a word about alcohol

a little disclaimer at the front: this is all based on my own personal experience and opinion, and isn't meant to be universalizing. cheers!

coming to england is an interesting experience being a 20 year old law-abiding american (yes, they do happen along occasionally). you are suddenly transported from the land of "NO! NEVER!" to the land of "YES! AND OFTEN!" when it comes to drinking alcohol. i always knew that drinking was a significant part of the social scene in britain, but i don't think i really understood what that meant: it's what they do. when we hang out at home, we go to someone's apartment and watch a movie or something... here, they go to the pub or the bar. it really is a part of culture.
the great thing about being here is: there is no pressure to drink. so unlike the united states, where there are not only expectations that you will before you're 21, but people push it on you and react oddly if you choose to disclose the fact that you haven’t drunk alcohol before. here, it is totally cool to tag along to the pub and not order anything. so far in my experiences, things are low key and the drinking is not the focus--socializing is. very refreshing.
however, being from the US, inexperienced with alcohol, and not really the "party" personality, the new openness with alcohol can be challenging. sometimes it feels like the only way to get to know people here is to either go out to a bar or (especially) a club. participation in these alcohol-associated activities seems key to meeting people here, and i haven't quite been able to reach that hurdle yet. i'm not really worried about it, but i do feel like i'm missing out on opportunities to meet british people just because that isn't really my thing.
that said, i am excited for the opportunity this trip is affording me to get over my personal hang-ups on alcohol. frankly, i have always felt a little afraid of alcohol, and was never really all that tempted to drink it. curious, yes, but not enough so to join the masses (pretty typical of how i operate, actually). now i have a chance to do so in a low pressure environment, which is great! but don’t worry: all of my aspirations of alcoholism (because i had so many) will likely fall short due to the reality of fairly shallow pockets. the occasional drink with friends though, hopefully in some fantastic pub, will have real potential now.