One thing is for certain: the concept of a "potluck" is definitely American, and I'm pretty sure a very rural concept as well. So when Amy, the wife of the couple I'm staying with (who's from Canada and only lived here a year, by the way) suggested one, the whole church crew out in this neck of the woods was intrigued. And they went for it.
However, some interesting things did occur. First of all, I think they came under the impression that everyone needs to bring something, when really it's more like a dish or two per family (depending on the size of the family). But, whatever, there certainly was plenty of food for just over a dozen people. Second of all, a couple people asked me prior to the event how you know what to bring so it's not a bunch of the same. And honestly, I don't think that's ever a concern back in the States (not at my family functions, at least) because you come with an idea of what each person's specialty is and that's what they bring to the table. But I guess I could be wrong, because we ended up with two lasagnas. (Not going to complain about that, though--it's one of my favorite dishes.)
And completely unplanned, the potluck turned into a Eurovision party. Now, Eurovision is by far up there with the most hilarious, most interesting cultural experiences you can witness. Trust me. Every country in Europe holds a song contest, where singers and groups compete with their own original works to win for their country, and then each country representative competes for the Eurovision trophy. They can sing in either their country's official language or English. And man, some of those acts are absolutely ridiculous. The UK's group, Blue, was quite good and they're already popular, and we cheered them on in the voting for some time (as, obviously, Northern Ireland is part of the UK). But Ireland's representative, a pair called Jedward...well, please watch the video I've posted below to really understand what I'm getting at with that one.
It was quite the evening, full of laughter and food. Some good craic, I'd say.
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