A STOMACH ACHE, PLEASE

Fooooooooooooooood

Of course, paradises don’t exist on earth, and we get a good lesson already on the first night. At Lunch, we had found a lovely little street restaurant by the river, where (at least) 5 young boys were cooking. They were so excited to have foreigners eating at their place that they just wanted to talk to us and to care for our food. And it was really good food, a bit spicy but really good. And we decided to go back in the evening. So we are there again, and as we told them at lunch that Dal and Rice is one of our favourite, they have prepared Dal and Rice, just for us. We feel like we owe them something. They bring the food. First they offer as a “present” a spicy crispy bread, so that we can taste it. Of course, we don’t just taste, we eat it. Then come two big plates of dal and two of rice, plus many chapattis. And as we eat, they refill the plates, add newly baked chapattis. The younger tells us he will bring a surprise and comes back with a bottle of water. They are so caring and proud to serve us, that we are fully unable to say not to them bringing the food. Feeling how much they want us to like the food, plus being uneasy with being watched constantly, we eat very fast. They read it as we very much like  the food. So they bring even more. We can even less say no. By the end of 30 minutes, belly overstretched with the amount of food swallowed, we ask for the bill. And the bill is high. They add charged for basically everything: the number of chapattis, the bread present, the bottle of water, the refills… If we  count everything, it overall comes quite close to the amount they ask and it didn’t matter so much. But how stupid we feel, walking home with a stomach ache, for just being too polite. We have faced a cultural difference, enhanced by the fact that we are Perrine and Cécile. In France, if you are invited to eat, and people have cooked on purpose, you accept refills, or taste everything at least, so to thank the host In India, not. If you eat, it means you want to eat. And neither of us knows how to say no, already in Europe. We have to learn that. And this experience, though painful all night, was a good to learn from.