JHU CRIBS: Wolman 7 West

Posted by Rob A.

Hey Everyone! Congrats to all those accepted, and I hope you choose to enroll here at Hopkins. As you may have noticed, all of us bloggers are doing something special week, our version of CRIBS. I have the honor of showing you around Wolman, 7 West in particular.

Wolman is one of the main freshmen dorms and is suite-style living. Wolman is split into two wings, East and West, and every floor has about 10 suites. Each suite has 3-4 people sharing a bathroom and a kitchen. All of the suites on the floor surround a huge common room, instead of a hallway like many typical dorms. So that is the basic logistics of Wolman and now I’ll tell you what is special about Wolman and my floor in particular. But first, check out my CRIBS video:

So let me just start out by saying that I have an awesome floor. Everyone on my floor is great, we all get along and we have become a huge family. People are always in the common room, either doing homework or watching TV or just hanging out. As you can see from my video my common room is always packed with people, which is nice when you come back from a class and just want to sit and hang out. Here is a  picture of the common room. As you can see, it is filled with a couple of big couches and comfy chairs. We also have a set of tables and chairs where we eat and do work every once in a while...haha. 

So my suite is directly attached to the common room, making a pretty sweet set up. There are four of us in the suite, split between two rooms. We share a bathroom and a kitchen area and a really long hallway. As you can see from the this picture of the shower, my Mom got us a cool little shelf thing to put in our shower to hold all o four things since there isn't any shelfing in their originally. Sharing a bathroom isn't too bad especially since we are all on different schedules. At times it can get tricky, but we all are considerate so we do our best to hurry up during bathroom peak hours. 

My suite mates are tons of fun, they are two swimmers on the Hopkins swim team. One is from New Jersey and the other is from Michigan. They have pretty much the same setup as my roommate and I except they brought in a huge leather couch instead of a futon. Before, they had a pull-out couch that turned into a queen sized bed but it broke so now they have a leather couch.

My roommate is from Maryland, so he has been really helping me adjust to the area. We both have the same set up so we could create some room for a futon and a TV. My bed is lofted and I put everything underneath my bed. Lofting our beds really opened up the room and makes it seem much larger. The only down side is that I have to go up a ladder to get in my bed and down a ladder to get out.

As I mentioned in my video we have our own fridge and microwave in our room. We don't actually use the microwave since there is another one in the kitchen, but I like to have my orange juice in the morning so there is usually a bottle of OJ in their. Funny thing, there are three fridges in our suite since one comes included and both suites have one.

Our walls are pretty bland as you can see from the video, neither my roommate or I have ever had the urge to "decorate." Every now and then we will get something and put it up, but somehow it ends up on the floor so we have just given up.

As I mentioned, my desk is underneath my bed. I am a very organized person, so it is usually very clean except I have had a very busy week so I haven't had time to organize. I have tons of books, whether they are for class or just for fun. But I also brought my own printer which I store on the top shelf because it got in the way on my desk. The printer is a touchy subject, I knew when I came here I wanted one but many people chose not to get one. Although, it seems now almost everyone has one because printing becomes a hassle when its 3 in the morning and you need to print your final paper...

Anyway, so that's my desk. There isn't too much more exciting things about my room. Behind my bed I keep all of my random things, like my suitcase and a bin full of papers that I have amassed. I also brought my lax stick and tennis racket from home, so I keep those back there. Also tucked in the corner is my laundry basket, which is overflowing right now. Wolman has a laundry room downstairs on Terrace Level, which is really convenient. I think there are about 20 washers and dryers.

So that’s my CRIB, I hope you all enjoyed it. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me. CONGRATS once again!!

Comments

[alucard]

A few questions...

Does that bunked-bed/armoire arrangement come with the room or did you guys bring that furniture on your own?

How far a commute is it to Gilman Hall?

Is there only one library on campus?

Lastly - I'm from a country that has a cuisine centered on spices and onions... If i warm up (not cook) my food and it produces a scent unbearable to others, will i run into problems? (This if i lived in the same arrangement as you)?

THANKS!

[Rob Auger]

Pretty much all of the major furniture in my room comes with the room, except for the futon and fridge which is in our room. I know this is the same for all of wolman. I do not know exactly what furniture is in the AMR's and Building A&B, but I am sure it is comparable. I think they have something different than the armoire.

The commute to Gilman? well its about a 5 minute walk, it really depends on how quickly you need to get there. I mean I have class there at 11 and sometimes I leave at 1055 and I am in good shape.

Right now there are two main libraries: THe HUT and the MSE library. The HUT, which is 24 hours throughout the semester, will be closing down this semester for renovations, but they are supposively opening a level in the MSE for 24 hours. THere are other smaller set ups throughout campus that I am sure you can use for studying, etc.

As for food, there are a lot of different ethnicities on my floor so I have experienced many types of smells and foods, and yes burnt popcorn. I dont know which foods you are talking about, but usually once you cook something everyone wants some of it.... I wouldn't worry about stinking up the place if thats what you are worried about. Everyone is pretty understandable, and I bet you will be surprised with how many people enjoy your cooking/smells.