Chinese Meetup in Dublin!

This post is a bit overdue, but anyone who reads this blog will have come to expect that from me!

Way back when (some time in 2004 or 2005 I think), I tried to find stuff in Dublin for Chinese speakers. I came across something called meetup.com. This website lets people organise "meetups". Basically, groups for people who have a common interest. These groups meet up regularly to do what they do. There was a Chinese Meetup back then. I tried going to a meetup one evening. It was on in Bewley's on Grafton Street. I remember wandering around and not finding anyone sepaking Chinese. I didn't have any organisers' phone numbers, so there wasn't much I could do. I don't think they organised any more meetups after that and I think the Dublin Chinese Meetup sort of fizzled out.

I also remember that when I came back from China for the first time in the summer of 2006, Dublin Chinese Meetup still had no owner. People could register their interest in the hope that someone would organise a Meetup, but nothing seemed to happen Anyway, fast forward to the present, and a chap in Trinity (a bright Chinese PhD student) took it upon himself to rescue the Dublin Chinese Meetup, now called the Dublin Chinese Language & Culture Meetup Group. I heard about it from my friend, who runs the Irish Born Chinese Blog.

I went along, to what I think was the third such session. At that time it was held in Ron Black's on Dawson Street. It had been ages since I'd spoken any amount of Chinese, so it was fantastic to go in there and blather away in Chinese. I have been to a few since, and now they have changed venue to the less expensive Karma Bar) formerly Handel's) on Fishamble Street. The meetup is quite big now, and I reckon there were 20 or 30 people at it last time. It seems to be getting bigger and bigger by the week.

So, fair play to Liu Yu for organising it and ong may it last!