Food brings people together... family,
friends.... strangers. It was the first day back from winter break, and
because only a handful of people had returned, my neighbor (Monique)knocked
on my door to ask me whether I wanted to get some dinner. One of the guys who
live across from us came along too and we ended up going to Woodruff, a little
place on campus which does burgers, chicken tenders, wraps and salads... The
best part of course, is that we get the food for 'free' (using our university
IDs). Because none of us had gone there the previous semester, we were all
amazed by the amount of food our unlimited swipes could get us... so we went
all out and got nachos, burgers, fries, hummus, and chicken tenders.
Excited by the prospect of.... well, food, we decided to go again the
next day, and the day after that. Although we did eventually get sick of
Woodruff, we became friends… because of food.
Monique often jokes around saying ,
"You know we're only friends because we both eat ridiculous amounts."
To some extent though, it is true… meals play an important role in
relationships. For special occasions, we eat with our families and friends, and
make the foods that we consider special. I became much more aware of food and
friendship when Friday Cox burgers became 'a thing' between my friends and I.
Friday Cox burgers? I know, right.
It all began one Friday, two days after we had
eaten burnt, dry… horrible burgers at the DUC. We realized none of us had eaten
a ‘good’ burger since coming to Emory, and spent approximately 15 minutes of
our time complaining about the food we had been eating lately. That Friday,
they burst in my room, raving about the burgers they had just had at Cox (a
sort of food-court-y place). They promised to take me sometime… and they did,
the Friday after. Since, we have gone every Friday to get burgers.
We share experiences through food, and as such, by
sharing a meal with or cooking for people, we strengthen our friendships and
form new ones. Food is an integral part of the traditions we share with family
and friends… food is awesome.
