bentry picnic by Alejandro B. '30

[important author’s note: this actually happened four weeks ago]

[i’m sorry]

‘Twas was the night before the weekend. Two midterms later and many Uber Eats orders later I had made it through another week at MIT. How? I don’t know. It still feels like I just arrived on campus. I am unsure of when that feeling is going to unstick. 

One little trick I have used to enjoymaxx this semester is to not put too much stress over my grades! Us freshmen are on P/NR⁠01 freshmen are on a pass/no record for all of their first semester classes. this means that it does not matter if you receive an A+ or C-, they will both only show up as a Pass on our transcripts  and (checks grades) I am definitely making the most out of it. I also had many things to look forward to this weekend. Especially on Sunday which was when I had the long-awaited Bentry picnic.

But but but…what is Bentry?? I’M GETTING TO THAT.

I live in MacGregor House, located along the stretch of dorm row. It is far enough away to make me late to my morning classes (it’s the building’s fault; not mine), but close enough to uhhh…live I guess? I initially chose MacGregor largely because of the fact that 99% of the rooms are singles. I did not and still don’t believe in sacrificing my privacy for the traditional college experience. Another fact about MacGregor is that it is split into nine “entries” from A entry to J entry; i entry is imaginary. I am in B entry, aka Bentry, aka B stands for best, composed of the 10th, 11th, and 12th floor.  

I quickly met a lot of people from Bentry, largely in part because of the entry’s social nature. Also in part because of our weekly study breaks, planned by our entry chairs and GRA – shout out to Ryan, Jessie and Tobi. This week was especially exciting because for our study break we were going on a picnic to the Boston commons! Since arriving on campus, I had only been over to the other side of the Harvard bridge once; so this was an exciting opportunity to explore the big city. 

I spent all week brainstorming ~ what should I cook? ~ I wanted to have a dish that represented my culture which would also fit the theme of a picnic. Honestly, my indecisiveness got the better of  me but eventually I landed on “tequeños.” 

If you know what tequeños are: I am glad, I am sure your life has been better since.

If you do not know what tequeños are: In essence, they are a better type of cheese stick. In Venezuela, they are eaten everywhere and growing up I have probably had over 300 tequeños. I am a fatty.

On Saturday at 7:00 PM, I set out to buy the ingredients. On Saturday at 7:20 PM I realized that this was not going to be feasible. To make tequeños I needed fresh white cheese for frying, usually from some type of hispanic brand. I had overlooked the fact that I was no longer in Kissimmee⁠02 suburban city right underneath Orlando where my family lives; if anyone asks me where I am from I just larp Orlando  and getting my hands on hispanic ingredients was more challenging than anticipated. After weighting my options with my cooking skills I decided that the best thing I could do for my culture was to buy the tequeños! Becoming a good cook will have to be left for another blog…

And so, the day had arrived, we made our way to the Kendall/MIT train station. Two stops later we were at Park Street, which stops right on top of Boston Commons. I felt like I was transported to a 2010s feel good movie walking through beautiful trees in the middle of a city bustling with people. As per Susila’s recommendation we walked all the way down to the Public Garden, even going right through a walkathon occurring that same day. 

Once we found a spot we laid out our blankets, and everyone started setting up the food they had brought.

So. Where were the tequeños?

Going back, I actually placed an order for the tequeños as we were walking to Kendall station. I was mildly stressed while we walked because with each slow step taken the delivery time got closer and closer. Thankfully, we arrived right on time. Taking a short detour from the group, I got my delivery of 20 tequeños from a local Venezuelan place and placed them down next to everyone’s dishes.

i ate a lot of food after this

very aesthetic picture taken by jessie

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I’ve always enjoyed potlucks and picnics. Sharing food is a way of sharing your culture and an intimate part of yourself, also it is a good excuse to eat a lot. Study breaks like these also remind me to take a breather in the middle of MIT’s ever lasting chaos. So remember, every once in a while go outside, get some fresh air. and please touch some grass. Trust me, it does help.

P.S. Thank you for all the weekly study breaks Tobi!