I was sitting at an Italian restaurant the other day and as usual was on my observation mode, looking around the plush diner, noticing the 'well-mannered'. While i was going through the almost Hebrew reading menu, i could over hear guests on the other table talking to the attendant, which just made me giggle a bit loud. I have never kinda understood the concept of communicating in a language other than your own. I mean i didn't understand shit in the menu too, but that didn't make me feel embarrassed. In fact i made sure the attendant knows that i am confused, so that he could come and help me out.
Restaurants are just an example to highlight the fact that we sometimes try too hard to portray ourselves in a certain way. Its a common sight in such eating joints to see people not order something because they might not be able to pronounce it right which apparently is 'wrong' and embarrassing for them. I would be more worried if i wouldn't understand a छोले पूरी written in the menu rather than something called quesadillas.
Im not trying to justify the rowdy behavior that we come across sometimes in a restaurant, i just mean that im sure the restaurant guy understands Hindi as much as you do, so why not?.
Growing up in an infamous neighborhood has actually got me use to the universal lingo of eating out at food stalls, where every man is a 'boss' and generally speaking in English will not really create a comfortable conversation. There was actually an instance when my friends were pretty impressed with my 'भ्नताई' vocabulary skills during one of their usual visits to the Ramadan feast and the same friends were stunned, when at a fine diner, i addressed the manager as 'भाई'. For a moment i felt as if i have committed the crime of the century, and then silence accompanied us throughout the dinner.
Its surprising how quick we can transform our body language according to the ambiance around us, which might not be completely wrong. But forgetting where you come from is something which is really unacceptable according to me....आईचा गावात
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