With finals looming, I sometimes find it hard to think of much besides academic work. At this stage of the semester, I am inclined to continually remind myself of Winter Break?how sweet it will be to relax, reflect on the past few months, and recharge for another fun and productive semester.
Though I'm sure everyone is looking forward to the break, I am especially excited this year. I fly on New Year's Eve for a semester abroad in Ireland. Because Bowdoin attempts to foster international awareness, and because so many of us here at Bowdoin choose to study abroad, this week's article celebrates international beer and beer-drinking culture.
Rather than try to taste a hundred different international beers directly, I opted for a different route. I created a Facebook group called "Alcoholin' with Collin?Operation Study Abroad," and invited all of my peeps to join. Membership did have certain restrictions: "Here's who is welcome to join: those who are presently studying abroad, those who are about to study abroad, those who have studied abroad in the past, those who have been outside of the U.S. in any context, and those who have tasted a beer not brewed domestically. (This should include just about everyone.) If you fit this description, feel free to weigh in with your experiences with international brews: your favorites, your least favorites, quirky aspects about the beer or drinking culture of your locale, your expectations about beer abroad, etc.
"Here's a completely hypothetical example: 'My name is el Jimidor, and I will be spending the following semester abroad in Cairo, Egypt. Beer is not too popular here because it is against Muslim law. Smuggling a beer into the country is our equivalent of smuggling heroin through U.S. Customs. Chances are I won't see beer, let alone drink it, for upward of three months...'"
The international love of beer is reflected by the positive response, but I'll share my tidbit first.
This summer, I had the opportunity to travel in Iceland. There was lots to learn in the line of volcanic geography, Viking history, and whatnot, but the thing that struck me most was the country's beer. Iceland has three major breweries, each of which makes almost exactly the same product: a cheap, sugary, toxic-smelling pale lager. My personal favorite was V¡king Gylltur (pronunciation: I have no idea). At a typical bar, a pint of V¡king costs roughly 12 U.S. dollars. It tasted far worse than bad. But it did have one redeeming characteristic: I could actually feel it making my Viking beard and chest-hair grow.
Mike Oxton '07 shared his opinion of English beers.
"England has so many good beer,s" he said, "but no good food to drink them with."
One of Oxton's friends, a native of England, agreed.
"People don't go to England to eat," he said. "It's all about the amazing beers!" Despite this, our Englishman warns us to stay away from one beer in particular.
"Marston's Pedigree Bitter smells and tastes like pure FARTS," he said. "No joke. I always sample the nose of a new beer before I taste it, and the smell was so raunchy I gagged."
Claire Cooper '09, who is currently abroad in Budapest, shared some practical wisdom about beer-drinking abroad.
"Okay well my first day in Budapest I was walking around with a few guys before we had to meet with our program facilitator and the rest of the people in the program and we decided to stop at a bar on the way (circa 11:30 a.m.) and try our first Hungarian beer?Dreher," she said. "Bad news was that we hadn't eaten in about 15 hours and we got a 1.5 liter glass of beer. Each of us were too embarrassed to admit that we had gotten drunk off of one beer, our first European beer, and tried to play it cool but it made for some really awkward first impressions in the group.
"Moral: European beer is heavier, and after 13 hours of travel not including a seven hour layover in London where it is too expensive to buy airport food, do not inaugurate being abroad with 1.5 liters of beer. Unless, of course you want to be drunk," she continued, "then it's perfect."
Helen Wey '09 has traveled extensively and kept a detailed beer-log along the way. In Spain, "They drink beer all the time," Wey claims. "At my university, kids actually drink in the building and right before class. Drinking in public is technically illegal, but I've never seen it stop anyone."
Though few were able to tell me much about beer in countries farther east, Wey has it covered.
"Beer in Japan is fanatical. It's sold in all beverage vending machines and is a crucial part of socializing," she said. "When I was on a flight in Japan, every person got a beer. I mean everyone."
With the exception of the whole vending machine thing, Japan's beer culture may sound similar to the one most of us are familiar with.
Let me propose my final toast for all of those who travel, study, or live abroad?Cheers?Kanpai?Ganbei?Gesondheid?and Salud. Here's to awareness and appreciation of cultures other than our own.