Wednesday, July 2, 2008

About that Culture Gap

Yesterday I stopped for lunch at a rural cafe. One of the farmers drove up in his huge piece of farm equipment. It was actually taller than the building. I chose to sit in a booth because all of the stools at the counter were taken by farmer's stopping by for a bite to eat.

The waitress brought me my ice tea. Two young people came in and were seated in the booth behind me. Here's the ensuing conversation.

I'll just call this "Overheard on the Prairie".

Waitress: Hi. Can I start you off with something to drink?

1st customer: Yes, I'll have a Caramel Macchiato. Make that a Grande....ummm, with an extra shot.

2nd customer: A Venti Chai with soy milk.

Waitress: (Sound of crickets chirping)

Customers: (Giving each other the look of ... what's up?)

Waitress: Ummm. What's that? (She's thinking they're speaking a foreign language. YEAH...It's Fritalian)

1st customer: You know, macchiato??

Waitress: We have coffee or hot chocolate.

2nd customer: Oh. WHATEVER.

Heh, hey....just wait till they get to the menu.

NOTE: Just a reminder that the apron tutorial will be tomorrow. I'm going to show you how to make an apron from a men's dress shirt.!

18 comments:

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

Not being a coffee drinker...and never having stepped foot in a Starbucks...I am with the waitress...I have no idea as to what they want. I think I would be too intimidated to even go into Starbucks to order tea...

So, we've learned that Kat does not speak plant and does not speak coffee...What else will we add to this list? :-)

Amy said...

Ha! That is too funny. Who woulda thought that one day just plain 'ole coffee could have such multiple 'personalities'!

Unknown said...

So something straight out of a movie!!!

Simple Answer said...

While on the subject of fancy coffee. Happen to have a dear friend addicted to some coffee drink whose name was ridiculously long. She found out on the Starbucks site it had 1,000 calories! Within weeks, she lost 10 lbs!

life in red shoes said...

That's what I love about small towns! Wait until they try to find a vegan dish on the menu.

Cottage Rose said...

What a funny story, I feel so sorry for the waitress, I hope they gave her a big tip. I be they were well dressed men, who have never been in a small town restaurant. Maybe they were lost. Poor things. You have a great night and bright tomorrow.

Hugs;
Alaura

KatKit13 said...

SNORT. LOVE it.

Jean Martha said...

LOL the fiance and I always like to pretend we know what tourists in NYC are saying and make up terribly mean and ignorant statements for them.

I hate coffee. Yes, it's true. I'm an alien.

Anonymous said...

I thought the only place that served "Grande" and "Venti" was Starbucks.
I'll bet they didn't have the chicken fried chicken!

Vee said...

I love your snippets...I think you have a great ear for conversation!

Holly Tree Primitives said...

I love coffee, I have stepped foot into a Starbucks, and I STILL don't know what those patrons were talking about!

~Michele

Unknown said...

Crickets would be chirping for me, as well.

I have no clue what a Macchiato or a Venti are.

I really am behind the times...

Suzanne said...

Kat - HA...It's not what you can't do, it's what you can do. Lots and lots I'm sure.

Bobbi - No. They were talking Fritalian.....or Starbuckian.

Amy - Ordering in a Starbucks is a bit initimating.

Hot Tub Lizzy - Yes, what Jack Nicholson movie was that where he tells the waitress to hold the chicken salad?

Simple Answer - I know, I'm always amazed at the calorie count of some of the salads at the chain restaurants. It's shocking.

Red shoes - No vegan. No sprouts. No edamame. The only soybeans around here are in the fields. Lots of beef, pork and chicken.

Alaura - I think they were just on the way from "somewhere" to "somewhere else". Somewhere is defined as a place with more than 750 residents.

KatKit - You're laughing because you've seen this play out somewhere.

Upstate - That sounds like an interesting game. We could certainly play. And no, you're not an alien.

Jazzi - Yes, that's true. But apparently these people have forgotten that they weren't in Starbucks. You would have thought the 20 ft. tall field sprayer would have been a clue.

Vee - Yeah.....but really.....it's eavesdropping. I can't deny it. I do people watching too. I'm a multi-tasker.

Michele - I've given up. If I'm in there I just let my daughter or sister order for me. It wears me out to remember that stuff.

Thanks everyone for visiting today. I gotta go get some sleep.

- Suzanne

Caffienated Cowgirl said...

Yep, I've heard that conversation before...back where I am from. We like to snicker at those people :)

United Studies said...

Now that is too funny. But you know what? When I go to Starbucks or some other coffee shop I always say small, medium or large. I feel stupid saying "grande."

Paula B. said...

CSTM (I've decided to abandon LOL because I very rarely 'Laugh out Loud' Chuckling Softly To Myself is a much more accurate description.

Anyway...that was funny. However, I have been on the other side. We were introduced to the entire latte' scene 14 years ago and soon bought our own espresso machine for home. Can you imagine our dismay when we would drive back to the midwest? Not a decent latte place for the entire 1,400 mile trip! One mega-truck stop advertised on a bold banner "We have cappuccino!" Well, we made a bee-line there, only to discover it was a special machine that served frothy instant hot chocolate with instant coffee powder added. Ugh! Honestly, we couldn't drink the stuff!

My parents entire faces would curl when they drank our coffee, so I began pouring them only half a cup, and placed a small teapot with hot water near their places for breakfast, so they could dilute it to tea color, they way they preferred their coffee. But now, my mom is a confirmed 'coffee snob' ...just like me! My siblings and I finally managed to convert her to decent, dark-roasted beans, freshly ground for each pot and sooo aromatic.

ah...nothing like a good cup of joe.

What's really funny, my mom was telling my sister about having coffee with a friend - who made coffee similar to how she drank it for years. "I couldn't hardly drink the stuff," was her lament. Now that was a total gut-buster!

Rue said...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....
Classic! I love it :)

hugs,
rue

Merisi said...

'giggle'
Those customers sound as if they had their savings account at Starbucks (which in turn takes their money through the espesso machine, and runs *g*). Even in Vienna, they would have trouble when ordering these kind of coffee drinks, even though the coffeehouses here try hard to adapt to the new times (having woken up from smelling the ventis from customers walking by!), but I haven't seen yet monstruosities like a Venti being served at the table (and not only because they insist on serving in china cups).