Curing the College Appetite

           In “At The Appetite Cure”, written by Mark Twain, a man goes to Hochberghaus, an institution located in Bohemia.  The unnamed narrator goes to this establishment to seek a cure for his appetite; he has been having extreme trouble with consuming adequate food and often goes for hours without dining.  The man is an approximate representation of many modern day college students.  While these young adults may be confronted with food choices that are styled after an all-you-can-eat buffet, after a while, the choices can seem fairly constricting; so the lessons that the man learns for Professor Haimburger are lessons that a college student could adapt for their own use and benefit.

            To begin the cure, the doctor offers the narrator a menu full of revolting items such as “ tough, underdone, overdue trip” and “young cat; old cat; scrambled cat”.  Preferring to go hungry than to risk any of the choices presented to him, the man is shown to his room where he finds that the only way to get out of the room is to eat a dish that is offered from the menu.  While college students do not find themselves locked into a room and told to eat something disgusting in order to be released, the revolting sensation that the narrator felt may be one that is easily recognized by many students.  If, upon entering the dining hall, one is confronted with a humdrum dinner menu full of items that are merely repeats of the humdrum lunch menu, the sensation that one is hemmed in in terms of food choice is a natural reaction.  If no suitable food can be found, the student may end up with a half filled plate, or a filled plate that is returned to the dishwashers with copious amounts of food still layering the top.

Luckily for college students, as we learn from the story, the feeling is not always permanent.  After many hours of hunger, the man relents and orders “soft-boiled chicken—in the egg; six dozen, hot and fragrant”.  Upon receiving the food, the doctor enters the room delighted that his system of curing broken appetites has worked yet again. 

            The doctor goes on to reveal that the magic of his miracle cure lies in the fact that when one is denied food, even rote and boring food, for a certain period of time, they will be reduced to a point where they will consume anything edible.  The examples given in the story of people eating anything include tales of people relishing leather from boots, but college students may relish other items.  When a student becomes hungry enough, the consumption of Raman noodles can be a potentially satisfying meal.  Bland noodles in a watery broth would not normally be something that most people would find appetizing, but if a person is hungry enough, it can be a meal that is thoroughly enjoyed.  The doctor says that whenever one has tired of mundane foods, one should skip meals until one feels that one is hungry enough to eat once again saying: “Don't eat until you are hungry. If the food fails to taste good, fails to satisfy you, rejoice you, comfort you, don't eat again until you are very hungry. Then it will rejoice you--and do you good, too.”  While the doctor was speaking only to his needy client, the lesson that he tells can be applied to anyone.   The old saying “familiarity breeds contempt” certainly applies to the man’s, and many students’, relationships with food.  

            We have a significantly larger array of food from which we can choose than did the narrator thanks to better shipping and a more international base of recipes, but we can still feel the same dissatisfaction that he did.  The overabundance of food options that Americans have can shrink dramatically when one reaches college.  Faced with eating meal after meal in the same dining hall, which serves food that often bears a strong resemblance to the flavors of meals past, the repertoire of the hall can become repetitive.  The dining halls at UNC-CH know that the students to whom they cater will feel this way; they have posters promoting ways to “Change it Up”, but these different food choices include things such as fruit smoothies, or different flavors dipping sauce for chicken wings.  These options, while they are a departure from the day-to-day fare, are not sufficient for completely eliminating the boredom of cafeteria food.  The offerings of the salad bar differ from the previous day only in the substitution of one type of lettuce for another, or yellow peppers as opposed to green.  So, with these limited options, the story of the man seeking to cure his broken appetite, becomes more and more similar to a college student.

            So, what are the options for a college student who has tired of the traditional offerings?  Here at UNC-CH we are lucky enough to have a slew of restaurants underneath our main dining hall.  We are also fortunate that just a few blocks away are the many options prepared by vendors on Franklin Street.  Whenever one has tired of the mass-produced food offerings, one can go to these restaurants and order food that is different from what is conventionally offered. 

            The only drawback to this option is that it takes money, something college students are notorious for not having, but, like the doctor proposes, if we use this cure only when we are so tired of the normal food that we absolutely cannot eat it anymore, we will achieve a way to ensure adequate nutrition and a satisfied palate, while leaving an acceptable amount of money in the already overstretched pocket of the average college student. 

            The advice of the good appetite-curing doctor is still relevant to us all these years later and a continent away.  While it may not be nutritionally wise to completely cut out a meal or two when one has no desire to eat, his advice of not continuing to force oneself into eating the same food of which one has tired of eating, is still applicable.