[NABS-L] Dining Etiquette

Tue Oct 30 17:06:23 UTC 2018

I have used Aira at times, which was great. When I am with family or
friends, however, I would ask them for their help. I usually start by
asking them to read categories of the menu, and narrow down what I
want to know more about.
If I am by myself or with blind people, I would use Aira, look up the
menu online, or ask the restaurant staff for help.

Miso

On 10/30/18, John Dowling via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Simon,
> You could always use something like seeing AI or KNFB reader, or, you could
> use Aira as a guest and ask an agent what's on the menu.
>
> On Oct 30, 2018 10:53 AM, simon bonenfant via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Folks.
>> As I read  this thread another question comes to my mind. What have you
>> all done about reading menus when they are not in braille? Most places I
>> go to the restruants do not have braille menus. I've heard of people using
>> knfb reader or Seeing Ai or something else to that effect but that has
>> really never seemed to work for me.
>> I find that when I've tried using Knfb Reader to read menus it usually
>> jumbles things together and I end up not clearly distinguishing the price
>> of the ingredients in the dish to the actual dish which makes this task
>> very confusing with Knfb Reader. I usually end up asking whoever I'm with
>> to read me the menu which is fine with me but I'm just curious how others
>> handle this?
>> Thanks.
>> Simon.
>> Sent from my braille note touch.
>>
>> On Oct 27, 2018 9:05 AM, Justin Williams via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>> >
>> > Soups can be a little sloppy, so watch that, and be ware of how much
>> > salad dressing you put on your salad, and how big the pieces of the
>> > salad are.
>> >
>> > But yes, those items she mentioned are definitely worth consideration
>> > because they can be readily accessed without a whole lot of effort.
>> >
>> > Justin
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jameyanne
>> > Fuller via NABS-L
>> > Sent: Friday, October 26, 2018 11:42 PM
>> > To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
>> > <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> > Cc: Jameyanne Fuller <jameyanne at gmail.com>
>> > Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Dining Etiquette
>> >
>> > I echo what Tara said. Practice on your own until you feel comfortable
>> > with it. In the meantime, if you're out to eat in a professional
>> > setting, try to get things that you don't have to cut. They don't have
>> > to be handheld, but things like pasta, soup, or salad don't necessarily
>> > have to be cut. Though twirling spaghetti onto a fork is another matter.
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tara Briggs via
>> > NABS-L
>> > Sent: Friday, October 26, 2018 6:47 PM
>> > To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> > <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> > Cc: Tara Briggs <thflute at gmail.com>
>> > Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Dining Etiquette
>> >
>> > Hey Jason! Welcome to eating as a blind person! We’ve all been there!
>> > Probably one of the best things I can do just for you would be to
>> > practice when you’re by yourself. He could also start with something
>> > like toast and tried cutting up with a knife and fork. Then you can look
>> > at what you’re doing. One of the best things you can do is eat small
>> > bites! If you lift your fork up and it feels heavy and that might mean
>> > at the bite is too big. I hope other people pass on their tips and
>> > tricks. I have found that the sharper The knife,  the easier it is to
>> > cut food.
>> > Tara
>> >
>> > Sent from my iPhone
>> >
>> > > On Oct 26, 2018, at 4:21 PM, Jason Perenski via NABS-L
>> > > <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> > >
>> > > Hi,
>> > > I hope this is the right place to ask about this. My ability to
>> > > gracefully cut food with a fork and knife is abysmal. This is an
>> > > uncomfortable situation to discuss since dining is so essential for
>> > > social and business situations, and these skills are usually so
>> > > incredibly obvious and second nature for most people. I know everyone
>> > > struggles with something, but as an otherwise independent and
>> > > successful young adult, this topic feels like something I shouldn’t be
>> > >
>> > > stumbling over.
>> > >
>> > > I don't eat a lot of meat or food that needs to be cut in general, but
>> > >
>> > > I'd like to look professional in more formal social and business
>> > > settings now that I'm about to leave college. And frankly, I also
>> > > don't want to be the blind person who always orders something handheld
>> > >
>> > > when eating in public.
>> > >
>> > > Unfortunately, no one taught me when I was younger, which is a
>> > > widespread problem for blind children. I've read some guides online
>> > > about proper table etiquette and how to cut something without looking
>> > > like a slob. And I've even bought playdough to practice with. But I'm
>> > > still lousy at it. I'm curious if anyone here has other tips or tricks
>> > >
>> > > to get more comfortable and graceful at this. To be as detailed as
>> > > possible, here's what sometimes happens:
>> > >
>> > > 1. I start cutting along the back (convex) portion of the fork, but
>> > > I'm only partially successful at separating a bite. I end up with a
>> > > tiny bit of meat clinging to the large piece and it's difficult to
>> > > tell when I've successfully finished cutting something. This happens a
>> > >
>> > > lot with larger, rounded cuts, where a good edge to start from isn’t
>> > > available or obvious. I place the fork in and position the knife along
>> > >
>> > > the back of it, but the thing to be cut extends well past the tines of
>> > >
>> > > the fork to either side. In theory I should easily be able to tell
>> > > when the knife scrapes the plate and there's no more meat to cut, but
>> > > in practice I'm not always successful at it.
>> > > 2. While cutting, I start shifting the thing to be cut around the
>> > > plate and, occasionally, start actually sliding the plate around. I
>> > > don't know if this has something to do with technique or perhaps even
>> > > strength. This happens less and less with experience, but it's still
>> > > uncomfortable when it does.
>> > > 3. This all becomes a bigger challenge with more complicated dishes
>> > > (meat with sauce on top, or plates with several other items).
>> > >
>> > > Is this something you've ever related to, or is it just me? Were you
>> > > taught any alternative techniques that might be helpful? Am I missing
>> > > something obvious? Is my technique possibly incorrect? Are there meals
>> > >
>> > > you find easier to handle than others? All of this makes me feel like
>> > > a bit of an inept loser for a skill that shouldn't be difficult. If
>> > > you have skills or techniques to make this process more seamless and
>> > > graceful, I'd love to hear them.
>> > >
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>> >
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