To Whom It May Concern

Be very careful how you make compliments – or you might be eating the same thing 30 visits in a row.

Well over a year ago on one of my first visits to a certain family, I ate pite with “porri me gjiz” (leeks with a yogurt mixture). It was the first time I ate that particular filling after eating pite with spinach, with meat, with squash, with cabbage, etc. I made the mistake of saying that “this pite is the best pite I’ve had yet! What a neat mixture – leeks with yogurt sauce stuff!” …and now I’ve eaten the same stuff at least 20+ times. Nearly every time I visit there now (and I go quite frequently), we eat pite with leeks and yogurt gook – for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I still rather enjoy it – but I don’t know how to say that I “rather enjoy” other food, too. I feel like a big fake when the oldest sister starts making it or brings already-made stuff out. I plaster a smile on my face and act like I’m surprised at the originality (I am still touched by the thoughtfulness).

It’s not like I haven’t eaten other staple foods with them, too – I’ve had bean soup, chicken and rice, potatoes, and chicken liver (I don’t know if I had ever eaten liver before – and I don’t feel like I missed out all of these years :). But…75 percent of the time, I know what to expect. Predictability, shucks.