#imavegetariannow

[writingmime]

Being a Vegetarian is way easier than I thought it would be. Like I’m almost a Vegan at this point. #veganfood #delicious #imavegetariannow https://www.instagram.com/p/Byq_Q2iJCPVnfuu5Gwxj1uDl9NOlT8T-efSKmc0/?igshid=1odp7udq081xn

[heyyougwangju]

I Squid You Not.

Okay, technically it was octopus.

Last week my Co-Teachers told me that all the teachers would be leaving school around 2:00pm to go hiking and then we would get dinner afterward. Sounds great! However, I had this nagging feeling that I wasn’t going to like dinner. I made the bold decision to save the salad I had packed for lunch for dinner and eat the cafeteria food for lunch, just in case dinner was something worse than cafeteria food.

Lesson learned? Always trust your gut.

The hike was gorgeous. We were in what I think was the back area of Mudeungsan National Park. There was a large pond, fall leaves changing, wonderfully cool fall weather. It really made me miss backpacking! And being able to stop somewhere like that to enjoy it without the people and the rush of the city around us.

After walking for a bit, we headed over for dinner. Right before we left, one of my Co-Teachers told me we would be eating octopus. Both cooked and raw. And the raw one would still be moving “a little”. Cue nerves now.

We got to the restaurant and everything was a big confusing mess, and not just because I don’t speak Korean. There were probably 40 teachers from our school there, including, I think, our principal. This was a traditional Korean restaurant so, shoes off at the door, sitting on mats on the floor, etc. We changed seats 3 times. When we finally sat down, there was a lot of rushed talking and the waiter seemed really pissed (which honestly, I think they usually do at these traditional restaurants in my opinion). Then some guy (maybe our principle) was going around pouring everyone drinks (alcohol). My Co-Teachers know I don’t drink and they don’t either so they saved me from getting a full glass and I was only poured a shot of what I later realized was beer.

Then, we were served a giant pan of vegetables on our table stove to be cooked… with what? Octopus. One of the other teachers my age took me over to see all the live octopus. Quite unnerving for someone with a sea creature phobia… then. It happened.

Our table stove was nice and hot and the waitress came over with a bucket and threw in three giant, live octopus into our pan. By giant, I mean the size of my forearm and they were climbing out of the searing hot pan, reaching for anything within grabbing distance. I wisely leaned away from the table for this ordeal, not caring anymore about my table manners because OMG that’s a live octopus.

They continued to squirm as they were being mixed into the veggies and slowly being cooked. This was terrifying and I think psychologically scarring for me. The ordeal of seeing something cooked alive, like being burned at the stake was just not good for me. I felt nauseous and for some reason felt like crying. (Maybe because I had previously been starving and now realized I would only have my meager salad to eat and would have to eat it in a restaurant in front of 40 teachers).

When the octopus quieted down a bit (though, still not completely dead) the waitress came back and lifted it out of the pan and commenced by cutting it into pieces with scissors. If I wasn’t psychologically scarred, I am now.

Ah, finally. The slaughter was over. And then the waiter brought us over a huge plate of mini chopped up, moving, raw octopus.

Annnnnnnd I’m done at this point.

My Co-Teachers were urging me to try and by this point I was fighting back vomit and had to resist their offers.

At this point I just decided to eat some salad and down the shot of beer.

It got super awkward and they were all concerned that I didn’t get enough to eat. Which, was nice but at the same time, I had completely lost my appetite and told them it was okay. I had enough.

I guess if this turns out to be my worst experience living in a foreign country, I will consider myself lucky. Who knew that watching an octopus’s slow death would have such an effect on me? Needless to say, I haven’t had meat since.

Better luck next time?

~Hayley