Gastronomy Orientation 2013: A New Student’s Perspective
Throughout the year the BU Gastronomy blog will feature occasional posts from special guest writers including current students, recent alumni, professors, and more. The following Guest Post is brought to you by Gastronomy student Abby Clement who is in her first semester with the Gastronomy Program. This year’s BU Gastronomy Orientation included our first ever Instagram Scavenger Hunt throughout the historic Boston area. The pictures below are sourced from various students and Gastronomy faculty who participated in food themed scavenger hunt.
Being in a new place is quite overwhelming. And if that new place is a city? Forgetaboutit! Not only is the amount of people a bit shocking…but the options!! So many restaurants, stores, bars, communities…the list goes on. Not only is there so much exploring to be done, but there are so many people to meet. Lucky for us, we already know where to find those with the same passions and dedication…our fellow Gatromites! But when, between reading and work (or lets be honest just reading and reading), is there time to explore an exciting new city and meet fascinating people? Fortunately for us newbies, Rachel Black and Barbra Rotger provided us with an answer- Orientation. By putting together a great day, they enabled us to learn about our fellow students and bond on the streets on Boston.
After a brief introduction to the program itself and program expectations, we split up into groups to be lead on a whirlwind adventure through different sections of the city. From Red Socks paraphernalia to someone eating noodles, we hunted and scavenged for the subjects and objects on our predetermined list of ‘things’. We gallivanted about, taking pictures with unsuspecting Bostonians and wondering where on EARTH we were going to find a sandwich made with donuts. Slowly we became less awkward, less of an outsider. Milling about La Verdad Taqueria at the end of the day, with margaritas in hand and our sights locked on the guac, we weren’t ‘others’ anymore. We had braved different sections of the city and interacted with, our now fellow, Bostonians. The awkward and unsure haze was gone. Conversation was easy, and common threads were being found. That’s the thing about cities. Yes they’re big and intimidating, but they’re full of people just like us. People to explore with, discuss passions with, and just plain have fun with. And once those common threads are found, the city doesn’t seem quite so overwhelming after all.
Thank you so much to Barbara, Rachel and all of the group leaders for putting on such a wonderful day and enabling us to meet our new classmates and explore the city!
See all the Instagrams from the BU Gastronomy Scavenger Hunt at Statigram.
Are you a current student or a recent alum with a food-filled story to share? Pitch your idea to gastronomyatbu@gmail.com and get published on the BU Gastronomy blog!