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Who I Want To Be

5/20/2015

Hello Everyone!

Since this is going to be my last post I wanted to talk a little about myself, my overall feeling about my experience here, what my future prospects are from here on, and what I want from life.

Boston has been a real blessing. The beauty of the city, even when covered in 6 feet of snow, is undeniable. It is constantly moving and full of life. There are always things to do: from visiting the Public Library, Aquarium, doing some crazy whale watching out in the middle of the sea, or just plain running down the Esplanade next to the Charles River, my experience here has been full of wonderful encounters. I’m going to be very sad to part from all of it, but life has a funny way of always putting new exciting adventures in our future, even if we don’t know what they are yet.

They have asked me to tell you about what my future prospects are and what I want to do with my personal and professional life. Honestly? I have no idea! :) Let me tell you the things I know and the things that I don’t:

What I know:

·        Next year I’ll be back in Spain finishing my two degrees and completing my fifth year of college.

·        I want to be working at my university as a TA (teaching assistant).

·        I’m going to finish my two theses.

·        I’m going to spend all year trying to look for a job for when I graduate.

·        I’m going to enjoy my family and friends as much as possible after two years of being far away from home…and hopefully find a boyfriend while I’m at it! ;)

Here’s what I don’t know:

·        I don’t know where I’ll be this summer or when I’ll be going back to Spain. (I’ll hopefully get the internship I’ve applied for this summer in NYC and go back home in August)

·        I have no idea what my two theses are going to be about.

·        I have no idea in what sector of the business I want to work in once I graduate from college, except for the fact that finance and accounting are no-goes just because I find them extremely boring.

·        And I have no idea what life has in store for me, but I’m hopeful it will be something that makes me happy and develops me further as the human being I am.

Despite all these uncertainties we must face life with a good, open, amiable, cheerful, and grateful disposition to make the best of whatever comes forth.

My last advice would be this: no matter where you choose to go to study or visit, make the most of it by learning from everyone you meet and try to absorb the most of whatever culture you dive into, for that is what builds who you are.

This is my goodbye to you and to Boston. I’m so grateful you have had the patience to read my thoughts throughout this semester. I wish you the best of luck.

Cristina Maldonado Tiegs

Red Sox Game!

5/4/2015

Hi Everyone,

One of the coolest events organized by the MET International every semester is the free Red Sox Game. I went to one last semester where the Red Sox played the Yankees, and last Friday we saw one against the Orioles.

These sporting events are the clear representation of American culture. The mass of people dressed with their team’s apparel wait at the gates to cross the security check. Once you’ve crossed, you enter a whole new universe! Under the stands of the stadium there are food stands, baseball caps and t-shirt stores, and people walking around like ants making their way to their seats.

Once you have found your seat, there really isn’t much to see. Baseball is more of a social event than anything else! People go there to talk, have a beer and a hot dog, and maybe watch some small figures bat and run. :) You get to see someone sing the American National Anthem, experience their patriotism, and see Americans in their natural habitat!

Both times I went, the Red Sox won, and after the game was over we went out to celebrate the game with all of the real fans. This is a really worthwhile experience! Thank you MET! :)

Figure Skating Nationals

4/29/2015

Hello Everyone,

Today I’m going to tell you all about my trip to California with the Boston University Figure Skating Team. After going to multiple competitions throughout the semester, we managed to qualify for the USA Intercollegiate Figure Skating Nationals, in which we would have to compete against the top nine university figure skating teams of the nation.

We left fairly early on Thursday the 9th of April to get our flight to San Francisco. The truth is that we didn’t have to compete until that next Saturday, but our coach believed that it would be best to arrive early to enjoy the good weather and get accustomed to the time change before the competition. The six hour flight was very entertaining; being able to travel with my 27 teammates was one of the best experiences of the week. The rest of the day was spent crossing California to reach our hotel and stop by the ice-skating rink.

We had been given free range for the next day until seven in the evening when we would have team training and the opening ceremony of the competition. My closest friends and I spent the whole morning shopping at the outlets that happened to be a five minute walk from our hotel, and also soaking in as much Californian sun as we could before having to return to Boston.

That same night, after all the scheduled events for the day had transpired, our coaches had a surprise prepared for us: they had contacted our parents and family to send us a little video of encouragement in addition to some pictures of us skating from when we were kids. It was the best gift I could have received.

That night it was an early one for most of us, as we were scheduled to compete the next day. By 6 a.m. the next morning I was up and ready to go, as I had to skate at 9 a.m. that same day. I am proud to say that after the whole year of training, I managed to place 2nd in my category. After so many years without skating, I had finally achieved it. I have to thank BU for this amazing opportunity and for bringing me back the joy of skating. All the days of training, the sacrifices, all the blisters on your feet and the constant pain of the skates no longer matter once you are back on the ice. I really believe that skating is the closest thing to flying. It’s going be a great loss for me to give skating up again.

On that Sunday, I also competed in what is called the “team” event, where members of the team are required to go out on the ice and perform an element of different difficulties in complete silence and with everyone watching, in which we placed 4th.

I’m proud to communicate that out of all the universities BU placed 3rd overall. After so much work, we have managed to situate ourselves as one of the top three university figure skating teams in the country.

Packing for Boston!

4/13/2015

Hi Everyone,
Today I’m here to give you all a hand with your packing for your exchange!

When I was preparing myself to come to Boston I looked all over the internet trying to figure out the weather and average temperatures in the city, what type of dress code they have at the university, or what essential things were needed to survive. In the following paragraphs I’m going to try and help you out in discovering all these essential bits of information that will ensure your survival! =D

Regarding the WEATHER:

·         Boston is a city of extremes! When you arrive in August you will need all types of summer clothes to deal with temperatures between 15-37ºC,

·         As autumn comes, the temperatures will drop to 2-22ºC average, so a windbreaker is necessary. The sun still shines a lot throughout the day, so it can feel hot, but can get very cold at night.

·         Then the cold comes… jejeje it can get veeeery cold! If you have kept an eye on Boston this year, you will know that this last year has been the hardest winter in recorded history with 109 inches of snow… =D So yes! Expect a lot of snow. Snow boots and a good ski coat are a must if you are going to stay in Boston for the months of December, January, February, and March. If you are not, you can survive with some lighter coats, but with a bunch of layers, and normal boots. If you are fond of skiing, you should bring your apparel, as those staying for the Spring semester will be able to have access to some really good trails relatively close to Boston.

·         As April and May come around, temperatures steadily grow to reach high 20ºC during the day, but with chilly nights.

·         About the summer I can’t really say much from my own experience, because I haven’t experienced it firsthand, but I expect it to be the same as it was during August and September, but with higher levels of humidity.

Things to pack:

-One very heavy coat
-Sturdy, waterproof boots
-Comfortable, everyday boots
-Hat, gloves, and scarf
-General clothes: jeans, tops etc.
- A lot of layers: sweaters, cardigans
-Some summer clothes: shorts, flip flops, etc.

Regarding what to wear at the UNIVERSITY:

·         As stated in one of my previous posts, Boston University is known for their love for sports and this is translated into the way people dress. Most students go to class in jeans or sports apparel. Leggings are especially popular with the female sector of the population.

·         Do not be surprised if you happen to find a person walking around or going to class in their pajamas! Americans are known to be very informal, and this translates into the way they dress and behave. I would not encourage this from any exchange student, but everyone can do as they may! =D

Things to pack:

-Sport shoes
-Plenty of sports wear

Regarding things for basic survival that should be brought FROM HOME:

Things that you are just going to have to have as a BU student would be:

-Computer
-Free phone (that can accept any carrier)
-Chargers for your electronics
-Passport
-Medicines
-Glasses
-Backpack (the BU campus is very big and most of the time the best method of transportation is to walk; backpacks are the most convenient things to haul things around)

Regarding things for basic survival TO BE BOUGHT OR ACQUIRED when in Boston:

·         One of the first things you must do when arriving in Boston is get your Terrier Card. This card will be you lifeline to the university and eating. It is used for getting into your dorms, checking out books from the library, using the laundry machines, getting into the dining halls, or using your dining points at GSU.
·         The second thing would be to get a Charlie Card. This is the public transport card to which you can just add value and thus have easy and cheaper access to the public transportation system. This card is free and cuts your fares to almost half of their original price. To retrieve it you must just go to any of the major T (subway) stations and ask one of the guards for it.
·         Select a telephone carrier. The main telephone companies in Boston are: T-mobile, AT&T, Verizon & Sprint. Depending on what type of plan you may want the price can range from $20 to $60.
·         Also, depending on where you are going to stay, you may need to dress your room with sheets, bed covers, pillows, dishes, etc. The best places to go to find these essential room elements would be Bed, Bath and Beyond, Marshalls, or another home goods store. These stores are all located in the Fenway/Kenmore area and have pretty reasonable prices. I paid about $100 for my pillows, sheets, bed spread, mattress pad, and hair dryer.

Things to acquire in Boston:

-Terrier Card
-Charlie Card
-Phone card
-Bedding/Home Goods

BU and Faith

4/6/2015

No matter what faith you profess, BU probably has a place for you to practice.

I come from a Catholic family and our beliefs are very important to us. We go to church every Sunday and we rely on our communities for support, encouragement, and communion.

One thing I was very worried about before coming to Boston was finding a place where I would be able to continue with my devotions. I researched online for the nearest churches and their service hours and felt a little discouraged to find that all of the churches were pretty far away from the campus and had no youth groups to be found. One day I decided to further investigate what services BU provided, and found that BU has a Catholic Center with a very active community I could get involved with.

The day we came to Boston, in one of our first sessions of orientation, they showed us a list of all of the different religious support programs BU has available for the students. Instantly I located the Catholic Center on the map and filed it in my mind to visit it at my earliest convenience. Two days later I found myself at the entrance of a beautiful Brownstone building with a red sign stating: BU Catholic Center. Once inside, I was warmly received by the most diverse group of people, of all ages and majors, all willing to be my friends, despite the fact that I had just met them. The instant I found my community, I felt like I was back at home. The Catholic Center, on 211 Bay State Rd, is open from Sunday to Friday from 9 to 9. It’s a lively place, where you can study, crash, meet up for lunch, play games, join the choir, participate in a bible study group, go on retreat trips with one of the Focus Missionaries, or have a good chat with our priest, Father Barns, and his dog Finnbar.

This has just been my case, but due to the multicultural environment of BU and to its high percentage of international students, there are numerous ethnicities, religions, and communities, all cohabitating and encouraged by the university. No matter what your religion, you can probably find a chapel, church, prayer room, etc. If you have religious dietary restrictions, there are numerous options at the dining halls, so you can avoid those ingredients you cannot consume. There is even a Kosher dining hall, where all meals are prepared in the Jewish fashion. I also know for a fact that there is a Muslim community and an interfaith prayer room at the GSU. For those of the Christian faith, Marsh Chapel is a very beautiful and quiet place in the middle of the chaos of the campus for prayer and meditation, open 24/7 to anyone, and with ministers available to chat any day.

All of these places are waiting for you with their arms open for you to join their communities. So don’t hesitate: take a leap, make new friends, and live your faith.

Boston, BU and Sports

3/30/2015

Since the first day I arrived at Boston, I could see that Bostonians are crazed about sports. Every single pub has TV screens showing 24/7 sports events and games, the Kenmore Square and Fenway area is always crowded, especially on game days, people (no matter the weather forecast) are running and jogging on the streets, gyms and healthy eating ads are all over the place, and most of the people walking around BU are constantly in sports apparel.

This sports love is also translated to the University and its facilities. Boston University has the biggest fitness facilities in all of Boston; it is a state-of-the-art fitness center called FitRec. This 5 story building has an Olympic pool, numerous indoor courts for basketball, volleyball, rollerblading, field hockey, squash…ping pong tables, dance rooms, thousands of workout machines, an indoor athletic track for when the weather is not good, and my personal favorite: an indoor climbing wall. These facilities are of free access to all students from early morning till late at night.

FitRec also provides many classes: from ballroom dancing and fencing, to spinning, muscle building, ice skating, and hockey. All of these classes can be taken for credit, ranging from 0.5 credits to 1.5 credits. As a MET International exchange student, you are eligible to make use of two free PDP sports credits, which I highly encourage using. During my first semester, I joined three different ballroom classes throughout the week (Ballroom for Beginners, International Ballroom Standard, and International Ballroom Latino), each of which was only 0.5 credits, and I couldn’t have enjoyed them more. I met all sorts of people and had a lot of fun. And it never hurts to know some sweet moves! =D

In addition to this awesome building, BU has two sports fields with an outdoor athletic track, and two ice skating rinks: one for the hockey varsity team and the other for the skating teams, female hockey, and club hockey.

After knowing all of this, it is my belief that one of the best ways for an international student to integrate is through doing PDP courses, joining one of the many sports clubs, or even, if you are committed enough, joining one of the competitive sport teams.

When I was a little girl, I used to do competitive ice skating, but as I grew older I decided to stop and center myself on my studies. But in the months previous to my coming to BU, I saw on the website that there was an ice skating rink with free skate hours. So I decided to bring my skates with me just to have some fun. After barely two weeks of skating every single available free skate, the coach from the BU Figure Skating Club saw me and asked me if I would like to join. I thought it over and jumped into the pool. I could have never made a better decision! I love travelling all over USA with the BUFSC team, and I’ve met many amazing people. Do not get me wrong, it is extremely demanding and requires a lot of hours and dedication, but it is all worth it. After 10 years of not skating I’ve placed 2nd once and 1st twice at intercollegiate competitions, and the BUFSC team has qualified for Nationals, which will be in barely two weeks at Berkley University in California.

Roomies and Coexistence

3/24/2015

Hi Everyone!

Today I want to talk about roommates, living with others, and coexistence.

Many of you when you come to Boston, or in fact go anywhere in the world, will probably have to share a room, flat, or living space: everyone knows about exchange students’ limited budgets. And depending on your own history, you may or may not have shared your living space with others before and may or may not be used to doing so.

In my case, I had, as a little girl, shared a room with my sister until we moved to a bigger house. I shared board with hordes of girls during summer camps and shared a room with a Japanese exchange student in a previous exchange that I did in China during my third year of college. I was pretty confident of my abilities to deal with others.

The months previous to my arrival in Boston, BU Housing sent me an e-mail indicating with whom I was going to share my room for the whole year, and to my surprise it indicated that I would be sharing my room with two other students. Immediately I went into a state of nervousness at the idea of three people sharing the same space for such a long period of time; the uncertainty about how their characters would be, and if they would be compatible with my own. These are issues that every single person in that same situation will have. Even though humans are social individuals, when it comes to personal space we become hesitant.

Due to my nerves, I took the initiative and decided to send e-mails to my future roommates to set out the playing field, and get a little knowledge about those two mysterious girls that were meant to be my companions.

This turned out to be the best decision I could have made. We started talking and sharing our own stories, so that on the day we met we were no longer strangers, but had already settled the basis for our friendship.

The first day the three of us were settled in the dorm room, we sat down together to discuss and put together the guidelines for coexistence in the room. This is something I highly recommend. Settling from the beginning what is expected of each of the inhabitants avoids future conflict. We made a list of basic rules to be followed - from when to clean the room, to noise levels, laundry schedules, decoration of the room, bed times, lights, TV use, sleepovers, and guest policies. These rules are not rigid ones, but they were useful in setting the base of our relationship. These rules also don’t ensure coexistence, but they show the willingness to collaborate and create the best possible environment.

One thing that I believe is key is the willingness to create a friendship. It really doesn’t matter who your roommates are: if you approach them with an open mind, a smile, and a good attitude, you can make friends with anyone. My roommates happen to be very different individuals: one of them is a Chinese exchange student and the other is an American transfer student, but we have managed somehow to create a good friendship that enables us to coexist and make us want to spend time together.

We decided from the beginning that it was essential for us to do things together to ensure that our bond would grow. We established that at least one day a week we would do a roomie movie night, pizza night, bowling night, or spa night, and tried to take trips together, have meals together at the dining hall every week, go shopping, and decorate the room to make it look like home.

All this doesn’t mean that our coexistence is completely smooth and absent of any type of conflict. That is not so, for our personalities do clash at times, our lifestyles do not match, and some days we are just not in a mood to share anything with anyone. But we do our best, and it is our willingness to have a good environment in the room that does the trick.

I wish you the best of luck with your future room, dorm, or flat housemates and encourage you to make good friendships out of this experience.

Regards from me and my roommates, Kristen and Xi

Disney Spring Break!

3/18/2015

Hi Everyone,

Today I’m going to talk about Spring Breaks and overall my own spring break at Disney World in Orlando, Florida with my roommates.

If you are coming to Boston for the Spring Semester, you are going to find yourself with a whole week of vacation, during which you cannot stay in the dorms if you live in on-campus housing.

Since meeting my roommates in the first semester, we decided that it would be fun to organize a trip together during our Spring Break. This last week has been amazing, enjoying the warm sun of Florida and escaping for a week the cold of Boston and all the snow we’ve been suffering the last two months.

We flew to the Orlando airport on Saturday, spent the day in Downtown Disney, and had dinner at one of the themed restaurants. After that, we enjoyed six days of parks, visiting some of the different parks in Disney World: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios – and also spending really nice relaxing times in the pools and gardens of the resorts.

Sadly, it seems all trips have to end, and ours ended the following Saturday.

One thing that I would also like to talk about in this post is coexistence between those who are travelling with you. Trips can be stressful with all the planning and organization, but you must always do the best you can to ensure that the experience is as enjoyable as possible for everyone. By keeping others’ interests and desires into account, everyone can be happier and the trip’s environment will be much more enjoyable.

Wishing you the best of luck on planning your own breaks, and take this time as a chance to discover new places in the USA, take more exotic trips to places, such as the Caribbean, or go back home for the week.

First Impressions

3/11/2015

Hi everyone,

Today’s post is gonna be about first impressions upon arrival in the USA!

It was the 27th of August, 2014 when I first stepped foot in Boston. I didn’t expect much shock from my arrival, for I had been in the EEUU plenty of times before, visiting my family in Idaho or travelling with my parents and sister.

I grabbed my bags at the terminal and shared a taxi to the dorm with some of my Spanish classmates. Looking out of the window I was shocked to see European-styled building made out of brick with ivy growing on them! Nothing like the image I had in my mind of USA and the memories of my hometown back in Idaho, with the fields, big country houses, and the little white fences. I came to the conclusion that New England was a very different place than what I expected.

Stepping out of the taxi, I found myself looking up at this 10-story building with a big red sign that spelled “512 Beacon Street Danielsen Hall,” and a bunch of students and their parents filling these big yellow carts with boxes, lamps, and pillows. I dragged all my stuff though the doors to find a bunch of shiny balloons welcoming us, and after some paperwork, I proceeded to the room that had been allocated to me and my other two roommates.

On the elevator, I was extremely nervous about who my roommates would be, if they would be there when I arrived, if I would have first choice on bed and closet, if it would be a nice room… All these things were storming through my mind as the elevator doors opened and I dragged all my stuff to the door. I put my key in the door knob and when I opened the room I was blinded by the light coming from the windows. My room had four enormous windows looking onto the Charles River. I was psyched!

One of my roommates had already arrived, but wasn’t in the room, and had chosen the bed next to two of the windows, so I went and put all my stuff the one on the other side of the room, next to the old frame of a fireplace, so I could use it as shelf.

I left everything and ran to meet with all my classmates to go get our Terrier Cards and do some essential shopping so we could sleep in a made bed the first night. At the Terrier office, we met an adorable American freshmen girl that volunteered to take us to Bed, Bath and Beyond in her car to get the stuff we needed and took us home after that. You will also later learn that your Terrier Card is your life while living in Boston, for you use it to get into your on-campus dorms, dining halls, printing, fitrec etc.

Once I got back, I unpacked all my suitcases and shopping and made myself at home. It is my belief that no matter how long you will be living in one place you must always make it look like a home, and that way you won’t feel so home sick! =D

By then, the end of the day had come and my first of two roommates was back in the room smiling and saying: “Hello my name is He Xi, I’m from Beijing, China, but you can call me Xi. I look forward to this year living with you.”

After that I decided that, no matter what, this was going to be a good year.

Hello! This is me!

3/4/2015

Hi Everyone!

My name is Cristina Maldonado Tiegs. I was born in Madrid, Spain in March, 1993 from a Spanish father and an American mother. My hometown university is Universidad CEU San Pablo in Madrid, Spain, and I’m currently on my fourth year of a double bilingual degree in Business Administration & Marketing and Commercial Relations.

I came here to Boston at the end of last August, 2014 with a very big group of other Spanish students from my university. We came with an attitude of discovery and an open mentality. Due to having my American nationality in addition to my Spanish one, I didn’t expect it to be a great challenge to roll into the lifestyle here, but I couldn’t have been more wrong!

I’m an extremely enthusiastic person that loves reading, dancing, ice-skating, singing, baking, travelling, and experiencing adventures. I believe that food is a great part of any culture.

This is sadly my second and last semester here, and I’m hoping to make the most of my time left. I hope that in the following months I can enlighten you on how the culture, lifestyle, people, and processes work for an international student at an American university.

One last comment for the day:

No matter what your background, your degree, your country, or your preferences may be, never miss out on the opportunity of going on an adventure!