I have been fortunate enough to have traveled a small part of the world, and believe it or not, I credit much of my travel to a single beer that I shared with a stranger about 6 years ago.

In my sophomore year of college, I found myself on a couch, drinking a few beers with buddies, playing N64- the standard day in the life of a college student- when I noticed a Japanese Exchange Student standing behind us. Naturally, I offered him a beer (“First Round”), a spot on the couch next to us, and a controller.

A single round, that’s all it took. After a game or two, he invited a few of his fellow International students over who then invited some of their friends. Before I knew it, I was meeting people from all around the world. It didn’t take long before many of those International students to become some of my closest friends, and now, I travel the world so that I can share just one more drink with them.

That is why we want to buy that first round for you. We do so in hope that you will share that round. It can be with someone you’ve met in the museum, in your hostel, or even just the person you happen to be sitting next to in the bar or in the ice cream parlor. Just as every journey starts with a single step, all great friendships have to start somewhere. Maybe, your conversation lasts only a minute, or maybe it lasts ten, or maybe it’ll be one you’ll keep up for the next ten years.

And, if you keep up this “First Round” tradition, you’ll find that as you're traveling the world to see old friends, you’ll inevitably share another round with someone new. And, the next thing you know, you’ll be traveling the world again to see that person. And so, the cycle of endless cheers goes on.

Take it from us, you never know where that single round will take you.

Cheers,
Matt and Gretchen