Everyone has a bucket list, whether you know it or not, you can instantly mention things that you want to do, eat, or try before you die. To come back to my previous article: in the Puritan era, bucket lists did not even exist yet. Puritans focused more on the literal meaning of the word: they were happy if they had a real bucket to fill with food and water.
Nowadays, bucket lists even have a Wikipedia page (yes, I looked it up) and there are numerous books and websites to inspire those of us who are less creative. When I heard that I was officially accepted to Siena, I started to make the prompt of a USA bucket list, but this list has changed since the first day I really got here. Some things were abandoned, others were added (whether spontaneously or planned), but the main goal is checking off as much American things as possible.
Siena goals: I definitely thought about things that I really wanted to do during my semester at Siena College. I liked the idea of living with a roommate, and when I found out that my direct roommate is also international, I immediately emailed Housing to ask whether my other housemates were Americans, because I wanted to have the real American college experience, and luckily they are! I also wanted to join a club or organization: another thing that can be checked off, because I’m now involved in the Siena Democrats AND I’m writing for HerCampus Siena. I don’t want to brag, but I’m still so proud that I achieved this. My third, and maybe most interesting goal is experiencing Siena Fest to the max. Everyone has been talking about it since day one, and now it almost seems like a legendary event to me, so I’m really looking forward!
Food: America is known for its fast food, but I have been able to avoid most of it. This may need some clarification: I know that a lot of food chains are considered fast food, but I only see pizza or fries as fast food, haha. I asked my friends what food I should definitely try before I leave the country, and we came up with a little list. I tried Chipotle (they gave me free food because they ran out of my order, hooray!), Dunkin Donuts (which was a little depressing because they did not have anything that I ordered), the Cheesecake Factory (brought a giant piece of carrot cake home), and IHOP (love for pancakes with a lot of maple syrup!). I also ate a real dough pretzel, filled my cup at TCBY (indeed the best yogurt), and tried lots of other things. I got a second free-food experience at Panera Bread; I bought a cinnamon reason bread, but they sliced it wrongly, so they offered me a second one for free, yes!
Traveling: What better thing to make your semester a little more enjoyable than to travel around? Even though traveling through the US is expensive (at least to European standards) I try and travel as much as possible. It’s a pity that it has been too cold to walk around outside, otherwise I would have seen more of Albany and the Capital region. However, I’ve been to California over Spring Break and went to the Boston area over Easter Break, so that was fun. I’m going to travel for almost three weeks when the semester is over: through the Northeastern states, Canada, and down to the Midwest! I rode the Greyhound to upstate New York, which was a col experience: Wi-Fi and plugs everywhere, and relatively comfortable seats. My best friend from home spontaneously decided that we are celebrating our birthday weekend in Montreal, so I’ll have to cross the border on yet another Greyhound bus, on my own, for which I’m a little scared.
America in general: As an American Studies major, my ultimate dream was to reside in the US for a couple of months, something that I can definitely check off now. This includes the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, celebrating a holiday with a real American family (what I did with Easter), crossing a state border by car, watching the Super Bowl, attending sports games (I have seen more sports games in the past couple of weeks than in my entire life) and making American friends. In the beginning of April we got more snow than I have ever seen in my life, so my roommate and I decide to build a snowman and make a snowangel. The snowman failed, but laying in the snow for 5 seconds was really cool.
Planning all these things and checking them off while I’m here definitely contributes to the realization of my American Dream and an unforgettable semester abroad. If any of you, beloved HerCampus readers, has any more suggestions of things I should definitely try or eat, feel free to spam me!