Ndimu.

7:30, the restaurant is open since half an hour. I take a place at the managers table and one of the waiters notices that I don’t have a cup. He walks – a walk that is something between the walk of a penguin and a Jamaican musician – towards another table, takes a cup, gives it to me and disappears.

Oh, I get a cup but I don’t get anything to drink.

Some time later a trainee comes to ask if I want coffee.
No, but I would like to have a bottle of water, wìth a glass.

He looks surprised: a glass?

Sic… most of the guests take their bottle of water away, but I want to drink water.

After breakfast I would like to have a cup of tea. I ask another trainee, this time it is a girl, to bring me tea with lemon please.

She disappears and comes back with tea and… milk

What’s this?

Milk!

Did I ask for milk?

No!

So please take away the milk and bring me what I asked for.

She disappears again and I see at her behaviour that she has no intention to return to bring me something else.

When I see her after some minutes I tell her: I’m still waiting for the lemon.  She answers with the typical “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah” and leaves again.

This time she disappears completely and does not return at all.

The other trainee comes by and asks me if I want some more water.

No I don’t, thank you, but maybe you could look for your colleague who is looking for lemon for me.

Are you still waiting for your lemon? The chef, who has joined me, asks me

Eh... yes.

Most probably she doesn’t now what lemon is and she has disappeared for not admitting it.

Starting from tomorrow I will ask for “ndimu”.