As the last couple of blog posts pointed out, I was recently on a trip to Kazakhstan. So far, I've regaled you with stories about, essentially, pieces of paper. Sure, they were important pieces of paper (the postcards were important to me), but they were just that: paper. In a way, though, they highlighted just how different things were in that country compared to what I was used to. I don't normally have to track customs forms or have that much trouble finding a way to mail something, after all. Today's post, on the other hand, is the opposite of that. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
As I mentioned last post, I was in town the day before a local holiday. That led to shenanigans when it came to the operating hours for the post office, but it also led to the set up for this post. Specifically, I needed to have dinner the night before this holiday, and I wasn't feeling particularly adventurous. So, I figured I'd wander down to the hotel restaurant and grab some food.
As it turned out, the restaurant was closed, but the bar was serving food. Well, no big deal. I'm no stranger to pub food as dinner, and I happen to like beer. If anything, I figured it was a win. The bar was on the second floor, though, so I had to walk up a set of stairs to get there.
As soon as I took the last step to the second floor, I noticed that it was a pretty big area but it was also pretty empty. Imagine a doorway into a large room of sorts, with a host stand situated right near the door. I spotted another guy enjoying what looked like a burger and fries, so I knew the place was open and serving food, but he seemed to be the only one. Whether it was because it was a slow night or because I was early for dinner, I didn't see too many other patrons.
Unfortunately, I didn't see any staff of any sort, either. There was no one at the host stand, so I didn't get any immediate clues about how to proceed. Hoping to be seated, I started wandering farther into the actual room (it was pretty spacious). As I did so, I noticed that the room was a bit of semi-circle, with the straight part of the semi circle making up the back shelves where bartenders keep liquor. The host stand was situated a few feet in front of this, so I only started to realize the layout of the room as I walked further into the room. It looked like this, basically:
I don't have a great explanation for what I was thinking, but I knew that staying there waiting wasn't going to get me any answers. Maybe the only person working was the bartender, or maybe they let you sit wherever you wanted because it was so slow. Honestly, I was just guessing that I would get food and drink if I meandered past the host stand.
As I did so, I noticed a bit of a hallway behind the bar area. It was out of sight when I had first walked up, but there was clearly a few feet of space there. And that, folks, is where I spotted the staff. Specifically, a young female waitress and a young male cook, in an embrace that looked like they were definitely dating. Yup, I accidentally caught them making out. I swear to you, I was just looking for a bite to eat, and someone to tell me where to sit. Instead, I made very awkward eye contact, and I turned away hastily. My peripheral vision told me that they also made some rushed movements, but I wasn't looking at that point.
Given the situation, I decided that I was just going to sit down at one of the free tables, and someone would come to me to direct me eventually. The waitress came over after a few minutes, but she could barely look me in the eye. I was polite and did not crack any jokes or even show my amusement outwardly, but I felt like I was in a sitcom. I could practically hear a laugh track playing in my head.
The meal was fine, and after a couple of times of coming over and asking if I needed more food or beer, the waitress eventually calmed down. Still, the whole meal was a bit more ... interesting ... than I had expected.
The thing that cracked me up about it all, though, was what I said at the beginning of this post. Apparently, teenagers and young adults (they couldn't have been any older than their mid twenties) don't change too much regardless of where they live. Also, I strongly suspect those two happen to like when the bar is slow.
As I mentioned last post, I was in town the day before a local holiday. That led to shenanigans when it came to the operating hours for the post office, but it also led to the set up for this post. Specifically, I needed to have dinner the night before this holiday, and I wasn't feeling particularly adventurous. So, I figured I'd wander down to the hotel restaurant and grab some food.
As it turned out, the restaurant was closed, but the bar was serving food. Well, no big deal. I'm no stranger to pub food as dinner, and I happen to like beer. If anything, I figured it was a win. The bar was on the second floor, though, so I had to walk up a set of stairs to get there.
As soon as I took the last step to the second floor, I noticed that it was a pretty big area but it was also pretty empty. Imagine a doorway into a large room of sorts, with a host stand situated right near the door. I spotted another guy enjoying what looked like a burger and fries, so I knew the place was open and serving food, but he seemed to be the only one. Whether it was because it was a slow night or because I was early for dinner, I didn't see too many other patrons.
Unfortunately, I didn't see any staff of any sort, either. There was no one at the host stand, so I didn't get any immediate clues about how to proceed. Hoping to be seated, I started wandering farther into the actual room (it was pretty spacious). As I did so, I noticed that the room was a bit of semi-circle, with the straight part of the semi circle making up the back shelves where bartenders keep liquor. The host stand was situated a few feet in front of this, so I only started to realize the layout of the room as I walked further into the room. It looked like this, basically:
 |
| Imagine the host stand off to the right, behind this area |
I don't have a great explanation for what I was thinking, but I knew that staying there waiting wasn't going to get me any answers. Maybe the only person working was the bartender, or maybe they let you sit wherever you wanted because it was so slow. Honestly, I was just guessing that I would get food and drink if I meandered past the host stand.
As I did so, I noticed a bit of a hallway behind the bar area. It was out of sight when I had first walked up, but there was clearly a few feet of space there. And that, folks, is where I spotted the staff. Specifically, a young female waitress and a young male cook, in an embrace that looked like they were definitely dating. Yup, I accidentally caught them making out. I swear to you, I was just looking for a bite to eat, and someone to tell me where to sit. Instead, I made very awkward eye contact, and I turned away hastily. My peripheral vision told me that they also made some rushed movements, but I wasn't looking at that point.
Given the situation, I decided that I was just going to sit down at one of the free tables, and someone would come to me to direct me eventually. The waitress came over after a few minutes, but she could barely look me in the eye. I was polite and did not crack any jokes or even show my amusement outwardly, but I felt like I was in a sitcom. I could practically hear a laugh track playing in my head.
The meal was fine, and after a couple of times of coming over and asking if I needed more food or beer, the waitress eventually calmed down. Still, the whole meal was a bit more ... interesting ... than I had expected.
The thing that cracked me up about it all, though, was what I said at the beginning of this post. Apparently, teenagers and young adults (they couldn't have been any older than their mid twenties) don't change too much regardless of where they live. Also, I strongly suspect those two happen to like when the bar is slow.
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