John: The idea of this trip was very appealing to us but as Barb and I discussed the required tasks before we would be able to get on the plane to anywhere, there was some work and research to do. But, as usual, whenever I discuss things with Barb things seem manageable and I know they will get done. While trip logistics consumed its fair share of our effort and conversations, I enjoyed discussing the positive things we each hoped the adventure would provide us, positive attitude and behavior changes, new and exciting places to experience, hanging out in English pubs, drinking German beer, tasting different foods and meeting people with different perspectives. I especially enjoyed Barb’s hope, “I want to meet people and develop a bond of friendship so that they visit us in our home town.” While I liked the idea I had my doubts of its probability of happening.
I enjoyed thinking of the idea of visiting Europe, talking with people and seeing their city through their filters. We would meet their friends, learn some of their customs, create an international web of friendship. In turn, when appropriate, we would tell them about our home. After we learned about some of their preferences we could match those up with comparable activities or things our home town offers, enticing them to visit Weaverville. We would take them to music shows, breweries, have an international party and invite our neighbors and friends to show them how wonderful our town is and the people are.
John: But how and where would we meet our new foreign friends?
Back home in Asheville we met almost all of our friends, since moving there, as a direct result of our time spent at the Root Bar. So, why not meet new international friends at a local pub? Maybe, since we would be staying in someone’s house or apartment we could meet the neighbors, while I was mowing the yard. We could meet them in the produce section of the grocery store, we wouldn’t be dining out for every meal.
Maybe I would take a glass of lemonade out to my neighbor when I heard him mowing his lawn. After I said something clumsy in French he and I would laugh and I would work up the courage to invite him and “la monque”, the misses, for dinner sometime. We would either attempt escargot with chard, a local dish, or, if they preferred, an American staple, 22 ounces of prime cut USDA steak and a pounder-pound baked potato with all the toppings. After they thoroughly enjoyed their meal they would make us promise to let them give us a tour of their city to see the sites and visit their favorite pubs and meeting places. Then, after the tour and several fun outings together we would befriend each other on Facebook. When the time arrives and we have to move to our next Sit our new friends would have a mini-party where we all promised to stay in touch through social media. As time passed and we were following them, not to be misconstrued as creeping, we notice they are planning a trip to the States and it corresponds with our return! They accept our invitation and then you are all invited to meet Pierre and Amandine Macron from Banniers-Charente France at our house party. It could happen!
What about the village square? You know, the center of those European towns. The ones with the 500 year old functioning fountain, with granite steps on four sides where all the people of the area go every night to drink wine, eat local tapas and talk about current events. I would love doing that and the prospect of meeting a future transatlantic friend would be possible. The only problem is we haven’t seen such a place.
John: While almost every friend Barb and I have met since moving to Asheville could be directly linked to the Root Bar we also realize it didn’t happen in the first month from when we started going there. So, going to a local version of the Root Bar in Munich Germany meeting a couple with similar dispositions and attitudes was a low probability option. We did, however, meet a couple at a beer garden in Munich.
The beer garden was set up in a way that was conducive to meeting people. It was outside under a huge chestnut tree surrounded by outdoor vendors selling cheese, charcuterie, beer and prepared food. There were picnic tables lined up in 25 rows of 20 tables with the benches touching each other, to maximize the seating per square foot. We had been there mid-week and on the weekend and it was always busy with people and seats were at a premium. We walked around and saw a table that definitely wasn’t full and asked if we could squeeze in to sit. I would venture out to decide on the food and get a couple of pints of beer. The picnic tables were full of people eating from plastic containers, enjoying a pretzel or had trays of food from one of the vendors and most of the people had a pint or liter of beer. It had great energy and people were talking and laughing. The beer garden in Munich we frequented was in the Marienplatz and called Viktualienmarkt, One night we met a couple,a little older than us, sitting next to us. Barb struck up a conversation with them and before you know it the four of us were chatting away. After a couple of hours they invited us to visit a wine party across the Marienplatz. We made our way there but there wasn’t much energy so they suggested we all take a bus to another drinking place on a river. There was a local band playing mostly German songs. We opted for the first table with four seats and it was just in front of the stage next to group of young people thoroughly enjoying the music, food and beer. They were having a fun time singing raucously to all the tunes they knew. We stayed there until about 11p and the couple rode with us on the bus and walked us to our train to be sure we make it back safely. They were a nice couple and we enjoyed ourselves. But I don’t anticipate we will every hear from them again, mainly because we didn’t exchange digits and they did not give any indication they were social media types.
When I considered what our interaction with our hosts would involve, I didn’t think it presented much opportunity to bond into a friendship. Since we were strangers and would only be together for a few hours it didn’t seem like we could bond to the level of friendship that takes months or years to cultivate. Before our first Sit I assumed it would be a business type meeting. We would meet our hosts, discuss their expectations of us for the animals and the house and we would learn whatever we needed to know that was not included in the welcome kit provided during the hiring process. They would go off on their trip and we may or may not meet them when they returned. But the actual process was a little different for some of our hosts. They usually picked us up from a bus, train or airport terminal. After arriving at their home we and they did discuss responsibilities and ask questions and we got a quick tour of the house and property. The level of detail was different for each set of hosts. After that it was different for some of our Sits. Some hosts asked us to arrive the day before their departure and stay overnight. At first, I felt a little uncomfortable at the thought of staying in a house with strangers and accepting their undeserved hospitality. But, I wanted to challenge some of my unnecessary hang-ups and it did save us a hotel expense, so we stayed.
John: More than half our sits asked us to arrive the day before they departed. In each situation, our hosts either took us out to dinner or prepared a meal for us, each picked us up when we arrived in town. Each of the dinners included liberal drinking and the conversation flowed effortlessly, talking about the weather, American and English politics, and almost any other topic. Each of the dinner celebrations lasted for a couple of hours and carried on into late night drinks at their homes and in each case Barb and I felt a connection with them. We were intrigued by some of our conversations about our country and they told us they found Americans to be friendly, which we were pleasantly surprised to hear.
Barb: We made friends! All our hosts have been so welcoming and accommodating. Whether it was leaving us train cards, flowers, wine, coffee and jams, we always felt appreciated. But the hosts that we got to spend time with, whether it was staying overnight or meeting beforehand and seeing them after they got back from their trip, have kept in touch with us. With them we shared drinks and conversations, had dinners and breakfasts and walks together. Memories we will treasure. We have met new friends, friends of our hosts, that were so friendly and sweet to the American pet sitters who like sparkling wine or wanted to see an English garden. And of course there is Mou, the one who fed us and introduced us to the best Bangladesh cuisine.
Of all the experiences we have had here in Europe, meeting our new friends are the best.
John: While I wasn’t confident we would make transatlantic friends on this adventure and believed the limited time with our hosts precluded that possibility, I admit I was wrong. Considering the people we’ve met I would not be surprised if we maintain a distant relationship or, possibly, another face to face visit. Of course, we will invite all of you to meet them.
Cheers!
John and Barb
What a lovely blog. Do all of your hosts realize how lucky they were to have you there? I hope so.
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