Philosophy of Food, Friday period 3

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded to his students when they'd all arrived. "Today is our last class. This is generally when we would a final exam, but as you may have noted on the syllabus, you are not having one. Unfortunately, given that several of your handwavy projects were interrupted by the oddness last week, my usual plan of serving your foods today won't work, either. And please see me to reschedule those."

He leaned back on the desk. "I should still like for our final discussion to be this: each of you tell me one thing you have learned from this class, and one way in which it may inform or affect your future experiences."

Comments

Discuss!

[never-dull.livejournal.com]

What have you learned here?

Re: Discuss!

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"I learned that I like coffee," Rapunzel said brightly. "Which I didn't know, because I've never had it before, but it's really useful? Like, last weekend, I probably would've fallen asleep a lot more than I did while researching if not for coffee!"

Rapunzel probably shouldn't actually be that caffeinated that often.

"And less specifically, I learned that there's kind of a crazy amount of food out there for me to try," she added, looking a little more shy, "and that I'll never know what I like if I don't actually try things, even if they look icky or scary, at first."

Re: Discuss!

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I learned that just because it's edible doesn't necessarily make it a good meal," Nathan said when it came to be his turn. "And that it can actually be pretty nasty for you despite it being edible."

Re: Discuss!

[wildandbrave]

"I've learned that it's surprising how little things can make a simple meal that much better, even if it's something as little as adding some decorations to the table at a meal, or taking care that everything is laid out prettily on the plate," Cosette said. "I've tried one or two of them already, and it's nice to see my father smile like that."

She still couldn't quite puzzle out the reason behind why that smile had been so bittersweet the night that he'd allowed her to put those two silver candlesticks on the dinner table, but she still felt accomplished for it.

"It doesn't so much matter if the food is the finest, most expensive thing in the world --" which it generally wasn't, at home, because her father insisted on living simply as much as possible -- "if sitting down for the meal doesn't feel terribly hospitable. I'd much rather have some soup and vegetables in pleasant company than the most elegant dinner in a dungeon, I think."

She paused, chewed on her lower lip, and smiled. "Of course, food is food when it's all told. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, and I'm sure I'd enjoy an elegant dinner if one were served to me. But there's something about the way one experiences it that can make all the difference."

Re: Discuss!

[justwantedfriends]

"I learned to not judge food as much by what it looks like," Kira said. "I mean, presentation is still important, but sometimes food can look good and taste really weird, and sometimes food can look gross and be tasty."

Re: Discuss!

[genesishero]

"I learned about just how much waste food there is out there, and how difficult it is for people who have nothing to get enough in order to get by," Evan shared, once his turn rolled around. "I've never really had to worry about going hungry before, but I'm sure I know more than a few people who have, and this has made me more aware of that."

Keenly so. And it was going to stick with him, being the kid who so desperately needed to be a good person.