Spare Rib in Boston
As the first weekend of my DCSI (Dartmouth Center for Social Impact) Boston cohort internship approached, I was excited but anxious. Amidst classes, student jobs, and the hassle of moving, this was the first time I would have time to do what I wanted. Yet, I was also feeling rather lonely. I had no friends who lived in Boston. Not to mention that it's scary to explore a city you do not know by yourself. That's why I was relieved and grateful when Ella, my friend from Spare Rib, the intersectional feminist zone on campus, texted me on Sunday morning. She was visiting another Spare Rib friend, Kat, who is staying in Boston over the summer to work on her Stamps Scholars project (you can read more about Stamps here). First, we met up in a cafe that was equidistant from both of our places, but because none of us knew Boston well, we ended up in a coffee shop in the middle of nowhere. We decided to go to downtown Boston after we finished our drinks. We discovered a food market and stumbled upon Commonwealth Books, a popular used bookstore in Boston. Then, we walked to Boston Commons, the urban park downtown, to meet up with Caty, a recent Dartmouth grad and a former design lead in Spare Rib. Before going to medical school, she is working as a research assistant in Brigham and Women's Hospital.
It made me so happy to see how many Spare Rib connections flourished outside the campus context, not just during our on-campus events. Being the smart and dedicated Spare Rib member she is, Ella created a Google Maps for all Spare Rib people to share their locations with each other. I put my location as well, naturally, which led to Milanne, a '24 design lead in Spare Rib, to text me and let me know we were living in the same dorms for the summer. She is working on a research project in Art History. That's how I found out I would not be lonely at all in Boston as long as I am part of our small Spare Rib community in Boston. We decided to meet up in Boston when we could. Soon enough, Caty invited us to her house to cook lasagna together. I look forward to exploring more with other Spare Rib people in Boston and beyond. Stay tuned!