up with people from the club to celebrate one of their birthdays at a club-favorite pub, called the Yorkshire Grey. Getting there was in itself a bit of an adventure, mainly in that it was the farthest afield that I have travelled from my flat. I am finding my area of London to be more or less navigable, as long as I stay comfortable with streets doing strage things. Some of them for instance change name. This is no biggie, run of the mill. Others however change direction. This is a bit more difficult to deal with. I can navigate a square circuit of sidewalk and be on one street the entire time if I'm in a square, for example. Yes, I can make four left turns and stay on Gordon Square, which (just to make things more ... fun?) is off of Gordon Street, which may or may not link up with or share a neighborhood with Gordon Place, or Gordan Road. It can be tricky but is always rewarding, in the sense that every street I've turned onto has more exciting thinsg on it; pubs, shops, food, art galleries, gorgeous architechture, street art, vendors, all kinds of life. I'm loving being in this big city.

So I made it to the Yorkshire Grey and things were great. A discovery on the subject of British etiquette and friendliness: if you're sitting at a table with friends and there's no drink in front of you, there is a good chance that one will magically appear there soon. This isn't quite as true as all that, but friends will take care of you if you are of a lower social/wage bracket. Their sense of fairness and civility tells them that the bloke with a job should buy the student his drink. It is really friendly and nice, and everyone is really warm about it all. I did make another related discovery, however. Apparently one is not supposed to let/encourage someone else to choose his or her drink. This, in fact, constitutes making a pass at somebody. I became aware of this when, after several curiously awkward interactions of "hey, sure I'd love another. Beer, whatever's your favorite," or "sure, whatever you're having," someone told me "not to say that unless you mean it." One the one hand, I find this really funny. The other side, however, is the onset of a momentus decision. If I cannot let another choose for me, then the time has come. I must find "MY BEER." A harrowing journey through the taps of local pubs may be required to find the perfect medium, tasty and smooth, cheap enough to get bought more than one, expensive enough to not suck. Oh, how the days do grow longer; mama, I'm a'growin' up now.

The night out was quite fun. It felt good and even stabilizing to be out with real people in a normal place, doing something regular. No contrivance about it, you know what I mean? No "international student orientation" kind of stuff. Just life and firendliness and a slice of culture. With a pint, of course.

I was to an aikido seminar in Birmingham today with the club. There was lots of really great training, and i got to take home a new pair of bruisy bruisy wrists. If you want a fuller report, I'll be happy to email you the one that I wrote up for Aikido friends back home (but chose to spare you lot from). One thing that's not in said report: the drive up was my first view of some English countryside. It was neat. There were sheep! LOTS of 'em! Sheeeeeep! Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!
Okay, i need sleep now.