Joanna Jou

One spring morning, my friend Lauren, whom I met during my winter spin PE class, invited me on an afternoon walk with her and Becca, which I immediately said yes to. We decided to walk to the Co-op Food Store, which is on the east side of Hanover (closest to the East Wheelock dorms)—there are two routes you can take to get to the Co-op; one is walking down West Wheelock Street (near the gym and sporting facilities) and then turning to South Park Street (near Thompson Arena and Leverone Field House), or walking down Main Street (downtown Hanover), turn at the corner of Starbucks, and then past Hanover High School. Becca and Lauren mentioned that they hadn’t been down the second route to get to the Co-op, so we decided to go this route instead. Coming back to campus, we decided to walk via the first route back up just for a change of scenery. I love grocery shopping, so I find a visit to the Co-op to be seemingly therapeutic and a sense of entertainment; the pricing at the Co-op is also affordable and student-budget friendly, which is another feature I appreciate. In addition, the company provided by Becca and Lauren was also a highlight of this walk—some of the sweetest and loveliest friends on campus!

During the fall, my friend Julia was visiting from Yale, so I decided to take her to Pine Park (located past Occom Pond and the golf course). I hadn’t visited Pine Park yet, so I thought it would be fun to bring along a friend as we explore the outskirts of campus and the nature that comes with it. There are a variety of gorgeous trails through Pine Park; whether you are looking for a route on the shorter end or something longer, the Pine Park Visitors’ Map has got you covered. I must admit, I am a bit geographically challenged, so I took Julia around Pine Park without actually knowing where we were going. Luckily, I still had a signal on my phone, and Pine Park has many signs you can follow; eventually, we made it back! 

One of my favorite evening activities is definitely a woccom (a hybrid of "Walk" + "Occom"), which is where you can probably find me at night, especially during the fall and spring terms. Occom Pond is located on the north edge of campus near Dick’s House (the student health center/clinic). You can do a woccom clockwise or counterclockwise, so there is some flexibility in your scenic route; additionally, you may also encounter deer around Occom, which was surprising as I don't usually see any deer back home in El Paso. I love going on woccoms by myself whenever I need some alone time or time to decompress, whether that is listening to music on my walk or talking on the phone with my mom. Woccoms are also great with friends! I did a lot of woccoms during my spring term as a way to catch up with friends while staying active.