Before diving into how I felt when I arrived in Boston, here is a little something about why I chose this city among so many others offered by my business school back in Paris.
I have always been fascinated with the American Dream and the American way of life. It’s something that has always intrigued me and growing up, I always took the opportunity to visit the country of Uncle Sam whenever I could. I had the chance to visit the West Coast with my parents (San Francisco, Los Angeles, the Grand Canyon…) a few years ago; I also went to Chicago for a month, and improved my English at UCLA for two months. As you can tell, I’m a traveler and am also already familiar with American Culture… but only of the West Coast! When I saw that Boston was on the list of destinations where I could study for a year, I did not hesitate and went for it. The East and West Coasts are truly two different places to experience, and I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. If you have to choose an international destination, Boston is the place to be.
When I first stepped out of the plane at the airport, this feeling of finally living my dream took over! When you think about it, you can take the bus and visit Harvard, Cambridge, or MIT just a few miles away from the BU Campus. I was excited and ready to explore BU but also the apartment I was going to live in. I chose to live off-campus with roommates because I wanted to challenge myself. Could I be able to live with two other people for a whole year? Will I be excluding myself from campus activities? Am I going to be homesick? Those questions were also running through my head as I was unpacking my luggage.
Flash-forward to today, and I couldn’t be happier. I am only 20-25 minutes away from my classes, I go to hockey games and other on-campus events when I can (especially the free food ones, who doesn’t want free food?), and I go 4 to 5 times a week to the Fitness and Recreation center, which is huge. I have never seen such a building! They have a pool (see picture below) where competitions frequently happen, hundreds of machines and equipment, basketball and volleyball courts, and a running track! You have access to all of this with your BU ID, which you get at the beginning of the year and makes you a true Terrier. It gives you access to dining halls, reductions at the theater, museums and Barnes & Noble book discounts. To me, the gym facility is probably the place I will miss the most when I will fly back to Paris…
I have always been fascinated with the American Dream and the American way of life. It’s something that has always intrigued me and growing up, I always took the opportunity to visit the country of Uncle Sam whenever I could. I had the chance to visit the West Coast with my parents (San Francisco, Los Angeles, the Grand Canyon…) a few years ago; I also went to Chicago for a month, and improved my English at UCLA for two months. As you can tell, I’m a traveler and am also already familiar with American Culture… but only of the West Coast! When I saw that Boston was on the list of destinations where I could study for a year, I did not hesitate and went for it. The East and West Coasts are truly two different places to experience, and I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. If you have to choose an international destination, Boston is the place to be.
When I first stepped out of the plane at the airport, this feeling of finally living my dream took over! When you think about it, you can take the bus and visit Harvard, Cambridge, or MIT just a few miles away from the BU Campus. I was excited and ready to explore BU but also the apartment I was going to live in. I chose to live off-campus with roommates because I wanted to challenge myself. Could I be able to live with two other people for a whole year? Will I be excluding myself from campus activities? Am I going to be homesick? Those questions were also running through my head as I was unpacking my luggage.
Flash-forward to today, and I couldn’t be happier. I am only 20-25 minutes away from my classes, I go to hockey games and other on-campus events when I can (especially the free food ones, who doesn’t want free food?), and I go 4 to 5 times a week to the Fitness and Recreation center, which is huge. I have never seen such a building! They have a pool (see picture below) where competitions frequently happen, hundreds of machines and equipment, basketball and volleyball courts, and a running track! You have access to all of this with your BU ID, which you get at the beginning of the year and makes you a true Terrier. It gives you access to dining halls, reductions at the theater, museums and Barnes & Noble book discounts. To me, the gym facility is probably the place I will miss the most when I will fly back to Paris…
When I went through Boston streets for the first time, I was surprised to see so many people running in parks or around the city! I was amazed by the energy people have. Boston’s Public Garden is filled with families, runners, musicians, and yoga lovers. Now that I’ve been here for six months, I definitely feel that sports are something Bostonians take very seriously. I regularly see groups of students running together up and down Commonwealth Avenue, or Comm. Ave. as locals call it here. This avenue is THE LONGEST. The Champs Elysée is nothing compared to this (in terms of distance). Boston University and all of its colleges are located on it. I remember the first week I arrived, my roommates and I wanted to explore the University. We walked down the whole of Comm. Ave. on a beautiful and sunny day, but we also underestimated the distances. The Boston T (Trolley or Train) is a mean of transportation we were not aware of, and if you live off-campus, you will need a Link Pass allowing you to take the bus and the T to your classes. Every time I take the T, I feel like I’m in a cute little wagon in a small town because it is not very fast, but it gets you to most of the places you want to go in Boston. If you live on-campus in dorms, you can take a free bus driving up and down Comm. Ave. by showing your BU Card, which is very convenient. Below is a picture I took of Comm. Ave. and Agganis Arena:
The most impressive day on campus was orientation day, hands down. I felt a little bit emotional because I felt part of a community and seeing all these people loving their university and others just getting started like me, it made me realized how much positive impact this adventure will have in my life. As you can tell by the little video clip below, it was a blast! It took place in Agganis Arena, the BU Terriers’ Hockey Stadium, which has more than 7,000 seats. The university band was amazing, and the dean and other renowned professors gave incredible speeches. During that day, BU students also took us around campus and showed us where to eat, study and have fun on campus. There was also time to speak with international students and make friends. There were so many international people that day, it almost felt like every country on earth was represented on campus! Orientation day made me realized I was not alone and I recommend it to anyone attending BU. At that point, I felt at home and ready to live my studying-abroad American dream.
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