soon to be vegetarian

last week, the director of my department and his wife took me out for a special lunch. we went to the "happy (organic) chicken" restaurant in the rural hills outside of gyeongsan.
here's what happened.....
we pull into a chicken farm and get out of the car. we are ushered into our own private dining room. after removing our shoes, we take our seats on cushions on the floor around a little table. right away, kimchi, fresh hot green peppers with soy bean paste, pickled radishes, garlic and onions are brought as side dishes to the table. soon after the owner returns with a small cup and places it in front of me. i peer down and see a raw egg, slimy as ever, with a touch of sesame oil. i cringe inside and out, not wanting to know what is going to become of this situation. i swallow hard and look up at the director and his wife. looking very innocent as if this is nothing out of the ordinary (which it probably isn't), they explain to me that the rare and special soup they have ordered for us often causes an allergic reaction in people and the raw egg will prevent this from happening. "what kind of allergic reaction?" i asked in slight panic. something having to do with the skin - a rash, hives, swelling, not sure!? i squint my eyes, nodding my head, and start to heave from deep inside. one of my worst fears is raw egg. i can't even stand the slightest bit of runny egg in a COOKED egg. it makes my stomach turn and as my friend erin often says "it makes my throat sweat." i stalled as best i could. i even asked them if they were joking. of course, they did not have to ingest the raw egg because they have been eating this soup for years and know they are immune from the skin rash. so, finally i mustered all the strength inside and brought the little metal cup to my lips. i planned to just swallow in one gulp....to take the egg like a shot of tequila....however, the egg yoke was too big, or maybe it wouldn't fit down my throat because i was gagging, so i had to chew the egg yoke. OH MY GOD. inside i was screaming. my stomach was lurching. i thought surely it was my last day on this earth. surely i would die from this raw egg. surely. i must have looked awfully strange to the director and his wife because they had very funny looks on their faces. i'm certain my face was red, sweat beads were definitely forming on my nose and forehead, my eyes were watering and i don't even know what kind of look i had on my face. bluffing is NOT my strongsuit. i drank a couple of glasses of water and then sat stunned at what i had just done. while i was still in shock, i turned to the director's wife and said, "i hope you know that was very brave."
soon after, the happy chicken arrived to our table along with the special soup made from the "ot-da" tree bark/leaves. let me reiterate, this is a rare and expensive soup, something i probably would have never had the opportunity to try on my own. i must say, it was delicious, but all the while i was a bit nervous with the raw egg gurgling about inside of my belly. luckily, nothing bad came of the raw egg incident. i managed to keep it down. but, i am strongly, moreso than ever before in my life, thinking about becoming a vegetarian. i still have to give it a bit more thought, but i'm THIS close. THIS CLOSE.