And now it's time for American Thanksgiving!

Well hello after quite some time now!

Sorry about the prolonged pause. I couldn't figure out a way to keep this blog going with the limited gmail photo quota.

I've decided to just go ahead with a photo journal sort of thing on a new gmail account I created for just that purpose. I've posted some new albums which you are welcome to peruse through at your leisure :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/tsinhat/CampusLife#

Thanks for checking in :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hi everyone!

I tried uploading photos a couple of times, but it appears that my gmail quota for photos is full (I have lots on picasa already)

So maybe I need to create a new account, and have the photos uploaded there.
I wonder if I can transfer this blog to that account... any ideas anyone? Google experts?

:)

Other than that, things are going quite well here. I had some papers due already. And the midterm/paper storm is just around the corner.
I'm still loving the program, the profs and my classes so that must be a good sign :)

I hope all is well on that side of North America.
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

'Life is Good' Concert

The September 12th weekend, Sahya took me to a 'Life is Good' concert. We both like Jason Mraz's music, and he was one of the artists playing at this 2-day concert aiming to raise funds for children with special needs.

I had seen merchandise with the Life is Good logo before, but I didn't realize it was such a huge phenomena!

It was held on a huge field as it was more of a festival, with a couple different performance stages, rock climbing wall, food stalls and lots of other fun activities for kids and adults.

I liked this sign. There were several of these, aiming to advocate positivity in life and inclusion of all children.

Corinne Bailey Rae performed. I didn't know this, but she's the music behind 'Girl, put your records on'... she was quite good!

It was hard to get good pictures of Mr. Jason Mraz himself as we were a bit far off, but he was an excellent performer! I would go as far as saying that I liked him better live than on his CDs!

 

Two of Sahya's friends came along with us as well.

And it was a lot of fun!

So guess what this weekend was all about? Reading, reading, writing, reading....

Gotta balance the fun with some work, right?!

Life is good indeed :)

Back to School...

Things have definitely begun in full swing academically... hard to believe we just began!
I really like the program so far, and all my courses. There are abour 34 of us in the program, and most of us are in all the same classes atleast for this first semester. So it makes it easier to get to know the people we are studying with.

We have 6 courses this semester, and a seminar series. So that keeps us busy! But the idea is to train us and give us practical tools before we head off for our practicums in the Spring/Summer. So all the courses are quite practically oriented. While it's a lot of work, I'm really enjoying it. Definitely feels like a privilege to be learning material that is engaging and gets me excited!
I also really like all my professors. They are all very interactive in their approach, and make a significant effort to get to know us by name and personalities (SUCH a difference from undergrad) so that's really rewarding to experience. It just feels like they have a vested interest in seeing us grow professionally and as students, and really care to do so. So that's been a huge blessing.

Boston University has two campuses - one is the Charles River Campus (where I live) and the other is the Medical Campus (where my classes are). The medical campus is much smaller and not the nicest looking in my opinion. I'll post some pictures of the Charles River Campus later. While it's the med campus, we have medical students and a bunch of different graduate medical sciences programs (of which my program is a part) at this campus.

Here are a few pictures of the buildings where I have my classes.

 Franklin Square - a park very close to the med campus

Below are some pictures of the Boston Medical Centre - it is a teaching hospital at the med campus that is affiliated with BU. We have the option of doing our practicum and/or internship there if we choose.

So that is a little glimpse of where I study. Pictures of where I'm staying to come soon... :)

New Address and Phone Number

Here is my Bostonian address:
90 St. Mary's Street (BS#3)
Boston, MA
02215

And my cell phone number here:
857 417 3857

JUST in case you wanted to know :)

Fun with Family, and a little tour around Boston!

My parents and I did the 10 hour drive from Toronto to Boston on August 27th. I sure had butterflies in my tummy at least up until the border, clutching my stack of immigration papers so they'll let me into the country as a student. Thankfully, all went well, and the officer was even nice as he processed my papers :)

A wonderful welcome into the city was the crazy rush-hour traffic. And I say this because I might bring this up a few times. But Bostonians have some crazy drivers! I brought my bike here, but have yet to build the courage to take it on the roads. I'm still getting used to becoming a non-paranoid pedestrian! I mean, it's nothing compared to Bolivia or India, but here I wasn't expecting it, so it's definitely caught me by surprise.

Anyway, back to the first weekend. It was just wonderful to have my mum and dad here to help settle me in into the new surroundings and home. We got a chance to tour around a little bit, so here are some of the pictures.

The Christian Science Centre has been around for a very long time, and has a stately presence in the middle of the city. I really like the building and the area surrounding it!

Right next to the Christian Science Centre is the Reflection Pool. Apparently they adjusted for the curvature of the earth when constructing it in order to make it completely flat. On a non-windy day, it acts as a mirror, reflecting some of the important buildings of the city's skyline.

There's a cool fountain behind the pool. The Prudential Tower in the background.

Fountain fun! If you dodge the water sprays, you can get to the inside without getting wet!

With mum and dad at Kenmore Square (very close to where I live)

There will be more pictures to come! I just have to be more intentional about taking my camera and snapping away...

A much needed update!!

Wow!
So I definitely meant to post something as soon as I got here, but a combination of busy-ness and poor internet connection (I'm working on that!) has put me a bit behind.

It's been two weeks since I got into Boston! Time is a funny thing. I can't believe it's already been two weeks.
But at the same time, I'm going, "My parents were here to drop me off just two weeks ago?!"
I think when you enter into a new place, time seems to pass you by somewhat slowly, with the novelty of every little thing you experience at first, and all the information you are bombarded with right away.

But so far, so good :) I really like the city of Boston. I'm feeling more settled into my new place, and getting to know the city a bit more as I find my way around places!

I'll back-track a bit for the next couple of posts so I start from the beginning and don't miss some fun stories :)
Thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy reading!