📙 Part 2: Describe an unusual meal you had

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.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, could you start speaking now? And make sure our listener stays with us after this unusual story?

R: Let's begin, shall we?

M: Off you go.

R: 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.

M: And did you enjoy it?

R: Yes, I did. And even after I discovered what I was eating. Yes.

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Discussion

M: Dear listener, how are you doing? How are you doing? I'm really worried about you, dear listener. Because I've never had a dog, I used to have a cat. But if you do have dogs, and you love dogs and you are a vegetarian, I'm very worried about you. How you're doing? So our Rory is a little monster. Scottish monster. Ah, sorry. Sorry for him. Really. He like... You could have lied Rory... You could have said something like, okay, I ate, I don't know.

R: Well, there is one other thing that just occurred to me. Before I started speaking I was like, oh, yeah, they have chicken caesar salad pizza in Russia. But no, I decided to go with the dog because I love that story. And so does everyone else.

M: Ah, can you imagine that if the examiner is a vegetarian? If the examiner loves dogs? And you go like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna tell you now how I ate dog.

R: Well, that's not my problem. It's their problem.

M: Yeah, yeah. Okay, dear listener, so you should now think about your story. An unusual meal. Meal is a dinner, breakfast, lunch, right? So like a meal. Unusual? Okay, what did you eat that was strange, unusual? Maybe some insects. But it should be a meal. Okay? Maybe in a cafe, in a restaurant. But not just like one dish that you grabbed somewhere on the street, but like a meal, and Rory prepared us for this dog story. Rory gave us some background. This was when I lived in or I stayed in. I'd been there, I had been there for about a month, when it happened. Yeah, I was working for a school or I was travelling there. Yeah? So Past Continuous. And then a nice expression was, I practically jumped at the chance to go out. So when you jump at the chance?

R: Well, I was very excited to go because I hadn't been out in about four weeks.

M: And you didn't know that in Ghana they ate dogs?

R: No, I had absolutely no idea.

M: Okay. Oh, surprise, surprise. Hey!

R: Surprise!

M: Sir, what would you like to eat? Well, some meat I think. Oh, there you go. Yum, yum, yum. What's this? It's dog. And you've already finished the dish, you know? Oh, boy, oh, boy.

R: Thank you. Very tasty. Good seasoning.

M: And then you can describe a place you went to. So it was this fancy restaurant. Fancy? Like luxury. Like, whoa, restaurant, not just some like cheap cafe. So it was this fancy restaurant by the main road. And you arrived there with your guide, yeah?

R: Yes. Well, one of them. I mean, we had several.

M: The menu was in the local language. There you go. So you see? So our poor Rory didn't understand the local language. And he just... How did you choose the dish?

R: Randomly. I just saw the picture and I was like, oh, that doesn't look like it's got bananas or raisins in it. It'll be fine.

M: Oh, you saw a picture. Okay, right. Oh, boy, oh, boy. Yeah, so the menu was in the local language. And Rory doesn't eat raisins. He hates bananas. We all remember this, yeah? And he saw a picture of a dish and then he gestured vaguely at the picture.

R: Just like whatever.

M: When the dishes finally arrived, so my dish arrived. So the waiter brought me the dish. We just started eating. Rory thought he'd ordered pork. Pork is like a pig. I'm very sorry if you're a vegetarian, dear listener. Please forgive us. This was surprising since (because), it was a Muslim country. Muslim area.

R: Well, it was a Muslim-majority part of the country. In the north it's Muslim and mostly in the south it's Christian.

M: And then Rory figured out that it wasn't pork. Mmm... What was it?

R: I didn't figure out. Somebody figured it out for me.

M: Oh, boy. It was at that moment, the guy with me explained that it was dog. So Rory was shocked. But he soldiered on. A very nice phrasal verb. If you soldier on, you just continue. It's hard for you. It's really difficult, but you continue like a soldier. You know, like I soldiered on, it was hard, I was struggling, but I soldiered on, nonchalantly. So how was it, Rory, for you? You knew that you were eating dog and still you continued eating dog? Oh, you little Scottish monster.

R: Yes. But I was just, you know, I just carried on because, you know, you didn't want to be rude to people and it was okay.

M: Yeah, nonchalantly, like, in a calm manner.

R: Yes. Calm. Not emotional. Not shocked. Just...

M: Okay, okay, dog. Fine. All right. Yeah, I'll pretend that it's salad. Okay, fine. So nonchalantly. I kept eating it nonchalantly. And yeah. Oh, boy, oh, boy. Dear listener, you can stop listening at this point, okay? And just...

R: And just slowly despair.

M: This dish shouldn't have been on the menu. But it was on the menu. So we're talking about the past. And we are imagining a situation. Like it shouldn't have been on the menu, but it was on the menu. Yeah? And Rory's conclusion was that you should always check things out properly before you get stuck in.

R: So if you get stuck in you start eating the food very enthusiastically because you're hungry. And then you realize that it's something that you probably wouldn't eat under normal circumstances.

M: Oh, man, oh, man. Yeah, I've eaten pretty horrible things myself in Peru. I'm not gonna say what I ate.

R: What did you eat in Peru?

M: A guinea pig.

R: Oh, Maria.

M: Yeah. It's called Kui. It's a special kind of guinea pigs.

R: It's called barbarism. You're a barbarian. Barbarian.

M: But we were high in the mountains. You see, I wasn't in a restaurant.

R: I bet you were high.

M: High the mountains. Okay? And there weren't any cafes. There was nothing. Just mountains and a small house. And we were really hungry. And we asked to make us some rice. And yeah, make us this Kui.

R: Absolutely unbelievable.

M: Yeah. Anyway, anyway. Then we finish it off with our strategy, the third conditional. Because the story is about the past. So Rory goes, if I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have had such a nice story to tell you. It's a nice thing to use the third conditional. If I hadn't gone to this restaurant, or if I hadn't ordered this dish, I wouldn't have known that blah, blah, blah. Or if I hadn't ordered this dish, I wouldn't have tasted this lovely dessert. Rory, what helped you organize your answer? We're not discussing dog anymore.

R: Well, I basically followed the pattern that was given. I had to say, when I had it, where I had it, and who I had it with, and explain why I was, oh, sorry, why it was unusual. So I just introduced it, instead of saying, like, I am going to talk about. I just said I couldn't think of anything that would top my experience of doing and then what it was, and then introduce that saying this was when I lived. And then I explained where I was. It was a while ago. So I used phrases "to be a bit vague about it", like if I remember correctly, and then adding in some details about where I was. And in the same way, I moved on to talk about why this situation came about, when I said, anyway, I realized that the menu was in the local language. And then this is how I came to order the food. And I didn't say it was unusual. I said it's funny because and saying something as funny is often another way of talking about something being unusual. And then I explained why it was unusual. And I rounded off by using the usual strategy, which we already talked about. If I hadn't done it, then I wouldn't have and what the result would be. I think it's a funny story. Lots of people disagree.

M: Ha-ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha. Yeah. So next time Rory goes to Ghana, he's gonna eat a cat. That's it. We're gonna be done with this podcast. Oh, boy, oh, boy. And what strange food people eat in Scotland, apart from haggis?

R: Just haggis. I can't think of anything else. Well, I mean, apparently we also eat oat, which is considered, it's considered to be something that horses eat in England, but oat in Scotland is something for people.

M: All right, dear listener, thank you very much for being with us! Again, I'm sorry for a 4000 times. For Rory's story. Yeah, we like, well, except Rory as he is. So if it was disgusting for you, and if you couldn't bare it, sorry. And sorry, again. We love you! We hug you! And we'll get back to you in speaking part three about eating out! Okay? Bye!

R: Bye!

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