Last year I lived in an apartment complex about 2 miles from campus called the Colonial Village at Deerfield -- AKA "The Deerfield". For whatever reason, lots of Nick Schoolers seem to end up there, or across the street at The Forest Apartments. Maybe it's the proximity to the forest and Nick Schoolers' biophilic tendencies. Personally, I was a big fan of the location as it's not too far from school and had great access to trails for running in the Duke Forest. We also had a great 3rd floor apartment with a screened in porch that made it feel like we were living in the forest canopy complete with sounds of woodpeckers, owls, and songbirds.

On the other hand, it became a bit of a hassle as the months passed by and the cold and rainy days increased to bike to and from school up the same hills and somewhat busy streets. Another big minus was that I couldn't walk to any restaurants, bars, supermarkets, or anything really, which meant that I relied upon the kindness of others to drive me around -- or I lugged things around on my bike. I've long been decidedly against having a car, but this was also the first time in my life I wasn't living in a city. So I think at times I felt a bit isolated out in the Duke Forest..

As a result, I took to spending (yet) more time in the ACL (3rd Floor computer lab at Nick School), but once I got tired of that, I eventually began to explore other areas of Duke's campus. My top places to study on Duke's campus are:

1. International Reading Room, 2nd Floor Bostock Library

2. Glass Box / Saladelia's Cafe, Perkins Library

3. Gracie's Cafe (Chinese Food), Trent Building

4. Cafe at the Nasher Museum of Art

As for eating on campus, I'm more or less a vegetarian -- and options are slim!! My favorites are:

1. $5 lunch deal at Gracie's Cafe in Trent -- a number of tasty vegetarian dishes

2. Veggie Patty Foot-long at Subway in the Great Hall -- gets the job done

3. Falafel wraps at Saladelia's -- kind of expensive but alright

4. Armadillo Grill, Bryan Center -- mediocre "Mexican" food