gracias

Many thanks to the Morrisons, friends and fellow congregants, for the offer to drop off dinner. As they say in Korea by way of thanks for the meal about to be eaten: "Jal meokgesseumnida." Literally, "(I) will eat well." It's a polite promise to attack the meal with gusto. Eating heartily is, after all, a pancultural way of expressing gratitude to the founder of one's feast.

My students in Korea frequently asked me what the US English equivalent to this expression might be, and I was stumped. I normally responded that, in America, the people serving the meal might say something like "Bon appétit!" which, despite being French, is a rather common expression. The people eating the meal might wait until they're finished before thanking or otherwise complimenting their host. But saying "I will eat well" just before digging in? About the only pre-prandial expression I can think of is, "Oh, this looks/smells fantastic!" or something similar.

In any case, Mr. and Mrs. Morrison, we will eat well. Thank you.


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