Road to Elsewhere, Excerpt #30: The Titanic wasn't the Only Disaster in Belfast

Meet my friend Seamus, who somehow avoided being blown up on the train he rode to school every day.

Even though I failed to fall in love, or in bed, with anyone at the Alliance Française, I did make significant connections. I could make friends—if not love—all day long, and I found one for a lifetime during a dinner of wine and sarcasm at our cafeteria table. 

On September 19th, I marked my calendar: “Great talk with Seamus!” His verbal parries met my …