Memorable Moments from a Long Night of Bars (2 of 2): A Late-Night Karaoke Bar.

Much later, at this karaoke bar, the (white) female bartender had an accent, so I asked her where she was from, and she said she was Polish, and when I identified as half-Polish, she got all hard-ass on me and was like, “You are Polish, but you don’t speak Polish,” and set my beer on the counter hard and went to turn away, to which I replied (in Polish) – “Thank you” – at which she momentarily stopped mid-turn and scowled, since everyone knows that word, I guess – so I then added (in Polish) – “Sweetie” – at which she broke out in a smile and this look of confused surprise and amused fondness burst into her eyes, as she turned away to run down the counter and serve another customer.