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Campus Life - Letters from MIT
Dining out on campus
By Shin Kuwaki
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キャンパス内で食事する
マサチューセッツ工科大学キャンパスには、2つの大きなカフェテリアや、焼きたてのパンを売るベーカリーのあるスーパーマーケットがあり、さらに移動式屋台のお店も出ているので、食事に困ることがありません。カフェテリアでは各国の料理を味わえるし、忙しい学生のためにテイクアウトの料理が充実しているのも魅力です。
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キャンパス内にある LaVerde's では、総菜や生鮮食品などが売られている
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It was lunchtime on my first day of Orientation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). I had just moved into my new dormitory, and I was disappointed to find that there was no cafeteria in the building. There was only a small convenience store, but I had heard bad rumors of some of the food sold there and it was more expensive than the local market, which was inconveniently located nearly five blocks away. So I kept away from it for the rest of the year and decided to look into other dining options on campus.
There are many options for eating at MIT. Many students go to the Stratton Student Center for their meals, where the main dining facilities are located. At LaVerde's, which is the campus market, students can buy fresh fruit and vegetables, meats, cereals, juices and most items usually sold in local supermarkets. In addition, there is a bakery/sandwich shop where students can select their own toppings to make their own sandwiches. Across from the market, there is a crepe shop that just opened in the fall, where they serve both dessert crepes and savory crepes. Savory crepes came as a surprise to me; they contain meat, cheese, sauteed vegetables and other ingredients that you might see in a regular meal. Dessert crepes contain fruit, chocolate, whipped cream, jam and other various sweet toppings.
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MIT で一番大きなカフェテリア Walker Memorial
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There are two other large dining areas on campus, one is also located in the student center, and the other is the Walker Memorial, a large hall that is also used for other occasions like cultural shows and performances. This hall is memorable to me because it was there that I performed bon-odori with the Japanese Society of Undergraduates, and sang a tune by Kiroro at the Asian Culture Show last year. Other students might not find their memories of Walker Memorial as pleasant as mine because we usually take exams on the top floor of the building.
Both of the dining halls serve an ethnically diverse range of foods like pizza, bagel sandwiches, smoothies, sushi and packaged salads that are ready-to-go. These meals-to-go are very helpful for students with busy schedules. There are also food trucks scattered about the campus, offering cheap meals-to-go, as well as several small coffee shops that serve freshly brewed coffee to keep us awake through the day.
Paying for meals is very convenient because students can deposit a certain amount of money for their meals at the beginning of the year and use their student ID cards at the cash register to pay for their meals and groceries. The card can also be used at some restaurants in the area, which gives students some leeway in their choice of where and what to eat.
When I began working in the Biology Department building as a sophomore, I often ate at the Bio Cafe where they served wraps with names like "Lab#1" and "Genetics," which might have scared some customers away. Actually, they are just normal wraps with creative names: "Lab#1" is a turkey wrap and "Genetics" a mozzarella and basil wrap. I also enjoyed being able to eat with fellow students also working in the area.
This year, as a junior, I hardly have any meals at the on-campus dining facilities. However, when I do go there on occasion, it brings back the good memories from earlier years when I used to eat there with my friends nearly every day.
Shukan ST: Dec. 20, 2002
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