You sit around a hookah, which is a small glass bowl with a long stalk topped with a burning coal and a hose which you smoke out of. This isn’t to be confused with smoking cigarettes, since this is nothing like the processed tobacco we have in American cigarettes.

Anatomy of the Hookah,There is a glass bowl at the base that is filled with water. From there, a long metal pipe stemming from the bowl leading up to a small, cup-like attachment on the top. This is then filled with flavored tobacco and topped with a small piece of tinfoil. On top if this tinfoil a burning piece of charcoal is set. There is one or many hoses coming off the stem in which you draw the smoke out of. When you do draw the smoke out of the hose the smoke runs from the cup on top, down through the water where it filters out the tar and other dirty byproducts that you find on tobacco smoke, and then comes back out through the hose. Because this is not like cigarette smoke, the smoke doesn’t suffocate you and you can draw it in almost like air. When you blow the smoke out you will taste the flavor that you have infused with your tobacco.

Flavors in a Social Setting,We all like having something that we can share with many in order to provide a comfortable environment for many people at once. Some people go to the pool hall, or out to the bar, but there are others who wander into hookah bars. When you go in you will be asked how many hoses you want and what flavor you are looking for. The extra hoses are beneficial if you are uncomfortable with sharing a mouthpiece with someone else. There is a variety of flavors, ranging from strawberry, banana, grape, lemon, apple, and any kind of combination in between. The actual substance is going to look like a glob of sticky good smelling mud, but in actuality it is tobacco soaked in flavor and molasses.

This is just a relaxing way to get out some frustration you get from work, or life. They are often playing music and are decorated in a mildly relaxing sort of way. The one that I go to shows movies in one area and offers couches, pool tables, and dominoes in the other room. The owners sit upstairs while the facility is running in case something is needed. Since the one we go to is owned by Saudi Arabians they actually smoke as well. Sometimes, they will come down and share a hookah with the people inside, offering conversation and stories of their lives.

This is just a new thing starting to pop up in all kinds of places in the United States. They will continue to thrive as a good place for college kids to gather and for business men to let off steam without the need to drink. All in all the hookah atmosphere is relaxing and is something that me and my friends look forward to every week.