Lobster = Wine

When S and I lived in Beijing, we made it a point to make friends outside of the people that S worked with. No offense to his co-workers, but sometimes it is just nice to have dinner when the talk isn't all about S's company...plus it is nice to meet people who aren't from central Illinois or have never lived in central Illinois...one of my favorite things about being an ISE is meeting people from all over the world. Some of these non-company friends are now friends for life.

On Saturday night, S and I went out to eat with some new non-company friends that I had randomly met. This couple is American and have lived in Chennai for about a year now. However, they haven't met a lot of people due to their work and travel schedule. S and I are very lucky to be overseas with a large multi national company. We have a great benefits package plus there are other American ISEs here with our company. This means that we already have a built in network of people to meet. I can't imagine being the only American ISEs in an area for a company. However, this happens quite a bit for other people. While initially it was somewhat difficult for me to meet non-company people here...people with kids I feel have it a little easier because you can more easily meet people at the school or through play groups...I have slowly been building up a network of non-company friends here. Now it is time for S to start meeting the husbands. He hates the idea initially, but he always ends up having a good time when we get together with these couples.

So, back to Saturday night (and to why Lobster = Wine)...we met up with this couple at a restaurant we had never been to before. It was an Italian restaurant set outdoors. Another very nice evening sitting outdoors...a definite advantage to living in Chennai in the winter! We had a great time sitting, talking, drinking wine, and eating our food. Soon though, it was time for the evening to come to an end.

We ask for our bill. When it comes, one of the items listed is lobster. Well no one in our group had had lobster. Luckily...before we started complaining that our bill was wrong...our new friends knew at this restaurant that lobster was the code word for wine. Huh? Why not just list wine as being wine? Well, Chennai is located in the state of Tamil Nadu in India, and Tamil Nadu is a dry state.

Yep, that's right...in a country where one could probably use a drink more often at the end of the day than in other places...alcohol is hard to come by. You can't buy it in stores...legally that is. A lot of stores that are frequented by foreigners will sell you alcohol, but it's not on the shelves...you have to ask for it. A friend of mine buys her wine from a local person who comes to her house with the wine in black garbage bags. I have heard of people driving down to Pondicherry...about a 3 hour drive one way to the next state...to get beer and booze. The problem with this is that foreigners can't buy it in large quantities...so we would have to have our driver get it. Plus, I guess if the shopkeepers see the driver loading the alcohol into a vehicle with foreigners in it or a car with Tamil Nadu license plates, they will write down the license plate number and call ahead to the checkpoint at the state border. At the checkpoint, I guess cars with foreigners are almost always checked for alcohol making it nearly impossible to smuggle any into Tamil Nadu.

So how do S and I cope with living in a dry state? Well, we are only social drinkers. We have never drank at home unless we are having someone over for dinner. If we go out to eat and are by ourselves, we very rarely will have a drink...we just stick to water and diet Pepsi. So, really this isn't a huge issue for us. Also, here in Chennai, it is legal for a restaurant to serve alcohol if they are attached to a large hotel. Of course, then there is a large tax on top of the price of the alcohol.

So, the next time you are out and get a bill with lobster on it when you haven't had lobster to eat, only become concerned if you are eating anywhere but in Chennai, India...lobster is slang for wine here.