Boston

The bottom line up front … I loved Boston University, I loved the city (as many of you have known for a long time), and I would love to spend the next 4 years of my life there.

I arrived in Boston late Friday night after rushing through customs in Atlanta, only to find that my flight had been delayed and I had plenty of time to get dinner and coffee (first Starbucks latte in 4 months!). My amazing friend from USC, Rohin, picked me up at the airport and we went to his house. I spent Friday and Saturday nights at the lovely abode of Rohin and John. Rohin and I chatted a bit and enjoyed some of the peanut butter thumb print cookies my mom sent before heading to bed.

Saturday was a day of football. Rohin and I woke up early to head to Rohin’s flag football games in South Boston. We went to Starbucks (obviously, my addiction is back) and a local Mexican place to pick up breakfast burritos. We went to the T and our burritos on board. After a short bus ride and walk, we arrived at the field. I enjoyed my coffee as Rohin and the other hundred men in matching jerseys warmed up. I watched both of his games from the sidelines and chatted with a few of his teammates and their friends who were also watching. Unfortunately his team lost both games but it was a lot of fun to watch. Some people had more experience than others but everyone had a good time. After the games, we headed back to Porter Square, near Rohin’s house. We picked up a few things for the party and had lunch with another USC friend, Shin. I enjoyed pad thai noodles and diet coke. I had been thinking about Thai food for about a month and it was so delicious! Rohin and I spent Saturday afternoon going to the grocery store and cooking two HUGE trays of lasagna and two giant pitchers of sangria. About 25 people came over to watch the USC-Notre Dame football game. The majority were John’s Harvard Law friends and were not really interested in the game. I did meet a couple from So Cal who were Trojan fans and two other great friends from college came over too. Eric, Eric’s girlfriend Jensen, and Sierra came! Eric and I were kines majors together and worked on the Spirits in Action committee a long time and Sierra I have known each other since the dorms and four years of crazy good times. It was so nice to watch a college football game (my first SC game of the season) and with good company. And we won! After stuffing myself with lasagna, caramel brownies, and sangria, I was ready for bed.

Sunday afternoon was a bit of a lazy transition day. I slept in then Rohin and I went to Target. I had a pretty extensive list of things I wanted to take back to Guatemala – most things were for myself but some things were for other friends and teachers. Lotion, body wash, and contact solution all exist in Guatemala but are very expensive. Some of the other thins I bought were more comfort items, slippers to wear around the house, headbands for the gym, and magazines. I also bought a digital camera for my host mom as an early Christmas present (she was so shocked Hannah and I wanted to gift it to her – she almost cried). I also bought two giant bags of Halloween candy to bring a bit of home back to my new home and share with everyone. After lasagna leftovers for lunch, Rohin and John drove me to Shin’s house. He lives very close to BU and closer to the airport so it made the most sense to stay with him Sunday and Monday nights. Shin had some work to do so I dropped me stuff and headed out. I used my walking time to take in some of the sights of Boston and catch up on some needed phone calls. I miss my people! I met up with Eric and Jensen at the Head of the Charles, a famous crew race on the Charles River. It was amazing how fast those people can move. We walked along the course from BU undergrad campus to Harvard Square. I headed back on the T to Boston Common. I wandered around, did some window shopping, and ended up at the Tufts Medical School. I met up with Sierra again and she gave me a brief tour of the school and her dorm. We then went out to dinner with Shin at brew house in the area. I ate a barbeque pulled pork sandwich – yummy. After dinner, Shin showed me the BU medical campus and the route to walk their in the morning from his apartment. I stayed up late re-reading interview responses and information about the school. I was too nervous to do much else but finally decided on sleep.

Monday I woke up early and spent most of the day at BU for my interview. See the interview blog for more details on that. After the interview, I changed out of my suit into some more comfortable clothes and set off for Boston Common and Newberry Street. I pick stopped at yet another Starbucks and enjoyed my stroll down the tree-lined streets with different colored leaves. I also made a few phone calls during this walk. On Newberry, I bought some essential items and some not so essential items and did some window shopping. I do not even want to know how much the Kate Spade bag I looked at would cost in quetzales – way too much! I returned to a shoe storm I had been to the day before and gave in to their deal. I bought some Sperry rain boots and another pair of Toms for half off! Luckily, I was shipping my suit back to my mom so the boots were just another item in the box. After Rohin got off work, I headed back to his place to pick up the rest of my stuff. I had a lot of crap to organize, stuff into my camping backpack, and put in a pile to send back home. Some needed items (like a blow dryer for the freezing mornings in Dec) got backed and others (black pumps) were sent back. I said goodbye to John then Rohin and I went back to Shin’s to meet for dinner. During a transfer on the T, I got the chance to talk to a Somos friend, Logan, who was also in the States for interview. It was a strange connection between my Guatemala and America lives. After we dropped off my stuff at Shins, we walked to PF Changs. My buddy DJ from Oakland met us for a drink and appetizers. Another smiling face, I was so grateful to see! I stuffed myself with soup, rice, and Mongolian Beef. Then to top it all off I had a mini chocolate mousse brownie dessert shot thing – muy rico! As we parted ways with the crew, Shin and I headed back to his place. I reorganized all my stuff and ended up using a Target bag as a second carry-on. I had one last late night chat on the phone with a friend and fell asleep.

Tuesday the taxi came at 4am to take me to my 6am flight. I slept the whole way to Atlanta. On my flight to Guate, I watched Mr. Poppers Penguins (not as good at the newest X-Men I saw leaving Guate), read a magazine, and did my Spanish grammar worksheets. Outside the airport in Guatemala City, I ran into an employee of the hostel I stayed at previously who helped me find a reliable taxi. I go to the bus with 40 minutes to spare before the 1230pm bus to Xela. I read another magazine and slept on the bus. Around 430pm, I arrived at my house in Xela. Everything looked just as I remembered it. The dream was over.