I attended a Hawaiian gathering, with good Hawaiian food and
music. It was a fun new experience, especially one thing in particular. That
was trying squid for the first time. I came to the meal telling myself I would
at least try one new thing, even if it looked and smelled gross. So the time
came to go through the buffet line and I stuck to the familiar stuff, potato
salad, chips. I wasn't that hungry. I came to the end and decided to take the
most disgusting looking food in the assortment. I had heard someone ahead of me
say it was calamari, I thought it sounded and looked strange and different so I
put a few pieces onto my plate before I could change my mind. Back at the table
I took my time coming to it, not that I was afraid of trying it, but I wanted a
good taste in my mouth first, so I nibbled on chips. I think everyone at my
table was thinking I wouldn't try it, and my mom finally asked if I was going
to. I said yes and without thinking took a piece and put it in my mouth. The
first couple of bites I had to force myself to chew. Up down, up down. I tried
to think of anything but the texture, I have always disliked stuff with a
rubbery, squishy texture, and that squid was every texture that I can think of
that I dislike. But the taste was actually quite good. I tried to tell myself
it tasted a lot like cheese, one of my favorite flavors. I laughed to see the
faces of everyone around me. I reassured everyone that it was good and that I
kind of liked it, but I had to add that the aftertaste wasn't that pleasant,
like a bunch of dead fish. I told myself that I'm going to finish all five or
six pieces, and I did. But each piece was harder to swallow than the last. Not
because of the taste, I'm not lying when I say I liked it, but the rubbery
texture made me want to gag. Indeed, I thought I couldn't finish the last piece
without throwing up. That experience reminded me of something Emile from
Ratatouille said, "If you muscle
your way past the gag reflex,
all kinds of food possibilities open up!"
