A Terrible Experience I've Had

I have eaten dog. It was a terrible experience. I had it at a Chinese restaurant in Ikebukuro. I do not remember exactly where the restaurant was or if it is even still open so you have to do your own research if you want to find it.

When we sat down my friend said, “There is dog on the menu.” I did not want to eat the dog, but my other friend said, “We have to eat the dog. This is the only chance we will ever have to eat dog.” When he put it like that, I had no choice but to agree with him. A lot of people go through life making the safest choices possible, avoiding all risks, and when they grow old, they have no stories about themselves when they were younger. At the end of the day, nothing really matters except how people remember you and the stories you have to tell. So we ordered it.

It was served in small disks about the size of a CD. Most of a disk was made up of reddish-brown meat and a small white disk of what may have been fat towards the center of the disk. They were room temperature and may have been raw, I do not actually know. They were served with a lot of different spices on a separate plate.

Of course, you have to taste it without sauces or spices first for the true experience. The texture was like very, very firm gelatin. The taste was unlike anything else I have ever tasted in the worst way possible. I cannot put into words the unique, disgusting flavor, made worse by the fact that I was eating some cute dog. With all of the spices on top, it was not so bad because you could not taste the dog.

My other friend came to the restaurant late and like any good friends we did not tell him what kind of meat it was until after he tried it. The look on his face was probably the only enjoyable thing about the whole experience.

We all talked about it and we decided we wanted to know what kind of dog it was. As I write this, I realize how terrible that is. I am currently overcome with regret. Thinking about it makes me sick. The waiter comes by and we ask him and he says, “Not for pets.” That is it. He never said what kind of dog it was, where it was from or if it was even real dog meat. I am actually pretty thankful that he did not tell us what kind of dog it was now, but at the time I was a little upset because if I am going to experience something, I want to experience all of it. That was a much younger version of myself.

I feel really, really bad about the entire experience, but mistakes shape us as people and help us grow into the best versions of ourselves. A wise man once said, “Good judgment comes from wisdom, and wisdom comes from bad judgment.” I do not know who actually said that, I might have made it up. Anyways, on that day, I became much, much wiser.

Travis

Vocabulary

put it like that (v phr.) ? said it in those words; phrased in that particular way
room temperature (adj.) ? not hot, not cold
put into words (exp.) ? express an idea or explain a feeling you have verbally
judgment (n) ? the ability to make good decisions
wisdom (n) ? having experience and knowing what is correct