Ahoj (Hello)! During a weekend trip to Slovakia, I tried one of the most unexpected foods I’ve had since studying abroad: venison goulash with bread dumplings. I had always assumed deer was one of those foods I would never try, so the funny part is that I did not fully realize what I had ordered until I was already halfway through eating it.
After spending about three hours rafting with my classmates, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. I ordered venison goulash with bread dumplings. The dish came with pieces of meat in a thick, dark sauce and several slices of soft bread dumplings on the side.
I knew I had ordered goulash, but I didn't stop to think about what “venison” actually meant. Halfway through the meal, one of my friends, who had ordered the same thing, asked me, “Have you ever had venison before?” I told him no, and he responded, “Yeah, I’ve never tried deer, either.” That was when it finally clicked.
Before this trip, I had always said I would never eat deer, along with a few other meats that seemed too unusual to me. Yet there I was, halfway through a plate of it without even realizing it.
