"Heathen." It's fast, fond, and full of mock offense. "That's Shakespeare."

She picks up a fork and starts into a small corner of her cake, with small, slow movements, disrupting the art as little as possible while cutting through the colors and shapes. "It's from a play called Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and the line is actually 'To be or not to be, that is the question.' It's very famous back home."

A beat. "I'll bring you some Shakespeare books."