Visiting the Princeton Farmers' Market

New Jersey is known as the Garden State, and you truly appreciate how the state earned its nickname when visiting a summer farmers' market. The abundance of fresh produce and flowers harvested just several miles from campus is astounding. Grab your tote bag and sunhat as I take you on a tour of the vendors at the weekly Princeton Farmers' Market, open at the Dinky train station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Thursday through November.

Two white tents with customers lined up beneath inspecting produce and flowers for sale

Our first stops at the market are the produce booths to stock up on fruits and vegetables.

The offerings from the multiple produce vendors, including Chickadee Farms and Terhune Orchards, change weekly depending on what is in season. Several of my June favorites are the strawberries, kale, and lettuce. July is when the market really shines, as the peaches, plums, blueberries, tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, and summer squash are ready.

a table with beets with leafy green stems attached

After getting the produce essentials, it's time to find some decor to spruce up your dorm room or apartment. There are several vendors, including Longview Flower Farm, who sell a variety of cut flowers arranged in artful bouquets. I think that the July sunflowers would make a cheery statement centerpiece on a dining room table.

A variety of bouquets for sale under the white tent of Longview Flower Farm

Next up are the specialty vendors. Davidson Exotic Mushrooms sells, you guessed it, a wide variety of mushroom types, while Pickle Licious sells traditional pickles (of course) in addition to pickles on a stick (not my favorite, but must be appealing to others) and olives.

A table covered with a gingham-print tablecloth and cardboard pint containers full of various mushrooms on top, beneath the white tent of Davidson Exotic Mushrooms
A table covered with a black tablecloth and plastic containers containing pickles, beneath the white tent of Pickle Licious

 

Following these unique booths are several stops for prepared foods, like fresh-baked bread from Lost Bread Co., granola from the Granola Bar, and soups from the Soupeteer. There are also several vendors selling hot empanadas.

A vendor laughing as a customer departs with a paper bag from the Lost Bread Co. booth

To round out your shopping trip and add some pomp to your cooking and dining, you can select among different olive wood serving spoons and cutting boards from Mediterranean Delicacy. A more affordable option to bring the Mediterranean home with you, though, might be to purchase one of their olive oils instead.

Wood cutting boards and serving spoons arranged on a black tablecloth beneath a white tent

Lastly, Barking Good Bakery sells treats for four-legged friends. If you know any dog owners in Princeton, you could pick up some gourmet desserts for their pets here.

Smiling vendor in green shirt standing at table covered in green tablecloth with paper bags of dog treats arranged on top

This concludes the market tour! I'll load my finds into my bike basket and pedal back to my apartment. Visiting the market is a great way to take advantage of living in the Garden State during the summer.

 

Giving a Tour of Princeton

On a recent Sunday, my friend Hannah took the train from New York City to visit me in Princeton. In planning our itinerary, I considered what sites would be essential to give her the complete Princeton experience. I wanted to show her the traditional Princeton sites and give her a feel for what a typical day of traversing campus for classes, meetings, and activities is like for me. These are the locations I decided to include on the tour, and we had a lovely time exploring them throughout the afternoon.

1. The Dinky

Silver train stopped at the Dinky train station in Princeton, NJ

The first stop was meeting Hannah at the Dinky train station. The Dinky is a short rail line connecting campus to Princeton Junction, which is a major train station hub with connections to cities like Philadelphia and New York. Once off the Dinky, Hannah entered the Wawa there to grab a coffee while she waited for me to arrive (who was caught off guard by how fast the Dinky was, and consequently late!)

2. My residential college

white hotel exterior of Forbes College

After leaving the Dinky station, our first tour site was naturally Forbes college. Forbes, my residential college, is located just across Alexander Street from the Dinky. I explained that the building was formerly the Princeton Inn, and I showed her where my dorm was.

3. Nassau Hall, Firestone Plaza, and Blair Arch

Author standing with camera and arms outstretched in welcoming pose in Firestone plaza

Next up on the tour were several historic sites without which no Princeton tour would be complete. We walked up to Nassau Hall, the iconic ivy-covered building just past the front gates, passed through Firestone Plaza, and posed for a photo in front of Blair Arch (cover image of this blog), the famous steps of which used to welcome visitors off the train (the train station was moved a quarter mile south, to its current location near Forbes, in 1918). With my camera and map in hand, I think I looked much more like a tourist than a student here!

4. Fountain of Freedom

Children and adults wading in reflecting pool of the Fountain of Freedom

It was a very hot day, so we decided to cool off by the Fountain of Freedom. The breeze blows a spray of water as you pass by, which was cooling and much appreciated that afternoon. There's also a reflecting pool in which children play and swim, and it was so hot that I took off my shoes and decided to wade in too! It was a much-needed refresher.

5. Eating Clubs

The cannon and lawn in front of the historic mansion that is the Cannon Dial Elm eating club

I'm not a member of an eating club, but I still felt a Princeton tour would not be complete without a stroll down Prospect Avenue to see the eleven historic buildings. We appreciated the architecture and peeked through the windows to see inside the (summer-emptied) clubs.

6. Palmer Square

Brick and wood façades of storefronts in Palmer Square

After exploring campus, I took Hannah down Nassau Street to see the town. We window shopped in Palmer Square (a high end shopping and dining square in the heart of town), and we actually shopped at my favorite thrift store, Nearly New. I'm pleased to report I found some Princeton socks for $3.

After exploring campus and town, we walked back to the Dinky and Hannah departed suburbia to return to the big city. There are certainly more sites to see, but I think my tour provided a nice overview of the campus and town.

Reaching Beyond the Classroom Walls: A Course on Immigration Justice and Making An Impact

I recently had the opportunity to sit in on immigration court proceedings with one of my classes. Though the majority of that day was spent speaking with the Chief Judge of Newark Immigration Court, meeting with our consulting attorney and other lawyers working to provide universal representation in asylum cases, and enjoying a lovely lunch at a local Ethiopian restaurant, that single hour inside the court left the largest impact on the class.

My journey to this class is a testament to the supportive networks that exist among Princeton faculty and students. While writing a final paper on Mexican immigration policy for one of my first-year spring classes, my professor at the time suggested I reach out to Dr. Frank-Vitale, a postdoctoral research associate in the Program of Latin American Studies (PLAS) whose work had dealt greatly with the topic that I was researching. Dr. Frank-Vitale was immediately extremely accessible and happy to share her knowledge with me–a student who was not even taking her course that semester. 

During the process of meeting with her, I found out about her course, LAS 362 Central Americans and Asylum in the United States. My interest was instantly piqued, both as a daughter of two immigrants, and as somebody who is interested in pursuing a career in immigration law. Additionally, I had loved my previous experiences with courses in PLAS, and was excited to work towards a certificate in the program.

The class itself is a theoretical and practical exploration of the asylum seeking process in the United States. It has dealt with themes including the evolution of the U.S. immigration system, the ethics of international conventions pertaining to immigration, and the logistics associated with applying for asylum or refugee status. The class meets each week to discuss these topics in depth, getting to hear not only from an amazing professor, but also from twenty other brilliant undergraduates. Our semester-long project involves working with an attorney to create country conditions reports that will hopefully be useful in four real-life asylum cases.

Our trip to Newark was not only an opportunity to build community with the class outside of a seminar-style setting, but also a chance to engage with the community outside of Princeton and gain an insight into the sort of impact that our work may have. I believe this is something that is beautifully unique to Princeton, and I cannot describe the gratitude I feel for these sorts of opportunities to allow our classwork to reach beyond the classroom walls.

Group photo of Princeton students inside of a restaurant

I already know that LAS 362 will be one of my most memorable and formative experiences during my time at Princeton. And although I will be sad to say goodbye to this course come December, I will leave this class feeling fueled in my passion for immigration justice, seeking the next step in immigration advocacy.

Traversing the Orange Bubble

Navigating your way around campus can be intimidating during a visit or just after move-in, but after several weeks, you'll likely find yourself realizing that the campus is actually quite compact. Traversing the Orange Bubble for your various classes throughout the day is quite doable on foot or on bike, which is why very few students have cars on campus (that, combined with the lack of practically any place to park one). Additionally, Princeton's buildings are becoming increasingly accessible. For instance, Naomi Hess '22 has a wonderful blog on the recent renovations to Nassau Hall that allowed her to be the first person using a wheelchair to enter the building without assistance. In short, getting around campus without a car or shuttle is easy, and the impromptu conversations that occur while entering, leaving and traveling between campus buildings are an unsung but vital part of the Princeton experience. 

For example, after working on a paper or problem set for several hours, I might summarize verbally what I've been doing to a friend I pass on my way out of the E-Quad or library. The simple act of condensing the main points of my work can be very helpful in synthesizing and organizing the material in my mind. Other times, the walks between classes provide an opportunity to catch up with friends when we don't have the time to organize a formal meet-up or get-together. Even though we might not have the time for a concert or event together, we can always chat as we walk from class to class. I really appreciate the moments with friends as I get around campus, as they've been the start of both great ideas and friendships.

Campus is very self-contained, but there may be times when you need something from a destination farther away. For those moments, you can take the Tiger Transit shuttle bus. This bus is free and drives around campus daily, and on the weekends it follows the Weekend Shopper route. This route proceeds down Route 1 to stop at the various shopping centers that include a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Staples, Home Depot and other stores. I've taken the Weekend Shopper to buy groceries, and my friends have taken it to buy supplies for their art classes. 

Weekend shopper bus approaching in parking lot of shopping center

Weather permitting, it's also possible to increase your mobility on a bike. Many students have bikes on campus, because they make it possible to get from New South to the E-Quad, for instance, when you only have a 10-minute change-over between classes. There is also a biking route down Alexander Street and Canal Pointe Boulevard that you can take to reach the shopping centers previously mentioned. When it's nice outside, I like taking a bike ride along that route to get to the Whole Foods to buy groceries. Most students store their bikes outside on the numerous bike racks outside the dorms. I cover mine with a plastic tarp when it rains. It looks a little ridiculous, but it does help prevent rusting!

 

bicycle under gray plastic tarp

Getting around campus and town is one of the most enjoyable parts of my daily routine, and I never fail to appreciate both the buildings and the friends around me as I get from place to place. Furthermore, campus is becoming increasingly accessible to everyone, which you can find out more about from the AccessAbility Center. Additionally Parking and Transportation Services also provides information on accessible pathways and entrances on campus.  In summary, traversing the Orange Bubble is a simple everyday treat.

A Guide to Grocery Shopping for "Independents"

Princeton dining options expand greatly at the beginning of junior year. All first-years and sophomores are required to be on the University unlimited meal plan, meaning they dine at any of the residential college dining halls. Beginning junior year, students are no longer required to be on the meal plan and can select from several options: joining an eating club, joining a co-op, staying on the meal plan or becoming an "independent."

An "independent" is Princeton-speak for someone who is not on a University meal plan nor a member of an eating club or co-op. There are a number of reasons for choosing to be an independent, from not wanting to pay eating club dues or meal plan fees to simply wanting to cook for yourself. I live off-campus and have my own tiny kitchen in which I love to prepare my own food, so becoming an "independent" was definitely the best choice for me. 

What options are there for grocery shopping and eating out for independents? My favorite grocery store is Whole Earth Center, a hippie-granola type place that sells fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, prepared foods and other interesting healthy finds (I recently bought some sort of strange-looking kale and goji berry crackers). Whole Earth is located about a 10 minute walk from the Engineering Quad (E-quad), so it's incredibly convenient for me. They also give a $1 bike discount if you ride your bike.

The front of Whole Earth Center grocery store

Another grocery store I frequent is McCaffrey's, which is a more standard grocery store. McCaffrey's is larger than Whole Earth and has a greater selection of items, but in my opinion the produce section at Whole Earth is superior in terms of quality and price. McCaffrey's is a little farther than Whole Earth Center (about a 20 minute walk from the E-quad, between 5 and 10 minutes on a bike), but is still easily accessible.

Front of McCaffrey's grocery store

On every other Thursday in the winter and every Thursday in the fall and summer, the Princeton Farmers' Market brings together local vendors of fruits, vegetables, breads, nut butters and baked goods. The summer market is held in the parking lot of the Dinky train station, right near Forbes College. I would highly recommend New Jersey strawberries if you're on campus during their peak June season.

herbs and flower display at Princeton Farmer's Market

There's also the Weekend Shopper, which is a bus that runs throughout the day on the weekends to the shopping center on Route 1 that has a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe's. 

Regarding eating out, there are a number of affordable restaurants in Princeton to eat or get takeout. My favorite restaurant is Arlee's Raw Blends, where they make fantastic wraps that I'll grab when I don't feel like cooking. Some other student favorites include Planted Plate (a vegan restaurant), Jule's Pizza (flatbread pizza), Tacoria (tacos and burritos), and Nassau Street Seafood (fish and chips).

Store front of Arlee's Raw Blends

It should also be noted that all Princeton students get two meal swipes per week. Overall, I find that there are a number of great options for independents to eat, and I would encourage anyone who likes to cook to consider it.

 

My Favorite Basement in New Jersey

The best three hours of my week, each week, are spent in a dark, poorly-ventilated basement in Bloomberg Hall, in a room with old garage-sale couches and a leather chair that plasters the seat of your pants with leather strips that have peeled off the seat.

Of course, there’s also a fourteen-channel control board and a collection of six thousand vinyl records, countless CDs, and a healthy mix of cassette tapes thrown in. I’m talking about the three hours each week I spend doing a show for WPRB, Princeton’s very own community-supported, independent radio. On Tuesdays from 8-11 p.m., I spin three hours of (depending on who you ask) the best or the worst sounds ever to grace the airwaves of New Jersey and Philadelphia: noise rock, coldwave, spoken word poetry, ambient, dance-punk, drone, industrial techno, grindcore and more. It’s a happy little piece of time I’ve carved out for myself each week, totally devoid of anything academic.

The station, which we refer to as “New Jersey’s Only,” is independent of the university itself, instead supporting itself via membership drives with monthly and recurring donations. I joined in the fall of my sophomore year, after training to be a DJ the preceding spring, and WPRB quickly subsumed my other extracurriculars to be the one that (enjoyably) took up most of my time. Listening to music has always been a big part of my life, but my involvement with the station took it to another level. Being responsible for three hours of interesting radio each week means I need to find three hours of music I’m excited about, every week, to share with listeners on air.

WPRB’s broadcast radius reaches into the heart of Philadelphia, giving the students at Princeton who are DJs (who only make up a little more than half of PRB’s programming) a unique opportunity to break out of the orange bubble and interact with folks other than the usual assortment of students, professors and staff we see every day on campus. When I go to concerts in WPRB attire, or otherwise leave the campus community, it’s not uncommon for listeners to recognize our logo and ask me about the station.

The best extracurriculars are ones that give you a sense of community and fulfilled-ness outside of your academic life. For me, WPRB has been important in both regards. Some very close friends are radio friends, and I rarely feel like the work I do for the station is tiresome or stressful — even when it can be a time commitment. Plus, we have some of the best merch on campus … which is always a perk.

Shipping to and from the Orange Bubble

My Princeton dorm can be identified by my building, floor and room number, but it's not a mailing address to which the postal service can deliver. How do you receive mail and packages in the Orange Bubble? The answer is Frist Campus Center, the hub for student life located in the middle of campus. Every student has a mailing address at Frist that remains the same throughout your time here, and you can ship to that address just as you would ship to your home.

When a letter or package arrives for you at Frist, you receive an auto-generated email notification. Somehow the notification that something is waiting for your pickup is always incredibly exciting, even when you know it's just a pair of socks you ordered.

Letters can be picked up at the mail desk during normal business hours, and packages can be picked up anytime from the package kiosks. Using the package kiosks feels a little bit magical, in my opinion. You approach a wall of package cells with a touchscreen in the middle, but you don't know which cell contains your package. When you scan your Tigercard at the touchscreen, one of the cells automatically pops open for you to take out your package. This grand reveal truly does add pomp and circumstance to the moment, even for the reception of something as mundane as that pair of socks.

package kiosk with open package cell

There are also specialized email notifications for specific deliveries, like oversized packages (for which you have to go to the oversized mailroom) or perishable items. My parents sent me flowers for my birthday, and I received 3 emails in the course of about 20 minutes asking me to immediately come and fetch my perishable delivery from Frist. Never fear that you will not be made aware when you have a perishable delivery waiting for you, but do fear that your inbox will be flooded.

As for shipping out of the Bubble, there are numerous mailboxes and UPS drop boxes located around campus (the mailbox closest to my dorm is about a 5-minute walk). The U.S. Post Office is located on Nassau Street just a few minutes past the E-quad, and there's a UPS store near there as well. In summary, the walls of the Orange Bubble are quite permeable for sending and receiving whatever you need.

Trails and Training

When I feel overwhelmed by my coursework or other life stressors, going for a run never fails to help me put things in perspective. Movement and exercise are an important part of campus life for me, and I've found that the many opportunities here for group or individual exercise make it easy to fit fitness into my schedule. 

When I'm looking to run with a group, I'll join the Princeton Running Club for practice. The group meets to run together almost every day, and some members compete in weekend races against other universities. I often have meetings during their afternoon practices, so I drop by only occasionally, but they always welcome anyone who'd like to join that day's run. They've introduced me to several great routes in the area, many of which start on the "towpath."

The towpath, known formally as Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park, is a long, flat trail that runs parallel to the canal along its entire length. It runs parallel to both the canal and Lake Carnegie (water views on both sides!) if you make a left at the Alexander Street entrance. While you'll sometimes hear Forbesians grumble about being a little further from central campus, a benefit of Forbes' location is that it's the closest residential college to the towpath entrance: I can run down Alexander Street from Forbes and be on the towpath in about 6 minutes!

canal and gravel trail in fall

After a heavy rainstorm, the towpath can be fairly muddy, and I'll usually choose to go for a run on the streets instead. Princeton is a very pedestrian-friendly town, so running on the sidewalk or street is a safe option that allows me to get off campus for a little bit. When I want to do interval training, I'll run a 1.5 mile warm-up to the public track at the local high school, run some interval laps, and then jog back. It's a nice way to explore the streets of the town.

After a run, I sometimes like to supplement the cardio with some strength training at Dillon Gym. Having a gym right on campus is highly convenient because I can just drop in for 15 minutes after a run to do some sit-ups or pull-ups, and then be back at my dorm in 5 minutes. Dillon also has cardio machines that I'll use when it's wet or cold outside. Running is my preferred activity, but Dillon also offers spinning, Zumba, and yoga classes every week. 

The trails, campus gym, and numerous clubs mean that there is no shortage of ways to be active during the semester. I've really loved getting to know some of the local running routes (my favorite so far is a 7-mile loop the running club has dubbed "Bean Fields"), and I'm excited to continue exploring.

Staffing is Princeton's Secret Weapon

My experience at Princeton has definitely been shaped by faculty and staff in and out of the classroom. They are great leaders and role models. A good amount of my time is spent in libraries, cultural centers and dining halls, places where I find people who also inspire me to be the best version of myself, who look out for my well being, and who are invested in my personal growth, even though they don't necessarily have to be. Guidance through academic advisers and professors were things that I expected to receive in college, but some things I've learned and hold close to my heart were also inspired by the staff at Princeton. Some of my experiences include: 

Some of the best lessons I've learned about personal development and academic growth have been through these spontaneous conversations. These experiences have led me to reflect on the following:

  • It's okay to still be undecided. You're not supposed to know it all at 18.
  • Don't just go to school. Experience it. Allow yourself time and space for adventure and surprise encounters. 
  • You don’t have to do it all. Just because you can doesn't mean you must. It’s important to manage your time when it comes to your academics and extracurriculars.
  • Take time to listen to others.  

I encourage everyone to take time and speak to the people around you, faculty and staff alike.  They are a part of my Princeton story and I encourage you to open your heart to include them in yours.

An International Student's Guide for Arrival

When I was an incoming international first-year student, I remember being super excited about Princeton but also having lots of burning questions about arrival. I wondered to myself, will I need to open a bank account? Where should I buy school supplies? What type of phone plans exist in the United States? I decided to create this four-step guide of my experience in order to help incoming international students with their transition.

Step One: Open a Bank Account

Getting a debit card is crucial to help you pay for expenses and having a U.S. bank account will make it easier to receive money from international currencies. While you will have to build up credit in order to apply for credit cards, it is always good to start by opening a bank account and build a relationship with that bank so that you can later secure a credit card. PNC Bank has a branch located just in front of the University, I highly recommend going there first!

Step Two: Get a SIM Card

It is important to have a U.S. phone number and some type of data plan. While on campus, you won’t need cellular data because you can use the University’s wifi. However, when you go off campus or to New York City, it is always a good idea to have internet access. Verizon, AT&T and Mint are all good options. During International Orientation, phone companies come to campus to help open up accounts, so be sure to be on the lookout for that!

Step Three: Find Dorm Furnishings

While many domestic students are able to bring basic living supplies from their home, international students basically start from scratch. You won’t have to buy any big furniture such as bed frames and closets, as those will already be in your dorm room. However, you will want to get pillows, bed sheets, a mirror, writing supplies, etc… I recommend the U-Store which is located on campus if you prefer convenience and Target if you want more variety in options. 

Step Four: Prepare for Classes

With a phone, debit card and a furnished dorm room, you are all set to start your Princeton undergraduate career! In terms of preparing for classes, you will want to check what textbooks are required so you can get them at the local bookstore, Labyrinth. You can always borrow books at Firestone library if they are available, or sometimes professors will upload digital versions of the reading material. 

These are just a few steps that helped me as an international student at Princeton. I understand how daunting it could be to move to another country, but with these steps and the assistance you’ll receive during International Orientation, you will be well on your way to making Princeton your second home!

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