My father worked in Saudi Arabia, and I was visiting on school holidays. They had brewed wine and gin on site and I had enough to get drunk for the first time in my life at 17. I had to talk to my father and pretend I wasn’t drunk. Apparently it worked as he has never mentioned it. I climbed up a water tower, and we got spotted doing that, and not realising my brother was snogging the girl I fancied while we did it. Then a girl I’d barely spoken to cornered me and wanted to know who I fancied, I asked what that meant and she said who would I kiss. I said I’d never kissed anyone, and she kissed me, then left without another word. I left the country the next day.
This was 30 years ago. I was from Australia. The night is still a clear memory to me. I had a choice and thought, well if I’m going to get drunk for the first time in my life, why not do it in a country where alcohol is illegal? At least I’ll have a story to tell.