Greetings to cool wind and clear sky, a new semester has begun again and campus is full of students’ vigor. Probably the most common chit chat would be ‘Where should we go for lunch?’ Thinking back to what I have eaten during the last two years at CNU, I usually went to restaurants near campus, either the Sang-dae area or the back gate. Options were limited so deciding what to eat at lunch was the problem troubling me. Since coming here, to Purdue University Northwest (PNW), I found out slightly different things about having lunch.

The Most Popular Lunch Mate: School Cafeteria
    Have you ever watched American high teen dramas or movies? Then you must be familiar with the scenes of students holding their own trays with foods at a cafeteria. In PNW cafeteria, there are various kinds of foods and beverages, even desserts from many different origins including mid-west style, Asian style and so on. All you have to do is to pick some food and go to the cashier at the checkout. If you have bought a ‘meal plan’, then you can just hand in your ID card, or otherwise, you can pay either by cash or a card.
PNW provides four meal plan options for one semester. As the prices increase, you can pay different prices for the plans. Especially during the first week of the semester, the school cafeteria offers promotions for more bonus money. So if you are willing to buy it, the sooner the better. In addition, one special thing about the PNW meal plan is that you can use this not only at the cafeteria but also in other on-campus stores like Starbucks.

For the Healthy Eaters: Cook Yourself!
    PNW University Village has incredible facilities including laundry rooms, living rooms and kitchens and shuttle buses to take you to nearby major malls. After you have done your grocery shopping, you can cook whatever you want, something much healthier than the food outside, in your own kitchen. Don’t worry about not being a wonderful cook! After one semester struggling with cooking, you will become a professional chef.
When I first saw PNW dormitory pictures, I was really surprised to see kitchens at each room because this is not common in dormitories at Korean universities. Using this kitchen in my room, I try to cook my own meals as much as I can. I use fresh ingredients and it is economical. I cook for myself so as to eat Korean foods. Before I came here, I thought I would not miss Korean foods that much but right after my arrival in the U.S., I started missing Korean foods. Moreover, cooking Korean dishes can be a great way to introduce Korea to other international friends. By simple cooking, you can easily introduce your country and its culture, like table manners, and make friends.
Eating is an important part of our life. Especially for students who live on campus without their parents, it does matter. However, at PNW, the question ‘Where should we go for lunch?’ is not a troublesome question at all. If we are available at lunch break, we can cook by ourselves and if not, there is a perfect cafeteria to have lunch. We just decide what we want and we have various options to ease our cravings around campus.