Valentine's Day Blackout

This year I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day in the dark.

A couple of posts ago I wrote about my experience at Dialogue in the Dark, a tour where the lights are turned out and you wander through a host of daily activities as if you were blind. I really enjoyed that tour and when I heard about the restaurant, Blackout, I quickly got the information and waited for the special occasion to go.

Well, I just so happen to be dating a very wonderful girl now named Avigail (pronounced ah-vee-guy-eel, but you run the last two syllables together). We've been seeing each other for six weeks or so and Valentine's Day presented itself with the perfect opportunity to take her to a nice restaurant. So, together with good friends Leora and Ariel, we went to eat in the dark.

It was so cool! The restaurant is part of a larger center called Nalaga'at, meaning 'Do Touch'. You can read all about the Nalaga'at Center here. When you first arrive you deposit your jackets and anything that makes light (telephones, pagers, key chains, etc) into lockers to preserve the total darkness that you experience once you enter the restaurant. Also, upon arrival you are given the menu or the option to have your food be a surprise. We all opted for the surprise, though in retrospect it's probably better to pick out stuff you know you'll like. I'm sure I'll be back at some point, so that's what I'll do next time. Anyway, I digress...

So when you enter the actual restaurant you do so by placing your hands on the shoulders of the person in front of you and you are led to your table by a blind (or severely visually impaired) waiter/waitress. After making our way to the table we had to acquaint ourselves with everything that is there. In the beginning there is just the place setting; a knife, fork, cup and napkin. After that, the meal proceeds just like any other. First come the drinks (I opted for a glass of soda water with a lid that I could reseal, though I never came close to knocking it over). That's followed by a basket of bread, then the appetizers, main course and finally dessert.

I'd like to sit here and tell you that I ate it all with a fork and knife, but that's not the case. After trying to eat with a fork most of the time, I finally gave in and just went at it with my fingers. Though I couldn't see to verify, Ariel and Leora seemed to be doing the same. Only Avigail managed to eat principally with her cutlery. Before we went into the restaurant I noticed that there were a few blind people there who had come with their families to eat as well. I couldn't help but think how this must be for them. This restaurant, while completely foreign to most of its customers, was the same thing that a blind person experiences every time he/she goes out for a meal. They don't eat with their hands, but expertly use a fork, knife or spoon. It gave me an even greater appreciation for how the things we take for granted get that much more difficult when you turn out the lights.

This isn't something that I'd recommend everyone to do. People who have trouble in the dark definitely shouldn't, but it was an experience worth having. Through experiencing the way others see (or don't see) the world, we're given a better understanding of how unique each person's perspective is on the every day details we take for granted.

Lastly, I'll leave you with the funniest Valentine's Day clip I saw this year:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sO_KILnJdHw

Hope all five of my blog readers are doing well:-) I'll be back in the states in just over 3 months to visit and for Paula's wedding. Really looking forward to it!!