I Have my Limits...

No, I won't eat everything. I draw the line at tentacles, testicles, mystery parts, and anything still alive and prefer my protein sources "sanitized" (no skin, claws, bones...). I had a particularly squeamish experience at our last banquet. We were again sitting at a round table with a large lazy Susan in the middle. The man on my left was kindly serving those around him as the food rotated by. When a full fish on a platter came into range, the woman to my right declared that she wanted the eyeball. "Really?!" "Yes, just stand up and pry it out with your chopsticks," she directed. As he was reaching across me to deliver her "treat," the orb slipped from his grip and landed in my lap. I was thoroughly grossed out, but it didn't phase the woman at all. She scooped the eyeball off my leg and popped it in to her mouth before asking for the other one! See the photos for other examples of where I won't go. One of my former students was serving as my interpreter, and she wanted to treat me to a local specialty. After telling me that her mother advised her not to give me diarrhea--"too late!"--she ordered soup with cuttlefish balls, meatballs made of ground whatever stuffed in sausage casings, and a big piece of snake skin. You can see how much she enjoyed it. Not. I stuck with the dumplings.