I remember this classmate of mine back in Liverpool. He was doing an MA in the Geography Department, while I was doing mine in the School of Communications. We were doing a course on culture mainly for undergraduates. For postgraduates, there were additional tutorials apart from the lectures.
His name's Chris. He had a part-time job, working in a pub in the evening. He told me about his working class background, that was the first time I learned anything about class.
There was a shop selling very cheap sandwiches on campus. A big one cost only one pound. One day, Chris got one that he couldn't finish. He just gave half to a man, a complete stranger, sitting next to him. That man accepted his offer. And the story ended.
I have been trained to be suspicious. I wonder if I would accepted this offer. I might have done so in Liverpool, but probably not in HK.
I was reminded of Chris after lunch with a friend today. I was reminded of hardship in poverty, but also the kind of love and friendship you could find in difficult time.
I got one sandwich story.
ReplyDeleteThe homemade sandwich was shared by a Serb guy I met on the train from Slovenia.
We left the train, got a lift from a local person, walked a bit, crossed the border to Italy and walked to the train station.
After this long journey, we took a rest at the platform. He took out the sandwich from his backpack. I just ate it, with no suspicion.
It was my first time to try the local serbian food. And it should be one of the most romantic journeys in my life. ^^
Yes, sharing food can be quite romantic.
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