As a foreigner, I am often excused from social conventions that do not really offend Koreans. My clumsiness is often qualified as “cute” and “lovely”. Nonetheless, I always try to follow the rules – for instance, holding my right wrist with my left hand when pouring a drink to someone older than me.
So today when our big boss took us out for lunch, I knew I’d have to watch myself. Last time she invited me, she complained that Lucie and I were talking while eating (it’s true: most Koreans eat silently) and that, mainly because of this, all the other people had to wait for us. Indeed, at some point we realized that everyone was staring at us while we kept eating. They had already finished eating.
I did pretty well. We ate kimchi, marinated pumpkin, and squid in a hot sauce, and our main course was fish soup and rice. It was delicious. Yes, delicious.
Until I found a piece of fish that looked like fat. “That’s odd, I thought. Fish don’t have that much fat.” That’s when my boss looked at me and said “fish eye! You must eat, it is very healthy.” What could I do? The idea of eating a boiled eyeball totally disgusted me and, for a minute, I thought I’d throw up.
But I did it. I ate it.
Everyone at the table smiled, and my boss said that as a kid, she would fight over the fish eyes with her family. “Fish only have two eyes, you know. We were 5 at the table.” I immediately thought about mutation. “Well, I said, in a few years if you’re lucky you might eat fish that has 5-6 eyes and then you won’t have to fight over it!” I added “But of course, I’m not sure it will be as healthy…”
