Eating habits abroad

Made it to Korea, whew. My group has now entered the final stage of international eating. There are four: First, there is the “I’ll try anything” during which you willingly sample whatever is placed in front of you as a show of bravado. Second is the closet cravings, when you duck into a McDonald’s for something familiar, but don’t tell anyone. Third, you admit to your friends that you’re longing for something “normal” (we spent the evening sucking down shrimp tempura, just to have something batter-fried). Finally, there is the humiliating “beg your local colleagues to help you find anything plain and simple on the menu” stage. I hit this today, and my Korean hosts were (thankfully) very understanding.