Coming to Boston in January seemed like a great idea last April when I accepted my admission to Northeastern University and the NUin Program. But now, anyone who has been abroad for the past three months can all agree that coming back to Boston and facing #snowzilla looks a lot like willingly walking into a freezing hell. Without my nightly glass of wine to help me avoid the stresses that come with academia and student life (#underage), I’ve decided to face my problems in the form of writing because apparently this is therapeutic and doesn’t cause liver failure.
So here’s a list of some of the frustrations I have experienced since returning from NUin Greece to Boston…
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First of all, what is up with the lack of Christmas markets around here? I mean sure, America definitely wins in the department of tacky decorations, but do Christmas decorations give me a valid and legal excuse to get drunk in public while I guzzle down my gluhwein? Apparently not. I found this fun fact out in the back of a police car who claimed that active consumption of alcohol in public places is illegal. Who knew…? Not the Europeans.
2. I don’t know about the other NUin programs, but Greece had a pretty sweet setup. Instead of dorm life, we lived in hotels where we were provided with daily room cleaning, a fresh change of sheets, and a laundry service that came to our rooms to personally pick up, return, and wash our clothes. How does Northeastern expect me to return to normalcy after living in luxury for the past three months? And actually walking to class instead of having a private shuttle take me every day? College life is just so primitive now.
3. And what am I suspend to do on a Friday night now that Europe has made me so cultured and sophisticated? Frat parties don’t come close to clubbing in Europe or nights with the girls sipping on bottles of wine we can’t pronounce. I mean really, there’s only so many times you can hear someone say “bro” and “dude.”
…Unless it’s said by Zac Efron, I would happily take a fratty Zac Efron over Europe any day.
4. Anyone returning from small housing complex’s understands the struggle of having to walk for longer than 5 seconds to see our friends. Not only did we have to deal with separation anxiety over the winter holidays but now it’s happening on campus too. We are forced to actually put on our winter jackets and boots and face the strenuous battle that is walking through Boston’s lethal winter. We are risking our clear, dry, free skin and our lives for our friends. All that Service-Learning really brought out generous sides.
5. And most of all nothing compares to the feeling of finding a flight for less than $20 roundtrip. God bless you, Ryan Air, and please come to America ASAP (preferably before I book anything for spring break because Europe has left me broke.)