Playing the name game all around the world

When you are new to a foreign country where you don’t speak the language, and everyone is still a stranger, you cling to your native tongue. You begin to eavesdrop for English speakers everywhere. While on the subway and at restaurants, museums and pubs, conversations filter through and unabashedly, people will ask in their lingua franca, “So, where are you from?”\nI’m in Prague, Czech Republic, and the only English I hear is either from a tour guide or the other American college students who have invaded the city for the semester. In fact, being lost in translation once drove me to a karaoke bar in hopes of hearing classic English-language hits from the ‘80s. \nAs if it were second nature, students from all over the U.S. immediately dive into playing the geographical name game. You know this game, you play this game. It usually goes something like this:\nNew friend: So, where are you from?\nYou: (Insert state). I go to (insert university).\nNew friend: Oh! You go to (aforementioned university)! You must know (insert elementary schoolmate’s cousin’s life partner’s name)!\nYou: Nope, it’s a big school.\nNormally, conversation falls flat after people realize you don’t know their friend at your school. Once, at the aforementioned karaoke bar, I went through normal procedure with somebody from my study-abroad program. Of course, the attempt to find a mutual friend was to no avail, but we figured out we have something else in common. \nAfter hearing somebody sing Queen’s “Somebody to Love” in a rendition that would even impress Freddie Mercury, I knew this kid had chops. It turns out he and his friend from IU are both a capella singers and co-concert promoters. The two, who have since returned to the U.S., have their first Bloomington show at the Bluebird tonight! The concert is even showcasing the vocal talents of somebody that is my friend’s friend’s roommate!\nSo, even though I’m halfway around the world, I am still able to hear about big events happening at IU simply by playing the wonderfully intuitive and addictive international name game.