From Dog To Goat

On the third day after I landed, I spent the whole afternoon walking around the university and exploring every bit of it. I did not dare to explore the university earlier because I needed some time to recover not form jet lag but from you- know-what (read previous post).

I could have continued wandering around, but I was sure I was already looking like a dog tired and gasping for breath. I was so hungry that the moment I saw a place that looked like a fast food eatery I went right inside and up to the counter without caring to think what I was going to order.

Now, when you are in completely different country, the food is also going to be completely different. So it usually takes time for one to get used to it. But for vegetarians, there is no getting used to it, ever!

“How may I help you?” The lady asked me.

I was still looking around at the people who were eating hoping for clues. Everybody was eating some kind of sandwich or burger. So I went ahead and asked her “Can I get a vegetarian burger?”

The lady: Excuse me sir?

Me: A vegetarian burger, please.

The lady: I’m sorry but we don’t have anything like that.

Me: You don’t have a veggie burger?


The lady: You mean a burger with VEGETABLES?? (Nobody ever looked at me with such disgust all my life)

Now, I have heard of animal rights activists and animal lovers. But plant lovers, no. She was the only lady at the counter and everybody was eating some kind of meat. So, if she could happily give them all the meat they wanted I did not understand why she had so much trouble giving me a veggie burger. Was she so fond of plants and yet had no problem with frying chunks of meat? I had no idea and I was dying with hunger. Just when I thought I was going to starve to death, I saw a board behind her that said “Cheese burger + Fries”.

Me: (Not wasting a second) Well, I’ll go for cheese burger and fries.

The lady: Okay.

So she takes the bread and puts all kinds of vegetables on it. So I realized that she was not a plant lover or should I say a plant saver. It was just that I was asking for something that was not on their menu. Anyway, I was getting what I wanted. That was what I thought until I saw a big brown, circular and striped piece of food being taken off the grill. I asked her what that was, with all the innocence in the whole world hoping not to hear the one word that she said. “BEEF!”. To this day I do not know what part of the word cheese means meat.

Me: Oh! No, please. Thank you, but no. I’ll have the burger just like that.

She: (With that disgusting look on her face again) you want it with just the vegetables?

Me: (without worrying about the look on her face, the least bit) YES!

She said fine and she was about to get some fries when I just grabbed the burger and asked her how much I had to pay. She was reminding me the fries and I almost pleaded with her to just let me go with the burger, because I was afraid those fries would be some kind meat fries instead of the simple good old potato fries.

I finally sat down and took a bite of my burger. And now, I felt like a goat! Because all I could taste was leaves. Now, I realized what all her expressions meant. For the first time in my life I was sad about being a vegetarian. But I was so hungry that I did not mind being a goat. So I just went on…..Chheww, chhoww, chheww, chhoww……..