This episode’s vocabulary
To top
verb — to be the most important, most successful, etc.
Posting
noun — a job, often within the same organization that you are working for, that involves going to a different country or town.
To jump at something
phrasal verb — to accept something eagerly.
Underdeveloped
adj. — (especially of a country) without modern industry or modern services that provide transport, hospitals, etc.
Tarmac
noun — a brand name for a black material used for building roads, etc., that consists of tar mixed with small stones, or an area covered with this material.
Gesture
noun — a movement of the hands, arms, or head, etc. to express an idea or feeling.
To gesture
verb — to use a gesture to express or emphasize something.
Vaguely
adverb — in a way that is not clearly expressed, known, described, or decided.
To soldier on
phrasal verb — to continue doing something although it is difficult.
Nonchalantly
adverb — in a calm manner, often in a way that suggests you are not interested or do not care.
Get stuck in
idiom — to start doing something enthusiastically.
Questions and answers
Rory, could you start speaking now? And make sure our listener stays with us after this unusual story?
Let's begin, shall we?
Off you go.
Well, I can't think of anything that would top my experience of eating dog, regardless of whether I intended to do that or not. This was when I lived in West Africa in the mid-2010s. I'd been there for about a month on posting as an English teacher, and one of the locals invited me out for lunch. To be more precise, this was Ghana in 2015. And I was working in a Catholic school in a Muslim-majority area. So it was a little bit isolating. I practically jumped at the chance to go out and have a little fun. If I remember correctly, it was like a fancy restaurant by the main road that connected the township to the rest of the country. The north of Ghana is relatively underdeveloped compared to the south. So there was only one stretch of thick Tarmac that was always covered in dust or surrounded by it. Anyway, when my guide and I arrived, I realized the menu was all in the local language and not English. But I remember thinking, oh, it'll be fine as long as there aren't any raisins or bananas in the food. So I gestured vaguely at something and got to talking with the company I was with. I remember when the dishes finally arrived. We just started eating. And I thought I'd ordered pork. So I explained this was a bit surprising, since it's a Muslim-majority area, and I didn't think people prepared anything with pork around those parts. It was at that moment, the guy with me explained that it wasn't pork, but actually, I was eating dog, which was a bit of a shock. I know. But I just sort of soldiered on as nonchalantly as possible, making out that I knew exactly what I was eating all along. It's funny, because while dog obviously isn't a Western dish. It shouldn't, at least in my understanding, have been on the menu because I thought dogs were considered unclean in Islam too. It sort of explains why the company I was keeping didn't order the same thing as me as well. I suppose it just goes to show that you should always check things out properly before you get stuck in. However, if I hadn't done it, then I wouldn't have had a funny story to tell. So I'm still glad it happened. Even if it was a bit of a shock.
And did you enjoy it?
Yes, I did. And even after I discovered what I was eating. Yes. -