After just a few small slivers of the fish, we all agreed it was the most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth sashimi we had yet encountered. And what an interesting presentation! Then suddenly English Andy cried out, "Oi! It winked at me!" "What?" came our skeptical reply. "It winked at me. The fish. I think it's still alive." Believing the Korean beer was to blame, the rest of us proceeded to tell Andy in a myriad of creative ways that he was mistaken. He was adamant and eventually convinced us to take a closer look. Much to the amusement of the chef and other patrons, the four of us leaned in close to the flounder. Sure enough, there was a wink. Then another, and finally lots of movement: the mouth opening and closing, the tail moving up and down, and eyes blinking. The fish we were so thoroughly enjoying eating was still alive. The entire fish was connected underneath the bed of lettuce.
	It was a very sick feeling at first. For all practical purposes, this poor fish was watching as we ate its filet. Joe, the lone vegetarian among us, felt especially torturous. The feeling of cruelty crept in and replaced our recent enjoyment. The fish quickly stopped moving however, and well, it was incredibly delicious sashimi. After a few more slices and a little more beer we were enjoying the experience more than ever. It was definitely the freshest fish we had ever eaten, and after all travel was about experiencing different cultures--especially their food. The more I travel, the more I appreciate different points-of-view. We are conditioned to believe that the way we do things here in America is the right way and of course the only sane way. Experiencing other cultures, even briefly, rapidly erodes this egocentric point-of-view. In Alabama, we love to eat catfish. In Japan, a culture that lives on sushi of all variety, catfish is considered dirty and not to be eaten. In Korea, eating live fish is considered a delicacy (as our dinner bill proved), while here in America live fish are rarely eaten outside of fraternity initiations. From eating to bathing to cutting hair, everything can be approached in a thousand different ways. Ours is not the only way, nor is it always the best.