::A Geek in Korea::

Whenever my wife and I end up eating from the same plate, bowl, or dish, there is a sort of mind game going on to see who will get the last bite. I didn’t catch onto this for a little while, but whenever we eat anything together, she always times her bites, or does something so that I get the last bite.

I don’t complain about this behavior. It’s rather nice of her. Today I had cooked a very big meal to repay all the hard work she did this week. We were eating some salad out of a bowl together. I took my bite, then she took hers. We both agreed it was delicious.

Eventually we got down to the last bit of cheese and roasted almonds, and I was waiting to see if she was going to pull some sort of stunt to get me to eat the last thing again. Did she know that she did this? How long could I delay before testing to see if she was really waiting for me to eat the last bite?

I moved some scraps around on my plate, waiting for her to take the last bite. She made no move for the food.

“Why don’t you just eat the last bite?” I said.

“I want you to eat more than me,” she replied.

“I eat faster than you, so I probably did eat more. Also, it doesn’t matter if I get the last bite, or the first bite. I still ate. If I want more, I’ll make something, or just ask for it. Just eat it please. I don’t always need the last bite.”

“Oh, okay.” She finished off the salad.

She claims to never have delayed or stopped eating so that I can eat the last bite of food, but I’m not sure I believe her. There is probably some deep seated Korean manner rule that she wasn’t aware of following.