Some of you have inquired about the expat social that I had recently attended and so I thought I would share a quick recap of my evening.
Carrie was away in Geneva for work and so I had ventured to this event all alone. Some of you may be surprised at this, but showing up to meet a bunch of unknown individuals all by myself is not something that I look forward to doing. Socializing with people whom I already know and have a relationship with is a completely different story!
Anyhow, the event was to begin at 7:00pm. I showed up at 7:00pm and found that I was one of only a handful of people already there. Keep in mind that over 110 people from 42 countries had RSVP'd that they would be attending. What did I do? I left. I decided to walk around City Centre and explore some of the shops.
I might note that this event was held on a Thursday evening, which is the only evening that stores stay open past the normal/typical 5:00pm closing time. The weather was nice and lots of people were out-and-about strolling through the streets and meandering in and out of the various shops.
As I drifted about, while debating if I would go back and 'try again' at the expat social, I stumbled upon the Clark shoe store where there was a live band inside the display window singing in English, while playing various guitars and drums. They were singing 'Roll over Bethovan' to a large crowd who was gathered outside and able to listen via the speakers that were placed outside the window. I couldn't help but to wish that I had brought my camera to capture this somewhat unique event, as the band went on to sing songs from The Beatles, The Monkey's, etc. And, they were really good!
Thinking that I should attempt another try at the expat social, I walked back down to the Novatel Hotel where this event was taking place. As I entered the lobby area, I quickly noticed that the group had now grown to around 10-15 people. Still, not yet convinced that this was something that I wanted to do, I again left.
After about an hour of more drifting about, I decided that I would go ahead and give the event one last shot. This time when I had returned, to my amazement, there had to have been somewhere between 75 and 100 people. I couldn't believe it! I gave myself a little kick in my backside and I injected myself into the scene. This was only after, of course, me first getting my complimentary glass of Proscecco!
The evening turned out to be a very nice one! I had met a handful of people - all from the US, Italy, UK and France. As it turned out I was one of the last to leave! ( ...as were the other individuals that I was socializing with!) I will say that at times it was somewhat difficult to understand people with their accents being so strong. I did find that we all had much in common and that we shared a sense of community.
While I had my fears and reservations about attending, I am glad that I forged through my challenges so that I was able to experience the joy that comes with meeting new people who share common interests. I don't know if or where these new relationships may go, but I do know that I enjoyed myself and that I have perhaps a bit more courage for next months event! Stay tuned...