The School Cafeteria and Social Interaction

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American culture is incubated and hatched in the cafeteria. Students go to the dining hall to get the food their bodies need for proper nourishment. But, food is by no means the only thing that students get at the cafeteria - they are also served with social interaction. The cafeteria is a place which some students love and which others dread. It is generally an integral part of children's social lives from elementary school all the way into college. Why is the cafeteria so important? Because, in the cafeteria, popularity is determined, friends are made, styles and fads are born, and the current news is broadcast. Our culture is defined and passed on over meals in the dining hall.

The cafeteria is not merely a place for small children; now that I am in college, I spend more time in the cafeteria than ever. Living in the dorms, I have no kitchen or any other place to cook. Instead, I have a meal plan that offers me fourteen meals each week at the Stanford/Hecht cafeteria. I eat lunch and dinner there as my two meals on most days. But, I do not and cannot go to the cafeteria and just get food. I get much more.

Going to eat generally begins with an invitation. Although it is acceptable to go down to the cafeteria alone occasionally, it is better to go with friends. Sometimes, a friend will stop by and invite me to go eat, other times I get hungry and go invite someone else. If everyone is busy or has already eaten, then I just go down to the dining hall by myself. But, I try not to let that happen often because it creates a boring meal and makes me look bad. If someone consistently dines alone, others will assume that he or she has no friends to eat with. So, two or three of us will usually go down to eat together.

We get to...

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...there is the matter of leaving the cafeteria. Generally the entire table will leave as one group. Most of the group will probably finish eating at almost the same time. Those who finish first wait for the others out of politeness and courtesy. After everyone is through eating, someone will suggest that we leave and we will all take our trays up to the dishwashing counter and then leave. Near the tray drop-off counter, we are hit with hot, sticky air from the dishwashing. We quickly leave our trays and continue out of the cafeteria as a group. On our way out we talk to each other and friends that we see sitting at other tables. Often, students will plan out what they will do later in the day while talking to friends and finding out what is going on. Eventually, the group will split up and goodbyes are said. We go back to our rooms with a full stomach and a full mind.

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