Meeting the Perfect Mate

What is the best way to meet the perfect husband or wife? I am continuing to interview students on campus trying to answer this question for my sociology class. So far, people have mentioned arranged matches, discos and bars, computer dating services, and personal ads. One guy even said he thought supermarkets were the best places to meet women. I guess you can talk a lot about a head of lettuce!

I decided to go to the school cafeteria to interview some people there.

"I think date cafés are the best way to meet people," said my friend Rahul.

"Date cafés? What's that?" I asked.

"Well, a date café is both a café and a dating service. You go to the café, order a cup of coffee or whatever you want, and look through people's profiles. Then, if someone interests you, you can send him or her an email and arrange a date at the café. You can also fill out your own profile and have people email you. The form asks you about everything from looks, to interests, to religion. The date café is a relaxed way to make contacts."

"Are there many of them around?" I asked.

"Hmm. Well, there's one near campus called Drip. In fact, I had a Drip date just last week," said Rahul.

"Drip! But isn't that a word that's used to describe someone who is dull and boring? It doesn't sound too promising."

"Yeah, well it's funny you say that, because my date was pretty uninteresting. She barely talked at all, and she kept looking down at her coffee mug."

"I actually met my boyfriend, Gil, through work," said Rahul’s roommate, Adrienne.

"I’ve heard that dating someone you work with is usually a bad idea," I said. "It’s often hard for people to separate their romantic life outside of the office with the professional atmosphere in the workplace. If the relationship fails, and emotions are strong, the couple might have trouble staying focused on their work. The situation could be very tense for everyone in the office, not just for the couple involved."

"That’s true," Adrienne replied. "But I was lucky. I met Gil on a short film shoot. He was the cinematographer and I was the art director on the set. The shoot only took about a week, so we really only worked together for seven days. During that time, we discovered that we had many common interests, including film, photography and the same taste in music. Soon, we exchanged phone numbers and started seeing each other romantically."

"You’re very lucky to have had a successful experience meeting your mate at work," Rahul said.

"I know," Adrienne answered. "We’re very happy."

"I find that meeting people through classes or extracurricular activities is a good idea," said Michelle. "For instance, I signed up for a Japanese cooking class, both because I like Japanese food, and because I thought I might meet someone nice with similar interests."

"And did you?"

"Yeah, I made lots of friends: Sumi, Katrina, Mariah...no guys, though. The class was 90% women. In fact, now that you mention it, the same thing happened with the salsa class, the pottery class and my Tai Chi class. I met a lot of nice women, but I definitely did not find the man of my dreams."

Last, I interviewed a couple in the library.

"Friends," they said. "We met through friends. It's the best way to find the perfect mate."

"Really," I said. "And why is that?"

"Well, your friends usually know what you like. And also, you know the person is someone you can trust, not like meeting someone in a bar or a supermarket. For instance, we met because Chris's lab partner thought we would really get along."

"Yeah, Scott and I met, and I immediately liked him. I emailed him and it took him three months to email me back!"

"Well, I'm a little shy, but it eventually worked. Here we are, a year later and still together."

"Well that's the best story I've heard yet, " I said. But if I've learned one thing in this study, it's that meeting someone special, no matter how you do it, is difficult."

Making Inferences

1		Rahul, Adrienne, Michelle, and the writer all go to school together.
2		The school cafeteria is a good place to meet potential mates.
3		The writer has never been to a date café.
4		Rahul met his current girlfriend at Drip, a date café.
5		Adrienne and the writer both think that mail order brides are a good idea.
6		Adrienne met her husband over the Internet.
7		Adrienne's uncle is divorced.
8		Adrienne's relationship was successful, even though she met her mate at work.
9		Michelle has met a lot of available men through the classes she takes.
10		Michelle is interested in cooking.
11		If you meet someone in a bar or supermarket, usually that person is a stranger.
12		Chris and Scott, the couple from the library, met in Chemistry lab.
13		Chris and Scott started going out about three months after they met.
14		The writer thinks that there are many easy ways to find the perfect mate.