French arse

On tuesday night I took some friends for dinner in a place that I had recommended. On arriving at the place we took two of the four tables and made ourselves at home. Then another four friends arrived. Three chairs were clearly available and we spent a moment visibly searching for a fourth. The central table was occupied by three French people and I noticed that one of the guys had spread himself over two chairs. With the casual friendliness I would offer any stranger I asked the guy for the spare chair. He said no, telling me that it was a "two chair day today. Some days one chair, some days two chairs."

Ok, by this point it was fairly clear that we were dealing with an asshole. The friends who were trying to figure out if they were going to be eating with us or not were feeling awkward. After a continuing argument with the guy he just wouldn't give us his spare chair. I asked if he was injured and needed it. He wasn't, he didn't. He just wanted to be a prick.

I pointed out that most people do just fine in this place with just one chair and maybe he'd give me the spare ones so my FRIENDS could join me.

By this point those friends had had enough and decided to eat elsewhere.

I sat at my table in disbelief. This idiot was sitting adjacent to me with just a small gap between tables. I couldn't say anything to those I was with. I was in shock. My friends were making obvious comments about how much of a prick the guy was but I didn't feel like bitching. I felt like giving him a British good old fashioned piece of my mind.

I asked him what had gone wrong?

"Some days good, some days bad." What a philosopher.

I asked him if he felt that on a bad day he had to bring everyone down with him, fuck everyone else over.

"It's not my problem."

"Well it's a problem for me because I wanted to enjoy this food with my friends. The owners would have appreciated the extra business and I think your friends would have liked to have felt that they weren't sitting with such a glaring prick."

I went on to explain that "if you are feeling shitty then to do something for someone else, anything, will make you feel better. This is how it works. Because now there is dark atmosphere in here, everyone is directing negative feelings towards you and you will regret this tomorrow."

This went on for a while until my friends pointed out that I can't change someone like this. He's an asshole. I rejoined our conversations, calmed down, ignored him and eventually he went.

One of my team asked if I was gonna jump the guy. You know, it never occurred to me. I didn't want to batter the guy. He just needed a hug, bless him. But such irritable bitterness from one so damn French.

Really, I have not seen such a stubbornly selfish shitty attitude from any foreigner since I have been here. It was shocking. People here usually fall over themselves to help you out and be decent.

The next day, walking around Varanasi with Tal I saw him from a cafe. Tal shouted good day to him and the guy replied with his apologies to me and my friends. I accepted. And as I write this into my notebook from a cafe table, he is sitting very close. I wonder if this guy has learned some lessons about karma.

Last night I had a very special jam with three professional classical Indian musicians in our guesthouse. We were in the room of another French guy who has full recording equipment, a sarangi, a sitar, tabla, djembe. And a hot Asian girlfriend. He has the works.

Oh, and remember Dom, my French Baba? I ran into him yesterday and he was on his way to check into the same guesthouse I am staying at also.

What is all this French today? I guess it makes a change from Israel.

And currently I am uploading photos from Tal's camera onto my photo page. For the moment I have given up on my camera. But because I wasn't taking the photos there's plenty of me to keep mother happy.x