The Twelve-Person Communal Kitchen Is Actually Kind of Great???

When I received my housing placement from IES Abroad, I was a bit disappointed and quite nervous. Though my accommodation seemed great in many ways, it had one major drawback: the kitchen would be shared between twelve students. As someone who planned to cook most of my own meals, cares a lot about cleanliness, and has dietary restrictions, the idea of having to share one kitchen with eleven other random IES Abroad students sounded terrible. 

Somehow, though, it has turned out pretty well! A big part of that has been luck — everyone on the floor is conscious of the way they interact with this shared space, and we all take care to keep it clean. Though we each have different friends and groups separate from the floor community, we all get along really well, which lends itself nicely to collaboration on maintaining a functional and fun communal space. Our floor group chat is active, whether with questions about the kitchen (“does anyone have rice vinegar? i need like two tablespoons”), sharing more general information (“be careful y’all, the thief is back”), or making plans with the group (“floor party next tuesday!! bring a charcuterie item and a plus one if you choose”). 

The organization of the kitchen also lends itself well to a good balance of independence and privacy and community sharing. We each have our own shelf in a fridge, freezer, and pantry cabinet. That lets us each have our own things without worrying about other people taking them, and it also helps with keeping a clean space because everyone has a clearly defined area that is theirs to maintain. At the same time, there is a large set of communal shelves, where we keep items like paper towels, aluminum foil, and vegetable oil, which we take turns buying for the group. We also each contribute spices, baking ingredients, and other foods that are most practical to share. 

Though it can certainly get chaotic with twelve of us all sharing one space for cooking, eating, and socializing, I’ve found that the kitchen can be a surprisingly peaceful environment. Especially during midterms last week, when we were all spending most of each day writing papers and preparing for exams, the kitchen became a fantastic, multi-purpose space. During the day, it was a nice alternative to studying alone in a bedroom or having to spend money and time going to work in a cafe. I spent hours in the kitchen writing papers and drinking cup after cup of tea, along with a rotating cast of hall-mates. In the evenings, though, the kitchen was an escape from the stress of exams. I cooked and ate with friends many evenings, something that was possible in large part due to the extra space and supplies available in the large kitchen. We also had a “Kitchenween” party, a night when we dressed up in Halloween costumes, ate spooky snacks, and blasted our shared playlist over the kitchen speakers. It’s funny looking back to when I was so disappointed to be living somewhere with a big, communal kitchen, since that kitchen is now the site of many of my favorite moments here. 

I’m away right now for fall break (more on that in another post, maybe???) but I’m genuinely looking forward to coming back to Berlin and hanging out in the once-feared, now-loved communal kitchen :)