Everytime I think I'm learning, something comes up to show that I'm clueless.
Many of my co-workers are vegetarian. I thought that I was doing pretty well at remembering this, but I was thrown for a loop the other day when I found out that the reason P didn't want to try the cookies I had brought, is that he doesn't eat eggs. And when I finally made some without eggs, I made an even worse mistake, and put in mini-marshmallows. I'm still trying to understand who eats what, and how I can bring in a treat that is edible by everyone.
We had a little social gathering the other night, after work, and I asked the people near me to explain to me what they eat or don't eat. 'A' had already explained that in America we don't know how to serve vodka properly, because it should be a larger serving in a larger glass the way they do in Rumania. And 'D' had explained to me that three people on our team are vegetarian. But now I asked the question more broadly. S jumped in with delight and said that in her culture (Chinese), they eat everything. So in the context, we all assumed that she meant that she eats meat, but she went on to elaborate. To her, the term 'meat' includes cat. And she mentioned a delicacy -- bird mucus. Actually, she wasn't sure whether to call it saliva or mucus. The rest of us were rather feeling that we would gladly forego our share of this rare treat. As she described this, I was watching in fascination. She is a beautiful, educated, refined, polished woman who then went on to explain that her grandfather has a special tonic he drinks, for long life. Made out of urine.
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