This morning, I woke up and went to breakfast in the new dining hall in the Sharpe Refectory. The Sharpe Refectory, otherwise known as the “Ratty” by Brown students, was far more modern and newer than the Verney-Woolley, which is nicknamed the “V-dub”. The “Ratty” featured a much larger dining area, with large television sets and fans. The “Ratty” also had two types of meals available for students daily, featuring fan favorites and foods from around the world.
According to my RA, Justin, the dining hall in Sharpe Refectory has more variety than the other dining hall that we have been accustomed to, the Verney-Woolley. The Sharpe Refectory also has more back up options if you don’t happen to like the daily special, whereas the Verney-Woolly could present potential problems if one is a picky eater, as there are fewer back ups and more daily specials.
The Verney-Woolley, although more cramped, presents a more socially active dining scene. The buffet style seating and the larger tables allows for more social interaction with others, and also features outdoor seating. The Verney-Woolly also has a soft-serve bar, for diners to make their own sundaes, which the Ratty does not have. But most importantly, the Verney-Woolley has air-conditioning, whereas the Ratty is cooled by fans alone and is therefore hotter than a sauna. Although the differences between the two dining halls may seem trivial, to me it is another area of college I am looking forward towards, to have the freedom to pick where I want to eat and what I want to eat.
Both halls offer buffet-style dining, which is a problem for me, because I know that I’m gaining weight here. The temptation of endless food is too strong for me to resist, and because of this I need to start watching what I eat. No longer can I eat ice cream with every meal, or pile heaps upon heaps of meat on top of my plate. I can see why the fabled “Freshman Fifteen” is so hard to avoid now, because the constant stress of classes pushes one to eat more.
At Pinole Valley High School, we don’t have buffet meals, which is good and bad. It’s good because I will have limits to the food I consume, but it’s bad in that I am often hungry.
Here, I’m never hungry, and I often dread the next meal. I resolve to eat more vegetables and fruits to become healthier. I’m glad that I realized that eating healthy is important, especially in college, where it is easy to get carried away by the food. It’s a good thing that I found this out now instead of when I will be in college, as I will know then to watch what I eat and not to overeat.
"Ratty" Dining Hall
Dessert at "V-Dub" Dining Hall
Austin,
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to believe. I'm reading all of these blogs and the reviews on the eating establishments seem to be all over the place. Some of you are writing positive things about it while it seems that others might be plotting a plea to the United Nations for some sort of relief.
I guess it comes down to personal preference.
You're right, though, about how easy it would be to let the pounds pile up. Not only is there the stress issue to deal with but also the fact that for most freshmen this is the first time they're away from normal parental restraints and they go hog wild with such things as daily ice cream sundaes.
We never had ice cream when I was in a dorm at Cal but we had HUGE boxes of milk. Even today I drink about a gallon of milk per day and without an avenue for exercise it just sits there. Back then, one of those boxes contained chocolate milk and I was like a kid being turned loose in a candy store. I drained more than one of those boxes of chocolate milk.
After looking at your photo of your "sundae appetizer" I can see how you might start to ballon up.
If I had to choose between the two dining halls, there's no question that the one with the AC would win out. Eating when it's hot and humid just wouldn't cut it with me.