Minjeong and I are sitting in Dennis's Restaruant, in an alley maze somewhere in Varanasi, India.
We came here because we saw a sign: "시원한 맥주 팔아요!" It means "We sell refreshing beer!" It's not in Hindi, or in English: only in Korean.
There are no liquor licenses in Varanasi, so Dennis (if that is his real name) has found a creative solution that caters to those who can read the sign (knowing Korean has some surprising practical applications). Hopefully the police don't take any classes.
We ordered our bottle about 10 minutes ago, and we're still waiting for it. "Dennis" goes to the refrigerator and pulls something out from behind the Sprites. Concealing it behind his body, he beckons me over.
We go into a back room, and I watch him pour the full Kingfisher bottle into a little metal pitcher. Apparently nobody believes that the whole beer can fit into the pitcher, so now he always makes someone watch to confirm that he's not cheating them out of precious beer.
I take the pitcher back to the table, and as we enjoy our secret beer, a nearby cow pokes his head into the entryway. She waits there until Dennis comes and feeds her some bread. "She comes every day for bread."
I sip beer and wonder if bread is a good diet for cows. She seems to like it anyway; she keeps coming back.
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