I recommend the restaurant on the ground floor of the Hilton hotel, which is located next to the exhibition pavilions of “Expocentre”. Wonderful exotic curry-version of pea soup, and the prices do not bite. Excellent service.
I found myself at a dinner at the Hilton hotel, because he participated in St. Petersburg international economic forum. The annual large-scale meeting of men in suits were transferred to the “Expocentre” in the South of the city, because the old Convention center on Vasilyevsky island for this event was the close.
Residents of Vasilievsky island this, of course, but happy: the flow of taxis, vans and black cars under the careful supervision of police turned their life into a real three-day hell.
At the next table in the restaurant sat a huge Russian client with two companions. Fifty-year-old male, blue jacket, head like a bucket, small ears, bald.
“Hey, girl!” — shouted the bald, demanding expense.
That waiters in Russia are called “girls”, there is nothing strange. The waitress can be a “girl”, even if we are talking about sixty-year old woman, and she does not take offense at such treatment.
But this time, I noted some tension in the body language of the staff. Bald shouted “girl!” the two young waiters-men standing next to the cash register. One of them reluctantly went to the client, the second was staring blankly at the ceiling.
The word “girl” is no longer synonymous with “waiter”. Especially if the appeal relates to young handsome men.
Russians often laugh at the politically correct language of Europe. According to them, the affectation will not make the world a better place, quite the contrary.
However, the language is changing in Russia, and in some cases it is in the direction of correctness, as in the rest of Europe. But the word “girl”, special attention is given to the meaning of the word “Negro”.
Last year, a taxi driver from Murmansk half an hour to read me a monologue about how anything wrong with the word “nigger” is not. In his opinion, words like “African-American” and “African” — nonsense, if we don’t know where this came from. However, resentment sixty driver testified that the Russian youth with him to some extent do not agree.
The change in language to separate one generation from another. President Putin was born in 1952 raised its humor to a new level three years ago, saying that in the sanctions list includes “specifically, two Jews and one crest” — his friends Gennady Timchenko and the Rotenberg brothers. “Crest” in the Russian language — a derogatory name for Ukrainians.
The President has a hidden meaning: with respect to his friends, he can use a politically incorrect expression. After all, they are buddies, and the buddies play a prank. I’m willing to admit that I, a Finn born in 1959, this phrase a little amused.
Young Russians of this situation, on the contrary, a little strained — regardless of how they treat the President.
Tension is a good word and in order to transmit the reaction of the waiters approached as “girls.” I felt how the atmosphere was better after the slow-witted left the restaurant.
