In contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city, people end up waiting for all sorts of stuff. People wait for elevators, transportation, bank clerks, seating and the list goes on. The reason why people have to wait for services is because there aren’t enough resources to accommodate everyone’s needs at once. Another reason why people need patience when it comes to waiting is due to the inherent fact that people take time to make decisions. Everyone has different needs, so they take differing amounts of time to get things done which either increases or reduces the period of waiting. Waiting slows down the pace of life because everyone needs a reprieve from the craziness of everyday life.

I am going to concentrate on the issue of waiting in the cafeteria. The main reason why I wanted to observe and write about this was that I have had to wait in a line plenty of times and there were a lot of subjects to observe right here at Coe. This falls into an urban practice due to the fact that we are in an urban campus very close to the downtown of a major city. Coe’s cafeteria serves about 300-400 students every meal and that’s a big number for a single cafeteria on a college campus. So, waiting is an eventuality at our cafeteria. We wait to get into the cafeteria which could either be instantaneous or delayed depending on how long the line is which could extend all the way to the bookstore. And then we wait in the food lines which snakes its way around the front of the cafeteria. And then there are lines for salads, deli meats, and liquid refreshments. Some people say that we spend a small yet significant chunk of our time at school waiting for food.

Human nature dictates our restlessness while standing still, so it is interesting to note the different ways that we entertain ourselves while we linger to get food. I interviewed some friends and asked them to tell me what they did or observed people doing at the cafeteria lines. I summarized their answers and my observations and I shall proceed to describe them.

If students go to eat in a group, and are held up, they usually talk among themselves. It could be a conversation that they were having on the way to the cafeteria or something that came up while standing around. But generally speaking in this situation, they tend to ignore people around them as I have observed that many of the conservations get very boisterous and loud and tend to irritate others nearby. While on the other hand, if someone is by themselves, they could be doing or thinking about a multitude of things. Usually they would look around for familiar faces or someone they can stand next to so that they don’t feel lonely. That usually leads to further conversation and an imminent sense of belonging and purpose. However, that doesn’t happen all the time as people can end up being alone. So at times like this, I have observed them to be uncomfortable and shifty as they look around to see if anyone is looking at them. Sometimes in the solitude, you could reflect on classes or events in life. When I was alone, I would think about my pending work and formulate a plan to finish it. Another possible thought that could be running through our mind could be to eat the right amount because it’s a good thing to strive for. Since the cafeteria allows us eat as much as possible, over-eating is a regular occurrence. Humming seems to be a popular option because it’s a sign of letting your mind wander. It’s usually a tune that’s stuck in your head and you don’t know why. It’s funny to see the person next to them start humming the same tune unconsciously which means that we influence our surroundings to a large extent.

The cafeteria is where a lot of the social interaction between students occurs during school days. While standing in line, students check each other out and notice what they are wearing or doing. This is perhaps one of the most popular actions while waiting. If someone in a group notices something different about someone, it sparks instant talk. Something else that comes up in a group is gossip. Waiting in lines allows time for people to catch up on gossip as well. We also scope out the area for seating which either could be finding an empty table to accommodate the group or find an existing table with people you would like to eat with. We also greet each other when we see one another and we also tend to greet the people working there and strike up a conversation with perhaps a chef.

I know a lot of people who either read a newspaper, mail or start homework while the line inches forward. That is a judicious use of time, for time stops for no one and time is money. We also try to look at the food set out and pray the food is good. If the food is good, some people visibly start salivating or tapping their foot in impatience. We must like observing other people because one of the people I interviewed said that she likes to look at the food that people choose to eat.

In conclusion, I think that there are three main things people do while waiting for food. They are socializing, observing, or something self-absorbing. We also need things to entertain us while we are held up. This is however not a complete list of things people do while waiting but rather the observations of an international college student who has never had the opportunity to experience a cafeteria in school.