Of all the gin joints in all the world... Actually, all the gin joints currently seem to be in Madrid. It's the latest thing, apparently. (I suppose they feel they've been missing out on good ole G+T and want to make up for lost time - and hats off to that!) But that's another story. The tale I wish to tell is that of global citizenship. People across the world still love and care for one another, there's no doubt about it. And despite our differences, it's always possible to make new friends in the strangers you come across, even in far-off lands, as they accept you into their lives. With some, it's down to a mild interest in your differences and similarities. For others, it means welcoming you into their homes and families with open arms. Either way (or anywhere in between) it's apparent that life is too short to keep our distance, we have to make the most of whatever and whoever comes our way, and if that means being a bit more open to life's passers-by then so be it (within the limits of personal security, naturally). You will, I'm sure, be familiar with the ditty 'if life gives you lemons [insert positive turnaround here]' - well I'm saying 'if life gives you new friends, share your lemonade/tequila slammers/[lemon-based product] with them and enjoy the heck out of it all... 'Do unto others' would be another way of putting it - if you'd want you and yours to be accepted and treated well when in a new place, then make sure to do the same within your own realm.
But on a lighter note, my current blithe musings are as follows: it seems that no matter where you go in the world (potentially with the exception of that as-yet uninhabited corner of deepest darkest peru, naturally), there are people patterns - there are incredibly similar habits and the same set of residents repeated in every city.
Take, for example, the subterranean train system. In it, you'll find the one listening to music, the one napping, the one reading (quite often a girl worryingly absorbed in the latest trashy fad novel), the one with small children and sometimes the one who dares engage these tots in play (great fun wind the little mites up and leave them in the ever-capable hands of their parents. Win!), the one playing with their phone, the foreigner, the ones overdressed, underdressed, dressed in quite frankly bizarre concoctions of outfit... And with frequent use, you'll inevitably end up crammed in like sardines one day, and breathing free and easy the next. Go figure. But that's by the bye. The folks within are effectively still one and the same, just with a handful of new names, and a different way of talking.
So the next time you're out and about in a new place, be it, or not, your own country, take a sneaky glance at the people around you (and here I mean subtly as opposed to furtively, we are not trying to be creepy nor appear to dabble in espionage) and just see if you can see your friends/family/colleagues reflected in the faces of those you come across. Perhaps one day, you'll even meet yourself... who knows?
