All respectable evening adventures will begin with a pre-pre-game. The Pre-pre-game takes place in the apartment of one of your comrades. If possible, try not to make it your apartment, because inevitably it will become a mess of epic proportions, and its best to not have to come back to empty glasses, bottles, and alcohol spilled everywhere. The goal of the pre-pre-game is to get as much cheap alcohol in one's system before entering the pre-game. Now, I'm not a drinker of any sort, so most of the main conversation of the evening happens at the pre-pre-game, before everyone's gotten too drunk to remember your name, but after everyone has enough alcohol in their system to loosen their tongue. If you are a girl, the pre-pre-game also involves dressing for the inevitable game, as well as testing out the comfort of said clothes for the evening. Depending on the eventual venue and night of the week, the clothing options range from semi-formal to oscar wear. Seriously. People in Galway dress up beyond any American conception. A normal night at the club looks like a senior prom, with sky high heels and cocktail dresses if you're going casual. I definitely wasn't prepared for this factor, but have adapted rather quickly into a quirky retro-formal style of dressing that looks nice enough to not stand out too much, but not so flashy as to get groped. It really is a fine line, my friends.
The pre-game then takes place at a pub. Now, if the pub is the final destination of the evening, one can even get away with wearing jeans. Thus, you can tell the pre-gamers from the pub-crawlers usually by attire and demeanor. Pre-gamers, particularly the females, are prone to shrieking at random times about absolutely nothing, and drinking quickly, while pub-crawlers tend to be rowdy, but not too loud, and drink at a more moderate pace. Every pub in Galway has its own feel, whether it be the traditional (or "trad") feel that is popular with tourists on shop street, or a sleek modern flair that feels out of place in the cobblestone streets. Either way, make your way to the bar for a drink, be friendly, and someone will usually reciprocate the feeling.
Finally, one will make his or her way to the club, the final destination of the evening. Clubs here, while more formal in clothing, are the same as clubs everywhere. One nice thing, however, is that depending on the night of the week, a different club is free every evening. Thus, if you don't drink and only check one coat, you can have an evening of dancing for only 1.50 euros. Pretty snazzy. The beginning of the evening is, for me (as I stay sober), the most fun of the evening. The dance floor is relatively uncrowded, if someone wants to dance with you they still have the ability to ask politely, and people aren't yet too drunk that they pass out in front of you. Yet, by the middle of the night, the dance floor becomes a dangerous jungle where one is just as likely to get pushed into a wall as to be groped. Neither are pleasant experiences, and thus one moves carefully off the floor to find a booth, or other suitable place to perch. Inevitably, people will find themselves inebriated beyond the ability to maintain physical control of their bodies, and it becomes amusing to watch them as they try to convince the club security that they really aren't that drunk at all. While this sounds like a seedy underworld den of sin, in fact, it can be a rather fun experience; if you're with the right people at the right venue.
The evening usually ends at around 1-230 AM. At which point, you're so exhausted that you crash into bed and swear that you will never, ever, again. But inevitably, come the next week, you will.
