Happy Sunday! I’m sitting by the fire in the living room, avoiding both my work and the cold outside. This week, I wanted to write about one of my favorite Zü traditions, Wine and Cheese.
The Zü, officially called Humphries House, is one of the theme communities on campus. We live a bit further away from campus and are not on the same meal plan as all the other on-campus students. The board money that would usually go toward an unlimited dining plan at Valentine Dining Hall goes into a pool that the house coordinator (me, this year) budgets into sourcing groceries and other food/kitchen-related supplies. We shop and eat communally and everyone is responsible for one weekly food procurement or house maintenance chore, along with cooking for everyone on a biweekly basis. It’s a special place for many reasons, but our ability to host really lovely events with our big house and generous budget is one of my favorite things about living here.
At the end of each semester, we host a nicer cocktail-style party and invite faculty and staff for whom we want to show our appreciation. Each resident prepares two hors d’oeuvre-type dishes, which we serve along with charcuterie and other finger foods. It’s a chance to clean up a bit, decorate the house for the holidays, and light the fireplace to welcome everyone into our home. We get to know our professors in a more relaxed environment and show them what our lives look like outside of academics, stepping outside of the traditional student role. Many professors love the event and have reliably come every semester for many years.
On Wine and Cheese day, we also do a Secret Santa-style gift exchange within the house. We limit our gift budget to $10, but encourage not buying anything at all and focusing on more handmade, heartfelt gifts. It’s a really sweet time to come together after working really hard to execute a nice event and appreciate each other. This year, I gave a handmade paper doll and received a thrifted Gossip Girl box set (both quite personal but I won’t get into the stories).
The day after, we get to enjoy our clean house, nice decorations, and all the leftovers. Waking up to fancy stinky cheese in the fridge is one of the best parts of the whole thing.
I’ll end it here, still reveling in the glory of cold San Pellegrino and sourdough bread. As always, feel free to email me with any questions you might have, about the Zü or any aspect of student life.