Delicacy

Recently I’ve become interested in how and what people used to eat in history, in a different culture. I’m not by any means a foodie, but what got me curious was watching a movie called, “Woman in the Moon.” This is a silent film, directed by Fritz Lang, and made in late 1920s. I’ll not go into a synopsis, but for those who are interested, you can look it up on online.

The movie begins when a scientist visits a former professor in a shabby apartment. He offers a sandwich to the professor who had not had anything to eat for days. This was my learning moment, because I had never seen open faced sandwich before. The main character spreads butter on what seems like either French or rye bread, layers on prosciutto, and offers this to the professor. What a simple and yet appetizing delicacy. It fascinates me because, being brought up in a rice culture, bread was very foreign to me, let alone sandwiches. Now it is not as unfamiliar as when I was a kid but scenes like this still catch my curiosity.

Yes, I was tempted to try open faced Big Mac, but somehow that doesn’t seem right.

-Yukio Kevin Iraha