London calling II: hammered...and breaking the seal

I was too tired yesterday to continue with my story so I left it for tonight. Btw, maybe I raised too many expectations…so please keep them low!! (i.e. this is my disclaimer).

My weekend in London gave me a full immersion into the English language or, at least, into a dimension I am not used to. You may wonder why I raise this point since I have been living in NYC for a year so far. It’s true but in NYC I frequently mingle with other Spaniards, Latin people and so forth. However, while in London, it was like traveling to the antipodes: two days surrounded only by Australian people. No sign of Spanish at all and a warm welcome to that characteristic and difficult – at least for me – Australian accent. On the flipside, a great source for my list of new words and expressions . I guess the title of this post is enough evidence of that!

Where had I stopped in my story? Saturday evening, I recall. It was around 7 pm – my friend and I were around 3 hours late since the other guys had started their drinking race around 4pm – and, after trying to figure out some “universe mysteries” (e.g. (no offense) are girl(friend)s unable – maybe unwilling would be more accurate – to realize that certain plans are just for you and your buddies?; or is it so difficult to understand that a guy does need some of his own space sometimes?) – we headed over to the pub where we were to join the rest of the Aussie crew.

We arrived at a beautiful pub and, after getting a Guiness at the counter – Hoegaarden was sold out, unluckily –we went to the terrace where some other friends that I had already met and some other people – mostly girls, beautiful Australian girls – I was introduced to were chugging beer and white wine. For some reason – believe it or not, I had nothing to do about it this time…I swear to God – at the beginning I was allocated to the “girly” side of the table, which I accepted gratefully, needless to say. Dammit, if that sample was the average for Australian girls I will be definitely applying for a job down there after graduation!!! Beers kept coming, the mates (I truly learnt the meaning of this word for Australians, btw) started to get hammered and some funny talks kept coming, as well as some promising perspectives for the night…I even had the time to talk on the phone to another great friend from Exeter who couldn’t make it to London since he now happily enjoys his very recent parental obligations. It would have been awesome if both himself and the fourth friend who left four Japan four years ago had made it to London. The reunion would have been just perfect, as it was in Budapest a rather long time ago.

I was having a lot of fun and, by the time we were discussing whether the Gunners or the Spurs were bigger (although my dear Reds are unrivalled), the evening was coming to and end and it was time to make a move. A sly sneak inside the pub, a subtle kiss hoping to see her again soon and a sad farewell as she left in the darkness brought the evening, an incredible one, to an end. It was then time to go back home for a party that turned out to be much more massive than expected.

It was one of my first parties in an apartment in London ever. And the bar has been set really high. It will be tough to make it better. More and more beer, scotch, wine…, a stained carpet, general madness, some insinuating flirting, a naughty terrace, … and a non so subtle move this time that took my party to another place…

A proper full English breakfast, similar to those that we used to have back in Exeter on Saturday and Sunday afternoons to fight our hangovers, brought the London trip to an end on Sunday. I was tired, jittery and slightly sweaty due to the hangover and traveling back home didn’t sound like the best plan. However, it was already time to go.

Around 6 hours after I took the subway at Maida Vale – btw, I was able to purchase a very cheap ticket for the Heathrow Express thank to the works on the Piccadilly line – I was back in my place. I was exhausted but at the same time, so happy about the weekend, the reunion and the general impression that friendship is definitely worth it.

Ciao