This caught me completely off guard because I hadn't had to really define myself and what I eat before- and I certainly hadn't thought about it in French!!!
So yes, at school I am proud to say that I have been avoiding meat and instead indulging myself in the wonderful world of vegetables. Although, I can't deny that I have always been a salad girl- ask my friends what my favourite food is and I can guarantee an answer of "KALE!!!". It was nice to see that my friend had noticed I wasn't eating meat and was curious to find out if this was something I was doing by choice. Or perhaps she just thought 'The Australian girl isn't eating meat! Do they even have meat in Australia? Does everyone just eat lettuce and potatoes???'
I managed to fumble my way through an explanation saying that it isn't really a rule for me but I'm trying to eat less meat. It was then that it became apparent to me that I am really not interested in labels. I'm not doing this to be able to say to people, 'Hey! I'm so cool, I'm a Vegan and I love kale!!!'. I'm doing this because I think it's the right thing to do according to my values and beliefs and it isn't something that I want to police myself on. Sure, today I had a chicken salad for lunch at a little Parisian café but with my allergies, it is already hard to find things that I can eat and to ask the waitress in my clumsy french if I can have 'la salade sans les produits laitiers'. As I said in one of my previous posts, I want to strike a balance between passionism and militarism and acknowledging when something didn't quite go to plan and making a mental note is so much more kind to yourself and the planet than scolding yourself.
At home with my host family I still eat meat and I am okay with that because meat is a big part of the French culture and I'm not going to enforce my own personal values on a family that has already been incredibly generous in welcoming me into their home for 5 months.
I think that I have made progress on my 'less meat' journey and I am enjoying this experience because it is something that I can little steps with and accomplish little goals part of a bigger picture. I am looking forward to the next part of this adventure and learning more about the wide world of veganishmish.