Mind the Gap: Happy Birthday to Me...

Within 3 days of arriving in England I got to celebrate my 21st birthday. I was a little bummed when I found out I wouldn't be able to ring in such a milestone birthday back home in America with my friends. Moving to a country where 21 year-olds have already been legally going to pubs for 3 years dampened my excitement of finally being able to go out and have a drink with friends. My new friends were more than sympathetic when I told them it was my 21st on Saturday the 10th and plans to celebrate were almost immediately in the works. Even some of my new English friends were looking forward to celebrating my birthday, joking that I should just tell everyone it was my 18th.

Whether I was celebrating my 18th or my 21st birthday- it was easily the best birthday I've had yet. After a hectic dinner we met up with some new American friends I had met earlier in the day- some had been at Sussex since the fall. The first pub we went to was an old pub called The Cricketeer. The atmosphere, decoration, patrons, everything was exactly the way you'd imagine in a typical English pub. We weren't a small group (almost 20 of us) but somehow we managed to find a table large enough for all of us to sit round. On a recommendation, I tried a pear cider- too sweet, big mistake; definitely not the right drink with which to start off the night (not that it stopped me from drinking it).

Some of the party goers at The Cricketeers

A sign in front of The Cricketeers

Halfway through the evening I got a text message from one of my English friends, Abbie, telling me to meet them at another pub for a birthday surprise. It didn't take us long to make our way from The Cricketeer, which is nestled in the Lanes, to the Western Front, in Churchill Square. Nowadays both venues are along our route of regularly frequented pubs. At the Western Front we met up with the Sussex Welcome Crew (my 3 new British friends: Abbie, Sam and Malcom) who had a birthday card for me! I've never been more excited over a card; it was a Happy 18th card complete with a pin which said "18 and ready to party!" -which I wore around for the rest of the night. Those clever Brits were right, saying it was my 18th got much more of a reaction (not to mention more free drinks) than telling everyone it was my 21st.