The more you try to ignore something that bothers you...
It's widely known that it's perfectly polite to loudly slurp your noodles here in Japan. Yakisoba is a favorite, perhaps as common as a peanut butter sandwich in America (at least when I was growing up). They're noodles that are gently fried in a heavy sauce that is perhaps based on soy sauce. It's a strong smell and is often accentuated with pickled ginger, and other garnishes. Now, I love yakisoba when I'm in the mood for it.
Part two of this story is that about 16 teachers share an office about 30 feet by 40 feet. So there's a teacher ever 7.5 x 10 feet in this room. We live with all kinds of intrusions into personal space. It's one of the most difficult daily challenges we have to learn to live with here.
Today, I wanna scream. The slurping and heavy lingering odor of those noodles is about to make me walk over and throw those noodles out the window. I wonder what that Japanese teacher would do?
Thankfully, in the time it took for me to red-line and then script out this poorly written narrative, the offender has finished his noodles that prove to be the "gift-that-keeps-on-givin'". In another hour or so, the smell should dissipate.
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1 comment:
i feel your pain man, i hate slurping, and in general people chewing with their mouths open or otherwise eating loudly is probably my biggest pet peeve in life...you should adopt the japanese technique of subtly next time he's eating soba and break out a gas mask, and switch on those bose noise cancelling headphones...you'll be all set
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