The concept of communion may sound religious, but in Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, he explains how eating together is often a literary technique used to bring characters closer together. However, this concept works well in real life. Meals are a wonderful time to get to know new people and can even be a fun experience over all.
Dining Halls offer a nice place to foster relationships, but they are often loud and extremely public. This is why having a meal in a dorm room or apartment, especially one made by you and your friends, is the perfect medium to strengthen friendships. From someone who enjoys cooking, doesn’t like to brave the outdoors when it’s below freezing, and gets tired of dining hall food, cooking with roommates is an frequent occurrence. Using my Ninja Cooking System, which I have posted about before, the dorm microwave, and some innovation, I have had some wonderful experiences with friends and made great memories.
The Food
This part is always great. There are only so many things that keep over long periods of time in a dorm. The classics include canned vegetables, instant pasta (most commonly ramen), and mug cake essentials. However, some fun things include pretzels, apples and peanut butter, chips and salsa, and literally anything you have on hand. As long as it is edible, it can join the party. The weirder the combination, the better the memories.
The Fun
Cooking and eating with others can lead to lots of laughs. The safety of the dorm walls, to keep others from seeing how silly and weird you really are, ensure ultimate bonding. A common activity is the standing-around-as-cheap-microwaves-take-forever-to-heat-canned-veggies and watching whatever Disney/Pixar movie Freeform has airing. Cooking is just so much better with others to talk to as you watch water boil. There’s magic in eating your food off paper plates while crowding on a dorm couch or bed. Or, if you are in a rush and used the bathroom counter in your suite as a food distribution space, you eat while standing around the sinks and closed doors leading to the toilet and shower.
Eating with others is a wonderful way to bond. Making a bunch of weird food and crying over Finding Nemo is an even better way to bond.