Food!
Cooking and baking is a major part of the culture of House 3. We have a nice, new kitchen where many of us spend our time cooking and baking. We have developed a community system of sharing cooking supplies and cabinet and fridge space which is overseen by the kitchen Czar. While some of us cook on our own, many of us have made cooking groups between us where we cycle through days of cooking for each other. It helps save money and relieves the stress of having to cook everyday! It’s a great environment for people who either love to cook or are completely new to it!
We also have a lot of fun baking. We try to celebrate everyone’s birthday here by baking a cake and surprising them with it (if we can)! We also plan out study breaks where a few people will make some food for us to enjoy while hanging out with friends.
One of our favorite traditions is “brad”. What is brad? Brad is bread. There was a typo sometime in House 3 history, we’re still making the same typo. The Bradmaster ensures that there is fresh brad in the kitchen at least 4 mornings every week!
The Lounges!
Our lounge has the biggest TV in New House (probably) with a selection of classic games to fill your time with like Smash Bros. and FIFA (even Pokémon Snap!). We also have access to Netflix to watch most of your favorite shows (that’s one of the great things about having parents). It’s also just a great place to lounge about on our many couches and hang out if you’re bored or just don’t want to do your work for a while. We also have a collection of board games we pull out occasionally, if you’re desperate for something not quite as intense as a karaoke night, or another binge watching of New Girl.
We also have a lounge on the third floor which doesn’t have many of these distractions that would keep you from doing your work. It’s a much more reserved place for the people who appreciate the finer things in life: tea and the occasional game of Piano Tiles.
Social Events!
Every year, we decide on a group costume for Spooky Skate (MIT’s Halloween ice-skating event), do some shopping at the Garment District, and WIN the costume competition. About once a semester, we participate in NH3 hikes, leaving campus for a few hours in the wilderness. Other events include Holiday Dinner, Superb Owl Viewing, Pi Day, and Senior Send-Off. We also rely on Pour House runs and spontaneous outings.
Actual work . . .
Each floor has what we call ‘elevator lounges’, a term originating from the areas that could have been elevators in the old building. Now they’re a nice place to do P-Sets and socialize. Of course, if you’re not into that sort of thing, it’s pretty easy to just close your door, and hide yourself away from all the socialization happening outside when you really need to study. Just try not to lock yourself up too much, otherwise we might get worried and coax you out with more cake.