Day 18

Today I met Stephen.  It's Arthur's Day which means by 6:00 p.m. everyone in the city has had their fill of Guinness in celebration.  Stephen, an irish lad, was no different.  He approached my friends and I with a smile on his face that only accompanies a glass in his hand.  He was a scruffy guy, dressed casually with an assortment of buddies at his side.  There were no girls in sight, which made me wonder if I ought to feel bad for the guys or admire them for not being "those guys" with girls on each of their arms.  Again, nothing too different from the regular conversation I've had with locals: "where are you from?," followed by "how do like it," followed by "what do you think of Obama?"  I can't wait until someone doesn't ask that question; that will be the conversation to write about.  Luckily, the guys were much more coherent than our previous friends from Cork although I still walked away with a phone number and web address on my arm.  Stephen and the guys were a fun group to talk to, whether they made fun of our voices or not, however, I'm still looking forward to the conversation with a local that doesn't stick to the recipe.