Our first idea for the experiment was to laugh loudly at inappropriate times. But that was too boring and could potentially backfire. So we decided on an alternative: eating soup in class.
We obtained permission and set about making a plan, on which we weren't very thorough.
The next day was potentially the most awkward day of my life. Right before English, we hastily heated up a can of soup, poured it into my ceramic bowl, covered it, and powerwalked to class. But we forgot one important thing - you can SMELL soup!!! Immediately I got strange looks. "Do you smell that?" I sat down awkwardly, trying not to spill, and pulled out my soup and spoon.
"What the.....why do you have soup?" Explaining myself was difficult, but I totally kept it cool. "Because I'm hungry." "So you brought SOUP?"
At first I was very nervous. I ate as quietly as possible. I made sure not to clink the spoon against the bowl and not to slurp. But I eventually gained confidence. I slurped, I clinked. I even offered soup to a classmate, who was this close to accepting: [ ]
I definitely got weird looks, I definitely got judged. Even just carrying the empty bowl around for the rest of the day turned some heads and raised some questions. "Why do you have an empty bowl?"
Strange behaviors are just that - strange. They may be funny or entertaining but in the end you don't really wanna see someone repeating them every day. If I kept on brining soup to class, people's reactions would change from amusement and surprise to annoyance. But if I were in a country where the standard snack was not a granola bar but was in fact a bowl of soup, it would be fine! That's the part that gets me. Everything is relative. There is no "right" snack. There is no right thing to eat during English.
Breaking that norm was an embarrassing, awkward, and funny experience, but I will not be bringing any more soup to English class.
