What’s the best way to get acquainted with a new culture?

Mingling with the locals, definitely.

What’s the best way to mingle with the locals?

By going on Tinder dates, definitely.

And therein lies the logic in my strategy for exploration these days. I have found myself on three dates in London via the infamous Tinder. For those unfamiliar (Grandma), Tinder is a dating application for smart phones that involves swiping a photo of your potential suitor “right” if you like the profile, and “left” if you would rather not be courted by the individual.

Is this a relatively shallow and potentially dangerous way to meet people?

Yes.

Could this result in going on epic first dates and meeting half decent British lads?

If you are me, yes.

I have simply had the best luck on my Tinder endeavours. Through expressing my semi-quick wit and interest in soccer throughout my Tinder profile, I eventually landed myself an invitation to a premier league soccer game. For the less inclined soccer fans out there, I will put the grandeur of this invitation in perspective: my Instagram of the event landed itself 77 WHOLE “LIKES”. For the less inclined Instagrammers out there, that’s a lot of “likes” in the land of @VAWool.

I have found this whole tinder dating thing to be an interesting exercise or sorts. To warm up you cover the basics – “How are you?” “What did you do today?” Then we move on to the surface details about work, school, hobbies, etc. From these few dates I can see where interview prep has really come in handy; my 90 second “walk me through your resume” has translated beautifully. In the case that the Tinder date is going relatively well, we will continue talking and maybe go more in-depth on family, background, etc. This is where I’ve had the chance to really refine some of my social skills – my go-to stories are now more concise, with hopefully better punchlines as well. In a nut shell, these dates have been great grounds for “practicing socializing”, hopefully increasing my endurance and agility through the art of getting to know someone. I know, you all want to go on a date with me after reading this paragraph, I know.

While having the app on your phone is a source of embarrassment alone for some, I am happy I have briefly reached into the realm of internet dating for my time in London.