Too Cheesy

     

         First things first, my addiction for pizza is real. Whether it's cheap Texas pizza or pricey, Chicago deep dish, I'll buy it in a heartbeat. Luckily for me, my conversation also shares a love for all things pizza.

        Just as we had planned, we met at Pizza Snob in between classes this past Monday. I got there earlier than her, so I sat and waited for a little while. A few minutes before our planned time, she texted me asking if she could bring a friend with. Getting the opportunity to meet another student in the IEP program, I of course said yes. When they arrived, I went and met them at the back of the line. She introduced me to her friend who had a heavier accent than her. They were dressed similarly, which I was used to after meeting several other Saudi Arabian students through my partner.

       Once we got our pizza and sat down, our conversation went as it usually does. We talked about the classes we had that day, talked about finals, and talked about food. I can't really put a reason behind it, but our conversation never ceases to shift to food. She asked what I usually get on my pizza; being an animal of habit, I always get the same thing and answered her effortlessly: alfredo base, asiago, tomatoes, and mushrooms. It's the closest I can get to a margarita pizza, which is a type of pizza I usually get with my mom when I'm at home. 

      We then started to talk about movies that we thought were interesting. She raved about the movie Gone Girl; she then went into detail about the plot. I thought it was funny that she didn't really consider the idea of "spoilers," so she told me who died and who the actual murderer was. Granted, the likelihood of me seeing the movie was slim, but a lot of people in the U.S. are big on keeping big events in movies and books secret. An example of this is the Harry Potter series; one time, I was watching it with a group of people, one of which had neither seen the movies nor read the books. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone yell "spoiler alert," I'd be pretty close to paying off tuition. 

     Every time I meet with my partner, I feel as if I'm finding a new piece to the puzzle that is Saudi Arabian culture. Like in literal puzzles, some pieces are easier to find and connect—outside and corner pieces. Other pieces are tricky and are easy to confuse with a similar piece. In some instances, I can see this confusion. There have been numerous instances where she has made sure I went first, but at Pizza Snob, she didn't. It was interesting to compare and contrast each of our food adventures. It's crazy to think how much you can learn about a culture from something as simple as a slice of pizza (cheesy but true).