Embarrassing Situations

Yemenat

Ahmed Saif Hashed

Our dining table at the hotel was spacious enough for us, along with the Russian and Yemeni delegates accompanying us. The table was cluttered with nearly everything imaginable. Its abundance and variety made it seem like a feast sent down from the heavens. The food was diverse, most of which I had never seen before, and I had no idea what the drinks were! I struggled to distinguish between what was meant to be sipped and what was to be savored, between soups and their counterparts, and even between vodka and water—indeed, even between different types of water!

Elegant pitchers and glasses conveyed a sense of luxury, and my curiosity pushed me through the veil of embarrassment to try them all, one by one. There were paper napkins, and some made of fabric, which reminded me of their costliness as I wiped my mouth with them. I felt as if I were tampering with the elegance that should be preserved, or singing praises to its beauty.

The numerous utensils before me were daunting; I was unfamiliar with most of them and had no idea of the proper order of use, or the appropriate timing for each item. Some I was seeing for the first time, while others I had never encountered before, leaving me completely in the dark about their usage. The rules of etiquette felt entirely foreign to me; for the first time, I found myself in a face-to-face challenge with them.

I sensed various obstacles before me, with awkward situations lurking at every corner. I felt as if I were at an examination table rather than a dining table. To make matters worse, I was facing this test without any prior education or lessons. I told myself:

“There’s no excellence here, no first place.