Everyone seemed to be happy by the fact that the busy and stressful final period, loaded with exams, papers, and presentations, has ended. Like other friends, I was also happy to fully enjoy the relaxing time after finals. But I felt sad at the same time because it was almost the end of semester, which means I have to go back to Korea soon. I couldn’t believe that 2 semesters in Boston was almost over. The time truly went so fast.

Yes, the time that I hate the most came eventually. It was the time to say goodbye to Boston and my friends for the last time. It is always difficult to say goodbye to those you get attached to and love. It was so difficult for me to face such sad moments with my friends. I wasn’t fully ready to leave Boston and those people that I met in Boston. But it’s indeed how life goes. Indeed, it was not the best moment in my life, but the fact that I didn’t want to leave Boston and my friends meant that I truly had a great time here.

Through these 2 semesters in Boston, I experienced and learned so many things than I have expected. For me, it wasn’t comfortable and easy to face all these new cultures and a  different environment at the beginning and it took a while to get used to it. However, through those times, I learned about different cultures, and how to communicate and build relationships with people who have different cultural backgrounds. Luckily, I had opportunities to travel around the US as well during these 2 semesters at BU - New York, Miami, Washington D.C., San Francisco, LA, Las Vegas, and Chicago - full of great memories. 

But above all, I met awesome friends here in Boston. It’s really amazing that although we look different, come from different countries, speak different languages and have different cultures from each other, I feel so connected and attached to them. We didn’t have any common ground at first, but now I can say that we have a huge connection from heart to heart after spending great time together through this amazing exchange experience at BU in Boston. 

Being blessed to study abroad in Boston was like a dream, a dream that I never want to wake up from. Now that I’m back in Korea, I miss those joyful days in Boston and my friends, some are still traveling around the US or outside the US, some staying in Boston, and some who went back to their countries like I did. Yes, my time in Boston was one of my best experiences in my life, as well as a priceless asset and stepping stone that will allow me to move forward to achieve my professional goals. 

It is truly sad that this beautiful journey is over, but I grew up so much during my experience in Boston. Like there is always ‘the end’ in every journey, it is time to move on, preparing for another gorgeous journey ahead of us. We cannot cling to the past forever. We have to focus on the present and courageously move forward in order to achieve our real dreams—our future, leaving happy memories of the past that we can look and smile back on to fully enjoy the future.

I would like to thank everyone whom I met here in Boston and thank you to Boston University as well for this wonderful experience.

Best wishes for everyone and I’m going to miss Boston so much!    

When you start choosing courses at the beginning of the semester, you’ll find out that most of the MET classes are scheduled in the evening, which means you have a plenty of time in the daytime. For those of you who want to use your time efficiently, I highly recommend that you take PDP courses during the time you have at BU!

PDP stands for Physical Education Credit classes, most of which are available at no extra charge for full-time students. PDP courses are a great way for students to schedule a workout into their academic lives. BU offers more than one hundred 0.5 to 2.0 credit PDP classes from aquatics, court sports, dance, fitness, and emergency medical response classes to general sports as well. Most of these classes are held in the Fitness and Recreation Center (FitRec), located in BU’s West Campus. FitRec is the largest gym I have ever been. It is more than just a gym; it has various facilities to accommodate all the PDP classes and personal workouts for BU students. It not only supplies general workout equipment, but also a swimming pool, climbing wall, running track, squash/racket court etc., providing a great environment for fitness and sport activities.

I am taking Fencing and Zumba classes in the morning (both 2credit courses) this semester, which means I go to FitRec from Monday to Thursday. Taking sport classes motivates me to go to FitRec more often and workout. 

It is my first time learning how to fence, and the coolest thing about this class is that you can participate in a fencing match with electronic equipment that automatically scores your points.    

The other PDP class I take is Zumba. It is actually one of my favorite classes! I didn’t know anything about ‘Zumba’ when I first chose this class, but it turned out to be so much fun! Zumba is a type of dance that involves aerobics incorporated with hip-hop, samba, salsa, mambo, etc. The choreography is repetitive, so it is easy to follow even if you haven’t learned it before. The songs that we learn are usually exciting and energetic that makes you want to dance anyway. A great thing about Zumba is that it is a pretty intense exercise, without the feeling of a painful workout. After 1hour of exciting dance time, you’ll be surprised to find yourself sweating so much. If you love dancing and want to enjoy your workout time, I would highly recommend this Zumba class!

When I came back to Boston from Spring Break, I had to stay at my friend’s dorm for a while before my dorm reopened. During the weekend that I was staying there, I had a chance to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with my friend and her American friends.

St. Patrick’s Day is actually a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, but it is also widely celebrated around the world by people of Irish decent. It is officially celebrated on the 17th of March, which is the death date of the most commonly recognized patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. Boston is known as a city with a large Irish population, so it is quite a big deal to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Boston. People wear green on this day and enjoy music, Irish food, drinks, etc. It’s like a big festival. An interesting fact is that most people actually start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day during the weekend before March 17th. What they usually do during the weekend is ‘bar-crawling’, in other words, a bar-tour – going to multiple pubs or bars to drink. It sounded fun to me, so I immediately joined my friend and her American friends to go bar-crawling and headed to an Irish pub nearby. We wore green shirts and put on some green makeup to fully experience St. Patrick’s Day.

There were so many people in green lined up in front of every Irish pub we went to. It was really fun to watch people wearing all kinds of green clothes, hats, and makeups. Inside, the bar was full of excited people holding beers in their hands. We enjoyed our days talking and drinking together over loud music. It was my first time celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in my life because we don’t celebrate it in Korea. It was a pretty fun experience for me to be part of such an excited crowd.

On the actual St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, I went to an Irish pub again with my exchange friends after class ended around 9pm to celebrate the day together. There were lots of people inside wearing green shirts as well. We didn’t order any Irish food or drinks, but the fact that we were having our late dinner together was a key part of our celebration in it of itself.

Everyone seems to be really excited about these nine days of ‘Spring Break’ and so am I. Although we call it as “Spring” Break, it was still cold like winter in Boston. That’s why everyone seemed to be planning to go to warmer places for their vacations such as Florida or Cancun. I planned to go to Miami, which is the most popular Spring-Break-destination among college students. I rented an apartment in Miami with four other friends - my roommate who is from Japan, one Korean girl and two French girls. I was so excited to be at a warm place where I could wear shorts and enjoy the sun while lying down on the beach.

As soon as we arrived in Miami, we were so excited for the sunny warm weather! It was already evening when we got in the apartment, so we just walked along the North beach nearby our apartment and chilled while having a nice dinner at a restaurant.

Day 2: Enjoying the Beach

The next morning, we couldn’t wait to go outside and head to the beach to enjoy the sun in the daytime! We went to South Beach, the most popular beach in Miami. The sky was blue and the weather was perfect for sunbathing and swimming in the ocean. The beach was so pretty and we really enjoyed swimming in the ocean together. We also took a nap on the beach while listening to music. It was such a relaxing time for all of us to get away from all our schoolwork.  

Day 3: Exploring Miami on Bike!

In the following day, we decided to rent a bicycle to explore Miami more. It was so fun to ride bicycles together along the ocean and explore new streets and new restaurants that we haven’t been to. Like always, it was a sunny day, not cold at all and yet also not too hot –just the perfect weather for going on a bike ride. We rode our bicycles for quite a long time along Miami Beach, enjoying the beautiful view of the ocean and the beach. As we rode for several hours, we sometimes stopped in the middle of the street or bridge to enjoy the scenery and to take some pictures. We also stopped by a restaurant along Ocean Drive to have lunch. The risotto I ordered was so delicious and full of fresh seafood. On the way home, we enjoyed the sunset over the ocean and the palm trees; it was gorgeous.

Day 4: Meeting Friends

On the fourth day, I met with two other friends from BU who had also come to Miami for Spring Break. It was such a coincidence that they saw me riding my bicycle while they were waiting for their bus at the station. That’s how we eventually got to see each other in Miami. We met on Lincoln Road, one of my favorite spots in Miami, and had a nice lunch together. Lincoln Road is full of shopping malls, restaurants, and an energetic atmosphere. Later, we met other friends who arrived in Miami from Boston just the day before. One of them was my BUddy, Joshua (the BUddy program links BU students with MET International visiting students to help international students get to know Boston and BU). I was so excited to see him at a place other than Boston! I felt like so many people I knew had come to Miami, hoping to enjoy a real “Spring Break” at warm place. That evening, we planned to go to a rooftop bar together with some other French friends that I knew from MET. I have never been to a rooftop bar before, so I was really looking forward to being on top of a roof where I can see the night view of Miami with nice music and a martini in hand. The weather was perfect to enjoy the night with lots of great people.

Day 5: The Last Day in MIA

The days in Miami seemed to have passed so quickly, and eventually the last day in Miami came. I wanted to try at least one water sport before I left, so I planned to ride a jet ski. It was my first time ever riding jet ski. I was extremely excited to ride it in the Miami waters! My friends and I jumped on the jet ski and we enjoyed the speed, riding in every direction. In the beginning, I was scared to go further away from the shore, but slowly I went into deeper waters while enjoying the wind and the waves. Surprisingly, I happened to spot a big yellowish sea turtle swimming by. I was so surprised that I just stopped the jet ski and watched the turtle for a while until it dived down again and swam away from my sight. Our thirty minutes went by so quickly, but it was indeed a fun and unique experience for me. I would love to try it again if I go to a beach in the near future!!

Anyway, I really enjoyed my first spring break in Miami with my friends, and it was one of the greatest vacations of my life. I was so sad to say goodbye to Miami and to go back to Boston to face the cold again, but the good thing is that I came back with lots of great new memories with my friends.

Hi - My name is Sohyun, and I am really excited to share my experience as an exchange student in Boston University.  

To introduce a little bit about myself - I came from South Korea, and I am studying Advertising and Public Relations in Sookmyung Women’s University located in Seoul. I am an exchange student at BU for two semesters, and sadly this is my second and last semester.

When I first came to Boston, everything seemed new to me – from having a roommate, to classes, to the dining hall, and to meeting new friends from all over the world. At first, it wasn’t comfortable for me to face such unfamiliarity; however, as I made new friends and got used to new cultures, I started to really enjoy the excitement that comes from facing new things every day in Boston. And time flew!!! Looking back on my previous semester, I met so many good friends and made lots of great, great memories in Boston.

And, I am really enjoying this semester as well. So far, it’s been much more than I expected!!