#byebyeArend

To say goodbye in style, tonight I invited both the Enterprise Systems and PLASMA groups to a dinner at Akbars. Which poses a nice cross-cultural puzzle! When you invite people for a dinner at a restaurant, what do they expect?

When we lived in Germany, even at the end of a period of five years we hadn't quite wrapped our minds around the fact that when you get invited to a German home, no matter what time of day, there will be food. 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00 - make sure to get there hungry, because if you do not do justice to the cake, spread, meal or whatever is put in front of you, you will be insulting your host. It is not a question of being hungry: you are there, you are served food, period. We made some (with hindsight) amusing mistakes.

What I have in mind when I invite people to a dinner at a restaurant is that I am their host, they my guests, and the bill is taken care of. But is that what people will understand on the receiving end of the invitation? How can you know? The anwer is: you can't.

To liven up the occasion I had prepared a little quiz, somewhat late in the day if the purpose had been truly missionary; but it was just in good fun. As rewards for correct answers I handed out some things that I bought here but will not bring home: bike maps, my Cityscreen membership card, a spray can of Mr. Muscle oven cleaner, a coffee mug, that style of thing.

All day I long I was scatter-brained. The knowledge that it's almost end-ot-time here, that wall looming up, was enough to make it impossible to concentrate. I got very little done and was almost glad to find it was time to go home. For preprandial drinks I got Richard and James to join me at the Blue Bell, one of the pubs on my list that I had not yet ticked off. Then it was Akbars, home of the family nan bread. They were as good as ever, and the quiz + prizes were received very well, I think. All in all, just what I had in mind when planning this.

There were a few drinks afterwards with some of the guys & partners: Dimitris, Nikos, Thanos, James. (If some of the names are Greek to you, that is how it should be.) I tried to clear up some remaining questions I have: for instance, why do the English say "cheers" when they mean "thank you"? Not much progress there. Rather than another ale I tried a cocktail, but one was enough. Also this is a cultural thing: even after a night out, you are home before twelve.

On the way back, I found the Ouse up again above bike path level, which was a nice gesture. During yesterday's preparation for the quiz, the level wat 6,50m: now it is at 7,40m. No matter, I will own the bike for less than 24 hours from now anyway - sold it to Nikos.