I made the transition from academia to alcohol on Saturday afternoon at Oktoberfest by the Bay. A long line for admission and a few intoxicated attendees greeted me at Fort Mason, where I spent nearly $30 to eat, drink, and be merry. While the converted warehouse didn't conjure up images of Germany, I managed to experience a taste of its culture by munching on strudel, swallowing a shot of Jägermeister, and doing the chicken dance with strangers.
When I wasn't making a fool of myself on the dance floor, I watched a folk dance troupe perform routines like the Schuhplattler and the Bergmannstanz. One dancer who caught my eye was a boy who, based on outward appearances, didn't seem to be of German descent. (If anything, he looked Latino.) He held his own with the older dancers, though, jumping and twirling in sync with them as if he was a young Mikhail Baryshnikov.
In contrast to the graceful moves on display were random acts of public drunkenness, as both sexes waited in long lines to use the bathrooms. (They must have been too inebriated to walk to the other end of the warehouse, near the entrance, because the restrooms located there were empty.) In a few cases, people had trouble standing, while others became belligerent without provocation. Such observations reminded me of a night out at a neighborhood bar -- except I left the festival around 9 p.m.
