As my favorite pass-time and current profession, I guess one could attribute much of my current obsession to one night out with friends at the beginning of my freshman year. When I was getting dressed that evening, I was unaware that the coming events would so directly affect my future.
I walked to my neighbor’s house to find everyone waiting on me to eat. We piled in a caravan of ten and rode to a tiny diner I had never noticed before on the other side of town. We were welcomed by warm smiles and the most alluring scent of apples and berries. The polite hostess showed us to a long table with two strikingly painted vase contraptions. I couldn’t take my eyes off the vases that I soon learned to be called hookahs. Both of the stunning vases were shaped like a bottle and had the most indescribable mosaics hand-painted across the glass. I got some surprised looks, however, when I mentioned I had never smoked a hookah before, they were extremely patient when giving me a “Hookah 101” crash course.
After learning the few tricks I needed under my belt, we ordered from a menu of over 15 flavors! When just a few minutes had passed, they already had the hookahs lit and going. Someone finally passed me a hose, and surprisingly the strawberry-cola mixture wasn’t at all harsh like a cigarette. In fact, it was like nothing I could have ever expected. With every sensual hit my interest spiked and this odd, euphoric feeling washed over my body. Several pieces of charcoal, 2 bowls of sheesha, and two hours later my love for hookahs was secured. With the great company I had with me, I should have known time would fly. By the end of the evening, I knew everything I could have ever wanted to know about the group I came with. Now, every time I hear the bubble of a beloved shisha pipe, it brings me back to the conversations from this night.
-Meg
