The last time I stayed in Jo’burg I ventured to Greenside one Saturday morning in a quest to find a strange little place I’ve heard a lot about: ODD Café. With items like “Avocado Milkshake” and “Red Velvet Burger” on the menu, it’s not difficult to figure out the reasoning behind their name.

Since my visit (I had the chocolate cinnamon milkshake) I’d never stopped by again, mostly because (much like anything in Jhb outside of work) it was out of my way. So when I received an invite to their “Make Friends Night”, I decided it was just the excuse I need to bring my odd out 🙂

Even after getting lost I was early and plonked myself onto a couch in the corner while the guys set up. Hostess Carmen joined me and chatted like we were old friends, and that was pretty much how the entire night went, accompanied by lots of handshakes, hugs, and tequila.

We had some questions as conversation starters, but I don’t think they were really necessary – guys, especially, just chatted about what they wanted.

A few things stood out for me:

• The number of people who pitched with current friends (I suppose there is safety in numbers if the strangers turn out to be a little too strange :P)
• Afrikaans-speaking people’s affinity to hug everyone – even (especially?) complete strangers
• How people were completely and utterly taken by surprise that my favourite band is Rammstein
• Everybody asked about what everybody else did for a living, and what a diverse group of people! But no-one seemed to know what a social media community manager does (this I’m finding to be the case a lot lately, and you’d think with everyone being on Facebook and/or Twitter, more people would know)

This speed-friendshipping was pretty awesome, and I hope to meet more people at future ODD events.