(no subject)

[sigmaleph]

re: that one tumblr post about how English doesn't have a phrase like 'bon appetit', i am reminded that my language does have a word for that (provecho*) and also: it makes me weirdly uncomfortable

i am not sure why. maybe because i did not really grow up with it, and an unfamiliar courtesy (which, by default, i rarely engage in) means you have risked offending someone. maybe because of my general distrust of people marking my actions ("yes, i am eating food. yes, you have noticed this. why are you remarking on it. what's your agenda"). maybe it just reminds me of another food-related courtesy, blessing the meal, and I know why that one makes me uncomfortable.

anyway actually the idea of other people being uncomfortable by the absence of such a phrase is a reminder of the rich tapestry of diversity that is human experience and also fuel for the ever-burning anxiety fires.

*actually usage is more complicated. some people say it before a meal, some after, some if they arrive somewhere where someone else is eating but they are not. the latter is the version i'm most familiar with.