Stranger Danger

It's funny what speaking the same language in a faraway land does to connect people.

Case in point - the other day The American and I were in need of some nourishment and decided to get some kebab from God's gift to humanity, this little kebab shop downtown I don't even know the name of. It's that good.

As we're waiting for the taste of succulent spiced meat to greet our palettes, we hear the sweet sounds of familiarity behind us. Our mother tongue being spoken at close range. By young bucks. Who, by all accounts didn't seem to be tourists. Say whaaaaat. Now, even though I speak French, hearing English spoken by people other than myself and my American partner-in-crime is music to my ears and it happens about, umm wait, yeah. Never.

So being that we were stoked and maybe somewhat out of our minds due to dangerously low blood sugar, we strike up a conversation with the two young English gents. They're over hurr takin' a year off "uni" in London and well, the details of the story are unexciting except that within approximately 3.42 mins of glorious English conversation, we go from strangers to good-enough-to-ask-you-to-my-birthday-party status. It was their "joint 21st this weekend" and we got an invite. Belieeeve dat. I go to school with punks for 12 years and don't reach that level...?!

Nobody can even claim that it was our rugged good looks that won the boys' hearts because we were makeupless and in usual post-practice street gear aka sweats, an old t-shirt and our team parka... and makeupless. For anyone lucky enough to have seen me uncoifed and sans at least some mascara, they know that it's not a pretty sight. For example, I regularily get asked if I'm feeling alright and have I slept in a few weeks by concerned passers-by. Or 50 cent these days... his eyebrows seem to be conspicuously missing... In short, without help, my blondeness is a curse on the invisible eyelashes/brows/face front.

His makeup artist is on vacay?

So, it's pretty obvious that it has to all be attributed solely to the fact that we could converse freely in the language of our forefathers. Strangers to BFFs. Just like that. We'll probably never see nor talk to the fools again but the fact remains, that's English uniting people at its finest. Warms my heart.