Eating Out

Peter, the general manager at the Hotel had decided to take the hotel managers (who head the different departments of the hotel) on a team building exercise. They went rock climbing near the Dead Sea, learning to depend on each other.

It seemed to go well, and in the evening I joined them at a restaurant in Jaffa, which is called ‘Black Out’ –appropriate, as the restaurant is completely dark, and the waiters are all blind. The waiters have obviously no problem with the darkness, but we, the diners, certainly did! Going in, we had to cling on to each others’ shoulder and follow our waiter conga-style. Once seated we had to feel around for our cutlery and take the risk of pouring water into our glass, without knocking it over or filling it too full.

We had ordered our food beforehand, but it was a different experience to eat it without seeing it. How much of our dining experience is usually linked to the sight of the food before us?! It was delicious however, and I made use of the dark to just use my hands to eat, just as I often did in Africa.

All in all, it was a good exercise in role-reversal and certainly put us in the shoes of those who are blind. Not all my group enjoyed the experience, but I am sure we all learned something from it.