First Dates

Last night at work I made an interesting observation about the American dating culture.  A normal first date is to go to dinner at a decent restaurant then go see a movie.  I'd like to make a bold statement: this is the worst date idea for a first date!  Third or fourth date, okay, that could be fun.  However, a first date is meant to be a time when you get to know the person you're out with--hence why they asked you out in the first place.  Okay, so let's go to a noisy environment, full of lots of interruptions by the annoying server, and then stuff our faces so we can't talk at all, but simply watch the other person eat and make fools out of ourselves.  There's also always the awkwardness of what to order--is it okay to order a drink?  Do I have to order the cheapest thing on the menu?  What if I'm dying to try a to-die-for dessert?  Don't get me wrong, I love food!  But in our culture it is customary to eat your food and then immediately leave the restaurant to go to another activity.  In other cultures, such as in Germany, it is customary that if you go out to eat, that is your only plan for the evening.  People will sit for hours in a restaurant, ordering drinks and talking, simply enjoying others' company.  Then, to top it off, we as Americans hurry off to catch a movie wherein you will be hushed if you make the slightest comment to the person you're with, thus inhibiting any type of getting to know the other person other than maybe seeing if they are jumpy during scary movies, laugh at the same lines you do, or cry easily in a chick flick.  Therefore, I'd like to encourage people to slow down in this busy world and turn off the technology and really focus on the person in your company and genuinely try to get to know who they are.  Yes, many may try to impress on a first date by taking a girl to a nice place, but instead impress her by putting thought into the date and being genuine and yourself: that's sure to sweep her off her feet!