Friend Interview
Source: Noah Pujol, current IU Senior; Mar 30, 2021
Text:
How often did you cook your meals compared to eating dining hall food?
1-2 times a week ate in room
What kinds of meals did you eat in the dorm?
Cereal, Ramen, Kraft Mac n Cheese cups, Coffee (Keurig pods – no one else I knew had a Keurig)
I use a special Ramen device that allows for more precise measurements. It’s a microwave safe square bowl thing with handles and a water fill line to get the correct amount. I survived off of ramen and relied on this tool frequently.
How did you find ideas for what to make?
I referred mostly to previous experience and tended to make things I knew about before college.
Did your parents or relatives pass down any dorm-friendly recipes from their college days?
Not really, my mom sent care packages fairly often with snacks and treats.
If you were cooking in your dorm, where did you get your ingredients?
Kroger (I used my roommate’s car or the bus – didn’t get that much); I rarely went to C-stores
I almost always ate at Read or Forest because they had good food and more options than other dining halls. My top two determining factors were proximity and quality. I lived in Read so it had the closest food and I could rely on it consistently being good.
Did dorm life teach you any useful kitchen skills?
“How to measure water.”
Texture: One of the most striking pieces of information Noah brought forth was his use of a Ramen cooking tool. I had never heard of this sort of device and with the stereotype in mind that college students primarily eat ramen noodles, I am surprised I have not heard of more people using one. It proved essential to Noah’s eating habits and overall college experience; always in a rush to get to classes, study, and take care of himself, this piece of kitchen equipment provided some amount of ease to his routine.
Context: It was interesting to hear that, like others, Noah held proximity of high consideration when getting and eating food. Living in Read dorm, he had dining options inside his building and therefore ate there most often out of convenience. Having fresh cooked, high quality food just steps away from him at all times affected his need to cook. His dorm context made it so that he almost never needed to make his own food in his room, unless outside typical dining hours. On the contrary, other college students do not commonly have dining inside their buildings and more often must learn basic kitchen skills in order to survive. Noah’s environment altered his responsibilities for cooking meals.
Interpretation: While considering Noah’s input, the core concept of identity became apparent. In his case, students also took on the role of dorm resident, heavily shaping their overall college experience. Living in Read gave Noah certain benefits and affected what skills he would need to learn during his transition. Existing in the same space as his dining provided optimal opportunities to get food quickly and efficiently without disturbing his class/studying schedule.