I have social anxiety. That means that I get stressed around new people or get lost in a big crowd.
“Lucky me” I got an invitation for dinner and a movie from an Arab- Israeli restaurant. Part of the Berlinale festival in Berlin.
I got to the address that was mentioned on the invitation, hoping to find a big hall or any kind of a large space I could find a place to hide. Instead I found myself entering to the Berlinale Social Bus, which a tiny tiny bus, with too many people. With no hiding place.
So, I told my social anxiety that it’s a tiny bus and we can’t go on together. Leaving it outside on the street, doing my best to be social on a social bus.
Turns out it was a great idea, I had to sit on a tiny table cramped up with 3 other strangers, which after few courses of dinner revealed themselves to be a great connections to business opportunities, which I could have missed if Mrs. Anxiety was to go on the bus with me.
Also, I got to enjoy a great food with an amazing story behind it of an Israeli and a Palestinian partners who own Kanaan that wants to show Germans Israelis and Arabs that we can work together for a mutual goal. They combined dishes from both Israeli and Palestinian kitchens creating new and delicious dishes.
You can check it in Kopenhagner Strasse and while you’re there ask Oz to tell you their story, that way you will get to enjoy good food fool of hope. Which is by far a spice you can never get enough of.
Social dinner on a bus