When my neighbors gave me a bag and wished me bon appétit, I didn’t expect to find dark, hard objects like stones inside. Yet, it was indeed food.
I thought I was going to receive a simple homemade meal. But when my neighbors handed me a bag and said “bon appétit,” I wasn’t expecting what I would find inside. Dark, hard objects, almost like stones. No smell, no appetizing appearance… And yet, it was indeed food. An astonishing story that shows just how different eating habits can be from one country to another.
A surprising gift from foreign neighbors
It all started with a very simple scene. My neighbors, with whom communication was limited to a few hellos in the elevator, knocked on my door with a bag of food. Smiles, friendly gestures, a few words with a foreign accent, and this phrase: “Bon appétit”.
It was a kind gesture, but upon looking inside the bag, the surprise was complete. Inside were dark, hard, cold objects, almost like small pebbles or fossils. Nothing resembling ordinary food.
My first reaction was distrust. Is it really edible? How do you eat it? Do you have to cook it? Keep it in the refrigerator? Lots of questions and a bit of hesitation.
When an unfamiliar food is frightening
This is a perfectly normal reaction. When we don’t recognize a food, especially if it doesn’t resemble anything familiar, we can be surprised, even worried. Food is part of our cultural habits, and anything out of the ordinary can seem strange.
Some people don’t like trying new foods simply because they don’t resemble what they’re used to. Yet, in many countries, foods that seem strange to us are actually very common.
That’s exactly what happened to me in this story.
Discovery through the Internet
Not knowing what to do, I decided to search on the Internet. With a photo, a description, the shape, the color… and after a little searching, the answer came.
