TIMAV: Meal Plan
In continuing in my theme of talking about things I missed while studying abroad, it would be a mistake to forget about the food at Vandy! I know this is a popular topic amongst the Inside Dores bloggers, but food plays a huge role in college life. Be sure to pick a college with tasty food or you’ll be hungry/busy cooking for four years. Fortunately, at Vandy, we are set with food!
While in Senegal, the food was usually pretty tasty. Most dishes were rice based, with a sauce made with either beef, fish or chicken and some vegetables. Not terribly adventurous, but still good. One exception was the beef liver I was given five times during the month of March (disgusting), but that’s a different story. Anyways, while I liked the food at my homestay, I still was excited to come back to Vandyland for the food.
There are two important things to consider when talking about Meal Plans at schools. The first is quantity. At Vanderbilt, first-years get a ton (and then it decreases slightly afterwards to less obscene numbers of meals): 3 meals per day, plus 5 flexible meals per semester, plus $175 per semester to use in our fabulous Taste of Nashville program. It’s basically impossible to go hungry.
Now what about the second factor? It’s the quality of the food! This is why Vanderbilt is so great: our food is awesome. I promise I’m not just saying that. I could go to the Commons Center for dinner and get some mahi-mahi with fresh mashed potatoes, a side salad with whatever I want on it, and a cannoli for a meal (yes that has been a real meal for me and yes my mouth is now watering). I could go to Grins and get a Vegetarian Cheeseburger Panini with buttermilk pasta as a side (so good). I could even walk 30 seconds from my dorm into a real Quizno’s and use my meal plan for a sandwich, chips and a drink. It’s amazing.
Vanderbilt food allows you to have delicious and different options every day. The variety and quality are definitely something I missed while abroad, because we have so many options here. I am not ready to graduate and not have all these on-campus restaurants with such good food. Plus, they even do the dishes for you. It’s literally the best system ever.
*TIMAV = Things I missed about Vandy. Keep checking for more posts about what I missed most while studying abroad.