For seniors Sari Kaufman and Todd Odess, a night of Italian food turned into conversation about England – where Sari studied and Todd was born – but the mutual attraction to Europe could not turn this blind date into anything more than a mediocre meet-up.

Date Bios

Name: Sari Kaufman
Year: Senior
Age: 21
Hometown: Dayton, N.J.
Major: Psychology
Minor: Sociology

Name: Todd Odess
Year: Senior
Age: 22
Hometown: London, England
Major: International Relations

What is your ideal first date?

Sari: My ideal first date would be something very casual – like lunch at a quaint café, since a lunch has a more laid back atmosphere than a dinner. Then maybe go for ice cream afterwards – a place conducive to have a good conversation. I wouldn’t go out for a movie on a first date because you can’t really talk to get to know the person.

Todd: My ideal first date would be a dinner at a restaurant and a short walk afterwards.

What do you look for in a person?

Sari: A good sense of humor. Someone who can make me laugh is attractive. I also think being a good listener, focused and caring is important. I wouldn’t want to be with someone who looks in the other direction while we’re talking.

Todd: I’m looking for a nice girl – someone who can hold a good conversation.

What are your own interests?

Sari: Running, watching baseball, fashion, cooking and traveling.

Todd: Rugby, going out, having fun and being involved in my frat.

Sari

This is my first time on a blind date. The closest thing to a blind date that I’ve been on was my junior prom. The guy I was supposed to go with wound up getting sick, so I had to go with a random friend of the family at the last minute. In essence it was a blind date because I’d never met him before, but it was also different because it was prom and I was with my friends.

My impression of blind dates before going on this one was that they were interesting. Also, a little bit uncomfortable since you don’t know what to expect and know the person ahead of time. With normal dating, you have a mutual attraction from the beginning. (This date) was definitely nerve-wracking, having absolutely no idea what to expect.

I had the penne al’arrabiata. Then we had a yummy apple-banana dessert in caramel sauce with vanilla ice cream. The food was very good; I’ve eaten at Paparazzi before. I’d say the date went really well. We had a decent amount to talk about since he’s from England and I studied there recently. It was a good experience.

I’d rate the date a B. I had a good time and it was a welcomed break from my workload, but I am not really looking for a relationship right now.

Todd

I’d never been on a blind date before. Before this, my impression of blind dates was that they would be extremely awkward and uncomfortable.

I’ve eaten at Paparazzi before and the food was good this time. I had the real parmesan and for dessert, we had some ice cream with apple-banana on top.

She was in England not long ago so we talked about that. I’d rate the date a B. She was a nice person and I had a good time. I would get dinner with her sometime as friends.

“GW Blind Date” is a regular feature in the Life section modeled after Washington Post Magazine’s Date Lab. If you would like to be set up on a blind date with another GW student, e-mail <a href="[email protected][email protected].