For me... having lunch at the office is a bland yet necessary affair. Bland food is one thing.. the atmosphere and company is another. I'm sure I'm considered one of the "bland lunch company" - I rarely speak or participate in lunch conversations. I could splutter out a few sentences in Norsk, sometimes, through sheer luck, I could even manage to make people laugh. Of course, most of the time, it is at my own expense :P.. well, considering the vast language gap, that's quite a feat. It is totally normal for folk around me to carry on convos but it is also totally normal for me to feel like an outsider at times. Knowing and understanding the situation makes it slightly more tolerable to experience it but it can be quite taxing to keep trying and hold my head up. Don't get me wrong, all this, to me, is a natural part of the process - integrating.. And bless the folks in the office, they do try. At times, they'd even pause their munching in suspense - waiting for me to finish my sentence in Norsk.. :p
Today was just one of those days where I had lunch surrounded by a ring of friendly silence.
Munching away in silence,
ABE