Memories I am afraid I'll forget

Day 71, Harvard and Little Italy

My eyes jolted open at 7AM, too excited to sleep more – I could, though. But that excitement of the whole SUSI capstone program just woke me up. Today it was going to be Harvard, a class, then some free time on our hands. By the time I got myself together, the girls (Hessa from Bahrein, Laura from Argentina, and Cenderella from Lebanon) were already texting me to meet me downstairs for breakfast. I was not yet hungry (I stopped eating last afternoon), but I would not miss a chance for good company, so I joined them for my SB signature hot choc and some early morning good talks. We are so lucky to get this double experience. We already know each other from online sessions, so the bonding is real and strong in person, too.

Once we finished brekkie, we gathered at the hotel lobby only to receive more gifts from the most thoughtful members of our groups. We now had magnets from North Macedonia and today, we received beautiful bracelets and ankle-lets(?) from Sierra Leone – the exact same beaded ones I was desperate to find. I am now proudly wearing them, and I am not taking the anklet off anytime soon.

With the newfound jewelry, we set off to T, that is how they call the public transport here, used our Charlie Card (the fancy name for the metro/public transportation card), and got to Harvard square. In 5 minutes, we were in a swag shop, only to find out we were going on a tour in 5 minutes. At least we set our eyes on the prize. The tour was guided by this funny Harvard undergrad student I was extremely jealous (and proud) of. Right then and there, I told Hessa that we needed to get into Harvard somehow. If not Stanford, then Harvard.

We got to know many interesting things that stuck, as this tour guide was amazing.

I'm exhausted and have little patience to write so I am only sharing these two:

1. The Harvard library (at least the initial book collection) was donated to the school by a woman, whose son and husband died while on board (and then not so on board) of Titanic. She had three wishes, which if failed to be granted, the library with all its precious collections should be given back to the public. 1, every day fresh flowers to the Bible room; 2, no alteration to the library building's front; 3, every student graduating from Harvard must pass a swim test (as she firmly believed his son would have survived the sinking of the ship, had it been for his ability to swim well). This latter exemption was overruled by an act passed in the protection of disabled people. The other two are still in force.

2. As the library is huge, and its front cannot be altered, it has been expanding below grounds. You could run two marathons and still not see the same books twice down there. That is why they call the library front building the 'tip of the iceberg'. Get the Titanic irony?

Once the tour ended, we got to buy some swag. Even though we promised to restrain ourselves, I bought too many things, but at least all of them useful ones. I got the nicest Harvard sweater I could find. Same was true for the mug (yes, my third mug...) and the sticker. I also got another item I cannot yet disclose. But it was just way too much. Once we were finished at Harvard, took our pictures, and had the amazing bagels at Black Sheep Bagels, a place I found the previous days, and everyone was satisfied with (also extremely pleased with my sense of direction and choice of restaurant). Well, I was also impressed by my devil's eggs toast bagel, too.

Even though the professor teaching us about fintech was extremely entertaining in the afternoon, you should not let people sit inside, well-fed, while you could enjoy 23 degrees Boston. I was trying to conceal my yawning, which must have been very distracting for our poor teacher, but boy he was good. I loved his stories, and they will stick too. Hessa also had an idea for a publication together, so the professor inspired her, too.

Others were on a shopping spree, I was not. Once the class ended, we went to the shopping street, but I was not impressed. I have had a TJMaxx and Marshalls round only to find that they both sell the same things (how great last time I had decided to go to SF instead of the local TJMaxx!!!) and they became extremely useless and overwhelming for me. I went into both, found a nice sweater for my dad for Xmas and that was it. I needed nothing else. I started my holiday shopping in advance, which was good, but I am only buying gifts for my parents and hubby this year. That is it.

I said goodbye to the girls, except Hessa, who joined me, as she also had enough and was overwhelmed, too. After leaving our Harvard merch in the hotel, we got to the North-eastern side of the city center and had an Italian cannoli at Mike's Pastry with the best views while sitting in a park, looking over the city lights. We almost got into a Celtics game (yes, they were playing tonight!), but they were out of cheap tickets, and we would not willingly have paid 400 dollars for a ticket. So, we skipped this program, but seeing the fans outside the stadium was something great! If only we knew this game was on! The experience would have worth 80-90 dollars, for sure.

However, with Hessa, we had the best talk in that random and extremely friendly park. We shared some personal stories and some plans for keeping in touch. As she works as a quality assurance manager, we have a lot in common to discuss in terms of educational quality, so I instantly invited her for our international week next March. I am so excited about these connections and amazing people, that I just find it hard to describe.

Boston vibes are to die for. I can easily imagine living here. Getting to know the east cost more, I can relate to it on different levels, most probably because it is Europeanish. People are rambling the streets, there are nice parks, while you got the American vibes, too. It is a nice mixture of New York City, the suburban fall, the Mediterranean harbors, and Seattleish steep hills (but not that many). I can live here. Harvard, do you have any open positions? I can do with MIT, too.

Tomorrow's plans: Early morning walk (we'll see about that), 9AM set off to a Duck tour (on land and sea), afternoon class with Javier (a professor we already met online) and some free time in the afternoon. I want to visit MIT.

4 November