Even the shway-shway* student can make friends at La Shish.

***shway-shway= so so (but at least I'm trying)

One day, my roommate decided it was time for me to leave the house and give Al-Kitaab (our textbook) a rest. As an incentive, she took me to eat at "La Shish" in Dearborn, the home to the largest concentration of Arabs outside of the Middle East. I figured if we sat near the kitchen, I could probably glean a few words in preparation for my quiz the next day.

As the words "halib" and "khalas"* flew out the pick-up window, I thumbed through my dictionary and parroted the words out loud. I soon noticed ears perk and eyes shift. Someone must have caught on to my scheme, because the waiter began refilling our water glasses, showering us with loaves, and making the rounds around our table at an unrivaled pace. Each time this gentle fellow set down more pitas, he lingered just a few seconds longer than before. Finally, as I was about to refuse the final bread basket, a young mysterious green-eyed waiter emerged from behind the potted palms to ask me if I spoke Arabic.



* translation "halib" means "milk" and "khalas" means "enough" although actually, I couldn't catch any words outside the pick-up window aside from "habibi" meaning, "my darling"