London, Hakkasan a Chinese restaurant on 8 Hanway place ……At first impression when walking through the dark alley it looked as if you are entering "dealerville" But once inside it is a whole different story…It was my first time in this place and my friend insisted on taking me for a treat…p.s : the food was amazing!!!!!
Since the restaurant was maxi packed and we didn't have reservations thinking why bother! It's a Thursday night…We found ourselves waiting in the waiting area…in other words: the bar…
The design was funky, very modern , dark lightings but always hated those bar stools especially when I am wearing heels…I never knew how to adjust my body and my legs for that matter in a comfortable sitting position…Therefore I always had a foot on the ground and my… hmmmm… "behind" on the edge…not very sexy....anyway after exactly 15 min of waiting my friend thought it was ridiculous to wait that long for food and decided to take action by going to plan B…tipping for sitting…
Personally I am not very good with these things…I don't know when to do it and how discreetly I should do it…How much its too much...and if it’s the right person to "do" it to…But I have noticed in a lot of places if the "host" in question is a she and you are with a male companion than you would have a place easily…If it is a bunch of guys it is very very "easily"…But if you are just girls than they make you wait a bit longer and if you are just girls with gifted appearances than forget it….you would be waiting at the "waiting area" for ever or at least an hour….
Anyway as my friend pushed her way through to the entrance… I looked around…Just for the sake of looking around…You know when you are looking but not really looking…As if you were searching for a way to keep yourself busy…yes that!....
So like I was saying…as I looked around…my eyes locked with a young man standing next to me…He smiled….I smiled back….I didn't see it at first but an older woman was sitting next to him in one of those stools as well….Must have been his mother…I turned my head and looked the other way….
She must have paid attention cause the next thing I know she was talking to me..
"Such a lovely girl.. isn't she David?"
"Yes… very…"
She had a strange accent…couldn't figure it out really…I got a bit embarrassed and murmured a quick thank you…
"Are you from here?" The lady was talking to me again
"Oh God no!.... I am Saudi" I love it when I say that…with a cheeky smile and one eye brow way high ( I know I am typical najdiya..lol)…and I love the effect it has on people…whether it is surprise…interest…admiration or even fear…Like and old American friend used to say " you Osama ben Laden girl!"..lol
The lady looked at me with interest…as if I was a lab rat with a new mutation…
"Very Interesting…" she smiled and said with her weird accent…
"Where are you from?" I asked
"Israel…." I backed up and starred at her nose from a natural reflex…It is not that I have never seen Jews in my life before or talked to some of them…Actually there are always around or in Arab crowds… Some of them you might know about and some of them not…Some of them that look like one and some not…But it was the first time I talked to one from the "I" word…
"Oh how nice….!" I never worked so hard on giving an answer or smiling in my whole life…This time I really looked around in search of my friend who has literally disappeared….
"You live here?" I can't believe it she is still talking…
"Actually No… I am just here for visiting…."
"My son lives here…He went to Imperial and now he works in the family business…I came to see him…Maybe he can show you around?"
I couldn't believe it this woman was matchmaking me with her SON!!!!!… She must be schizophrenic…or was so bored and decided to make a joke….or she is the smartest most intelligent woman I have ever met….
"No thank you…I am here with family and friends…and besides I am not staying very long…"
"Can I still have your number…I might give you a call and invite you to dinner or a drink somewhere…" This time the son spoke…
I was speechless…
That’s when my friend decided to pop in and say " Yalla (meaning : come on) Mashael..we have our table!" I never was so pleased too see her in my whole life…and never ever has she had a most perfect timing…I grabbed my bag…and looked at the pair "It was very nice meeting you…Have a lovely evening!" Being my mother's daughter I HAD to be polite…
And I rushed behind my friend never looking back….
26 comments:
well you had such an experience there meshael ! I'd be speechless if i was in your place.. that friend of yours owes you one ! ;)
i liked your blog .. hope to read your writings more often..
btw.. i hope you aren't the kind of a girl who her emotions would be reflected right on her face .. in such situations i die to keep a straight face and always fail ! ;)
Very diplomatic :)
I honestly don't know what I would have done in your place, I'm not hot headed or anything, but I can't imagine my self being in your place.
Fantastic blog by the way :)
Didn't it show you that they are just people, just like you in many ways? THEY didn't panic when they found out that you were Saudi, but instead extended their friendship. Why couldn't you be the same way? Not that you had to give them your number or meet them again, but I guess I don't understand why this was a big deal. It wasn't about governments, or policy, or religion, it was just one family visiting a foreign country talking to another in a casual social situation. It was nice that you were polite, but why was this whole thing so shocking?
I guess we Americans don't judge people that way - we are more naturally friendly to other individuals. This experience struck me as rather sad.
dots: I am an open book...it is quite ridiculous how obvious I am sometimes...But I think this time I deserve an oscar...thanks hon and keep it up!!!! x x x
jirukun: well we live and learn...thanks x x x
anonymous:I don't know if it is the fact that in the states you are quite isolated from the world geographically and media-phically....But here we feel it all the time...a bit like you are saying to a vietnamese girl who witnessed the war..let's go for a date! Actually the states is one of the most common places where racism and prejudice is found...because of different colour, religion, or countries e.g. asians...trust me... they were quite lucky to fall on me...cause they might have had harsher reactions from others..It is sad but that is life darling....keep it up!!!! x x x
i 2nd your polite/up to the point replie to the polite anony. :) ,,, we here or anywhere in the world witness a harsher reality without having mighty media machines to influence us the way lets say Fox or NBC does in america ,,, even if you are in the jungles of peru! peruvians will still have some pre-conceptions about the us ,,, why? ,,, cuz the us influenced their country either economicaly or politically .. for better or mostly worse .. still we all should gaze at the might of this sentence ,, a sentence i can't feel bored a sec while using it :P ,,, ""Oh God no!.... I am Saudi"" ,,, everytime it is used it gives a different result .. and THAT is mighty! :P ... i was in rome with this fancy dressed 'university prof.' turned 'cab driver' <-- could i even buy into that? :| and he was stressing the 'uni. professor' part fogha ba3ad? min jiddh elmiskeen?! .. so .. he kept talking and talking about the glorious past of the romans and their empire ,, then he shifted into politics and he started khumaini this khumaini that .. thinking that all muslims are shia'tes? silly .. then it came .. where are you from? ......................... I am from Saudi Arabia! .. my two eyes brows way high with a diabolicaly proud "i know what you are thinking you european cab driver! haha!! tough luck" smile :P .. then he turned into complete silence with a typical frown ... devil may care about that frown anyways :P .. i know i didnt .. gotta love the italians! :D
you b!tch u went to hakkasan !! I hate you.
That is by far one of my favorite resturants ever. I got excited like a little puppy wigling his tail when I first red u went to hakkasan, amazing isnt it. And booking is a bitch. I love the bar area. The place has an amazing atmosphere.
What did u order ???
I love the mom, she was bold enough to ask you out on a date for her son. lol, they must of thought u were jewish at first.
U seemed very nice to them.
P.S. I love it when folks from saudi, espcially girls say that they are from saudi. We do that sometime just to throw folks off balance and to see their reaction.
unbiased najdi: you've had quite an experience there...you did the eyebrow move as well!!!!!lol....God it is sooooooooo us...lol x x x
twix: I don't know if I should be more offended by the "B" word or you calling me a "J"...Either way I know you meant no harm ;)....keep it up hon but cut down the " I love my baby...yeah yeah...I love my B****" slang....x x x x
Someguyfromplanet: just the other day I was seeing that movie about a latin gang with an african american gang while the white gang were trying to mess their heads to fight each other..(It didn't change)...I don't think there is a race in the states that didn't experience racism...Native indian american (which are the real americans)...irish...italiens...iranians...africans...latins...arabs..indians...asians...jeez I thought WE had problems...which is ridiculous since the states is a mixture of different culture and countries...who is really a true american except for the natives like I said earlier????Honestly I have no idea what this guy or girl is talking about...
hey sis. im really sorry about the whole name calling thing, didnt mean it the wrong way.. hope i didnt really offend u.. and in no way im into the whole yeah b!tch come here slang ... no hard feelings i hope :)
the offense was non taken darling...(I never hard feelings)keep it up hon x x x
You had an opportunity to learn something from that; but you have a long journey of deprogramming before that happens.
Morris: maybe...But I guess the whole world needs deprograming as well....:):):) keep it up x x x x
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So they were totally friendly to you, and you treated them like poison because they were from Israel. And you seem proud of yourself because you didn't recoil in horror? Sounds like they've got a lot more class than you.
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