Boston - EF Language School 2012-2013

It is my first day here in Boston. I arrived yesterday on campus. It was a very long flight, but everything went as planned. My first impression of the school was actually not very good - a bit frivolous. My first welcome was: Welcome to EF, the food sucks! Well...ahh thanks I guess? I was shown to my room, and it is messy. My roomate is a girl from China and she is not very good at tiding up. So I actually wasn't really happy last night! 🤔

But today it is better. We had an introduction this morning, Where we were told about the school, the program, the rules ect. It made me feel much better! After the introduction we went for a tour around Boston - learned how to use the bus and subway, where to go shopping, sightseeing ect. It has been a good day, it has been a bit cold (not as much as in Denmark!), but the sun has shone and the sky was blue. Everybody here seems very Nice and friendly, even my roomate eventhough she is a bit untidy 🙂

Tomorrow will be my first school day, I'm looking forward to see how it is going to be!

Today was my second school day. The level in class are OK, I'm in a Upper Intermediate Class, which is a little above medium level. Some of the students in my class speeks english very poorly, but it is understood. Some of the things there are teached is a bit easy, but gramma-classes are good. I'm not very good at the gramma in english, so I think I might learn a lot which is very good. 

Today is also the first day were I felt a bit like I "belonged". I found my way down to the grocer all by myself - I was a bit proud actually considering my lack of direction sense! And furthermore I almost now know my way around this "Hogwarts-like" castle that is our school, I didn't get lost today! 🤭

This evening I also learned how to use a coin laundry. There is a small laundry in the basement of the school, I have never tried something like that. I'm used to wash at home, so it I had to ask some of the other students how it worked. It is actually pretty easy. 😉

The last day of my first week! Time has past so quickly!

Thursday after class I went downtown whit three chinese girls and met up with one of their friends. We went to an American steakhouse call Longhorn and got dinner. I got some som filet  with cheese and bacon, green salat and some fries - it had an amazing taste! Espeacially the filet - it was so tender, it allmost fell apart just by looking at it! For dessert I got some chocolat cake/brownie with vanilla icecream on top. The whole meal was so got, I were almost unable to walk to the bus afterwards😋

Friday after class I did some laundry. About 05.00pm I met whit some of my new chinese friends at the Lecture Hall og went with them to Chinatown to a chinese restaurent for dinner. I was the only European among 12 people - the rest where either Chinese or Japanese. It was a fantastic experiance! They are all so very sweet and kind and friendly. They told my alle about the food, how to eat with sticks (this I was very bad at, so I got a fork and a knife and a spoon instead), how they dine togehter in China etc. It was such a good evening - I really enjoyed myself and, of course, eat to much!

Today, Sunday, the whole school was awekened at 04.00am by the firealarm! My roomate and I stood up, got dressed and got out infront of the school with the other students. Two firetrucks came to tjeck if there was a fire or if it was a false alarm. Non of the students, including me, where afraid and there where no panic. There had been, and still was, a party on the school. Some of the students had been drinking (eventhough it is not allowed on school property), heard loud music and made a lot of noice all night, and some of them had undoubtedly smoked inside, which triggers the firealarm. We waited about 1/2 hour before we could go back in. What a great morning! 😠

After sleeping a couple of hours more, I went downtown to do some shopping with my roomate and another girl. I ended up buying a pair of sweatpants (which of course appeard to be too short when I got back!) and some very very expensive tea!! - I got fooled a bit! There where two guys, who worked in the shop, that helped me find the right tea - they talked and talked, showed me a lot of stuff, draged from one end of the store to the other, finally I got so confused I didn't even know who I was and what I had agreed to - I ended up buying three kind of tea's for 377 $ !!!! That is almost 2000 dkr !! What?! 😲 

I could not belive myself - yes it is a good tasting tea, but COME ON JANNE!!!? I could just have said no, but I didn't know how? I just ran my creditcard through the machine like some zombie! I didn't know what to do - luckily my mum is the one who knows how to save me when I do something that stupid! She brought me down to earht and out of my zombie state, and told me that I should go back tomorrow and ask them to take the tea back. So I'll try that.. 

Thats just the way to go Janne! WELCOME TO THE US FOOLISH EUROPEAN GIRL! But at least I learned something today - and it will NEVER happen again! I hope..🤭

I've now been here for two weeks - I'm already half way at my course here in Boston! Time is, indeed, running fast!

Well, last monday I tried to refund my very fabulous and "just a bit" expensive tea - but noooo they didn't want to refund it, because, as the so beautiful employee with the most marvellous mohawk and twinkling fake dimond earring told me, they couldn't take anything back when I had got a discount. A DISCOUNT???! - My creditcard certaintly didn't feel any kind of discount, it was more red-hot! His argument for this answer was, that they had to throw the tea out and it would be too expensive for the store - well let me get this right - it would be too expensive for the store to take back the tea and give me back my money, the same amount that I've paid incl. the "discount", than it would have been if I had paid full price and they had to give me the full amount of money back - eighter way they had to throw the tea out?! 😙 I still don't get it. Had it been in Denmark, I would have got "a little" angry - but here I wouldn't dare to, until I get more familiar with country. 

I didn't do much shopping rest of the week! I went to lunch with my roomate and her friends, but mostly I did some studing. I also talked to my teacher and the academic office about moving up one level. I took a small test, I were given 10 minutes to write about my life. The academic office and my teacher concluded that I could move up one level - from Upper Intermediate 2 to Upper Intermediate 3. This means a new class and a new teacher. I'm very happy for it, and are looking forward to be challenged more. 

Saturday the 17th, I went to the annual tree-lightning downtown Boston. 

It is not quite the same as back home! Here in Boston is it a very big event. Most of the inhabitants are gathered at the Coverment Center, and there are live music and people who entertaine on the streets. All the stores are open, so there is also an opportunity to do some shopping. The tree were set to lightned at 5:30pm, but it didn't happen until 6.00pm. It was very cold - but it was a very good experiance, everybody was happy and all were waiting for the Big event to happen. It finally did - and WAOO!! What an amazing light show! They played really loud christmas music and the big christmas tree and every other tree around very blinking and shifting colours to the beat for the music! Sorry - but "go-home" tree-lightning in Egtved! The big christmas tree were even decorated with bells, glitter, balls and not just light as bag home! It was very beautiful! The only thing missing was a bit of snow, danish "aebleskiver" and of cause danish "glögg" 😀

Sunday the 18th I went to the Harvad Museum of Natural History at Harvard Square.

It was a very good museum. There was a lot aboumatche American History, Evolution, Climate change and a big collection of flowers made in glass. It is impressive - one can't see that it is made of class, it looks like a real flower.

After the museum I went for a walk in Harvard Yard - it is were the Harvard University and form-rooms are. It is like a park surrounded by old achitectural buildings. It is a very place. Afterwards I walked a bit around Harvard Square, I like the buildings there, they are very old-fashioned ang very english. I went by a shop were they sold skiing outfits ect. and what did I discover - A CANADA GOOSE JACKET!!! I had to try it on - this is the only thing that I really wish to buy here in the US, and there it was. So of cause I bought it. It is not as expensive as in Denmark, but still not cheap. I got it! ❤

Today is "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving.

It has been a great week - I feel like the week has rushed by so fast! Tuesday the 18th was the first day in my new class and I just love this class! Everybody came and introduced themselves and everybody is very openminded og sweet. I felt at home right away! My teacher is very good and extremly funny - his sings, make jokes, makes strange postures, but at the same time very serious about our learning. I really feel that I'm being challenged and that I'm learning something - it is just great! One of my new classmates is called Susanne and she is from Liechtenstein. She and I have become friends and went for a coffee Wednesday afternoon.

Yesterday the 22th was Thanksgiving and there were no teaching. I didn't really do anything most of the day, relaxed and watched some TV on my Ipad. I went down for dinner at the school cafeteria and they, of cause, had made Thanksgiving-dinner, it was actually pretty good. I didn't have any expectations, because the food usually isn't that good, but yesterday was good. I could get use to celebrating Thanksgiving. 😋

Today is, as said earlier, Black Friday. Black Friday is a day of shopping. Every store and shop has huges sales - this is a day where every American goes nuts! Most of the stores and shopes opens late Thursday evning, and people goes shopping - a lot of them during most of the night! One of our teachers told, that a man was killed a couple of years ago during Black Friday. He fell during the opening of the stores and were trampled to death! 😥 Luckerly there wheren't that many people when I came today! We went to the Wrenthem Premium Outlet with the school. It was good, I thought it would have been more cheap, but it was good. I did a bit os shopping, but actually not as much as sometimes! That might not be a bad thing though!

It is a bit strange to think, that I only have one more week left here in Boston before moving on to New York. Eventhough I come to like Boston, I'm so excited about going to New York - and when time is rushing by this fast, New York is just in a moment away.

This is my last day in Boston, tomorrow I'll be off to New York! Time passes by so fast - it's already  December and nearly Christmas. It has been snowing here today, just a bit. It makes you in a Christmas-mood, but also a bit sad - I miss Denmark and my family, you are supposed to be with your family this time a year, thank god for Skype! It doesn't feel like I'm that far away when I can call home and see my family "live" on a video! 🙂

This past week has been very good! I really like my new class and new teacher - I'm really going to miss them so much! I hope my new class in New York will be just as good as here! I feel that I've learned a lot here, my language has become more fluently and the words comes more naturally than before. My spelling is still a bit difficult, but I think it will get better too during the next two months. 

This week has mostly gone by with school and study, but I've also payed a visit to the Museum og Fine Arts, which was a great experiance! I love walking around for hours and hours, just looing at every old artefact. I could have stayed much longer, but I had a classmate with me, and she didn't like it as much as I. I know they have a museum in New York very similar, and - as said earlier - I love such places, so I'm of cause going to visit that as well! 

It has been a great experiance to be here in Boston and I'll deferently miss it, but I'm so exited about New York - and tomorrow I'm off!!

Bye Boston!! 🤪