Ah, another cultural experience to write about. This time, Mike and I provided the laughter. Our friends gave us the name of a fun restaurant to try tonight, Gai B. Tables in the restaurant are rectangular with a hole in the middle where they set a pot of white-hot coals and then place a grilling grate on top. You choose the meat or veggies that you wish to cook and they quickly bring it and the traditional accompaniments...think fondue only grilling. Mike and I are clearly the only two Americans in the place and thankfully seated at a table in the back corner. Out comes bowls of different types of lettuce for making wraps accompanied by spicy cucumber salad, crushed pineapple over iceberg, and a oniony salad with chili and ginger. Also, there is tofu and a huge bowl of raw onions, sliced ginger and chili paste. Directly in front of each of us, they place a soup-style bowl with a brownish-gold soup. The waitress places the meat on the grill and it begins cooking. Mike and I sample the salads with our chopsticks and discover some large spoons in the silverware tray at our table. We both sample the soup and find it suprisingly cold and a bit spicy but hey, it's a cultural experience so we go with it. In the meantime, I'm fascinated with the whole place and even though I am trying to be "cool" I decide to be a tourist by taking a picture. As I do, I knock both metal chopsticks onto the floor. The waitress comes over as I put my camera away and proceeds to assist in the cooking of the meat. In the meantime I try another sip of soup. She looks at me strangely and pulls the bowl of onions closer and then indicates that the "soup" is a sauce for the onions and shows me to put it on the grill. I would have given anything to have seen my own skin color in the mirror at that moment. I thank her and begin to laugh because all I can think is that the people next to us must be saying "dumb Americans." Oh, well, we laughed about drinking marinade the entire way home! Hope you had a giggle too!