It’s Not Right: Taking Too Much Food from Someone’s Lunchbox

these siomai look very appetizing
Source: debbietingzon on Flickr.com

In my first job where I tutor children, I would rarely go out for lunch. The kids kept on flocking in and I got too busy to leave my table. I would bring a few pieces of huge siomai from home. They won’t make me full, but they were easier to eat and I could eat them in my seat.

In the Philippines, we have this custom of saying “kain tayo” (let’s eat) before eating in the presence of other people. It is a polite way of “inviting” other people to eat with you. Most people would just nod or give you back a smile without accepting you “offer”. So when I opened my tiny lunchbox, I told my colleagues “kain tayo”. Knowing that my lunch was not really enough for me, my male colleague declined. However, the female colleague took a piece of my siomai. I think she’d never tasted siomai before because as soon she finished her siomai, she asked me for another one. My male colleague sarcastically told this teacher not to take my food anymore because it wasn’t really enough for me. She replied with a “but I can’t really help it because it was so delicious” and took another piece. I was too shy (and too shock) to pull back my lunchbox from this middle-aged teacher.

I went home having a painfully growling stomach. It was one of the worst feelings I’ve experienced. But being shown no care by my own colleague felt much worse.

When someone offers me food, I would check first if he has more than enough for himself before taking one (or I would simply nod and give him my sweetest smile).