Students in Diana Lynch's Academic Writing class were asked to write a paragraph about "something cool, fun, weird, or strange they’ve done in Boston (or abroad)". Here's what they had to say!
Why Not More Snow? - by Ana Paula Pita
Early January; New Year, new classmates, teachers, dorm, friends, and an immensive amount of snow. You might think that this is perfect, but actually no. The sparkly, white and soft snow is beautiful if you are inside of a building seeing it from a window with a hot chocolate in your hands. By the time that your heavy boots touch the street, all that prettiness disappears. The Boston winter weather is not a joke. Three feet of snow and extremely cold temperatures is something that I will need to get use to. My first winter here was funny because I went snowboarding, had snowball fights, played football in a field full of snow, etc. At the same time it was sad and depressing; every day was the same problem: put on heavy boots, coats, scarves, caps and everything that you found in your home that will protect you from the snow and the cold wind. Then you just jump into the street and deal with the public service issues, until you give up and decide to walk to class…not a good idea, believe me. You are stuck inside and you can't do anything. All the things in life have a good and a bad side, we just need to be optimistic, that is how I survived the winter once, and how I will do it again next year.
Practical and Highly Valued Volunteering Work - by Romayh El Jurdi
As Charles Bukowski once said “you begin saving the world by saving one person at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics”. In a country such as Lebanon with many political and environmental problems, many schools encourage volunteer work. Recently, before coming back to Boston, I was involved in some volunteering work that enabled me to know more about the difficulties that individuals might encounter in their life. I was working with an NGO to help the Syrian refugees that are deprived of all the basic needs such as food and shelter. The NGO is striving to enhance the standard of living of the refugees. The NGO's main goal is to focus only on a certain demographic since there are more than one million refugees now in Lebanon and there are scarce financial resources. The NGO is trying to provide education to children because the new Syrian generation has an overwhelming responsibility to build back a completely destructed country. Our aim was to help those children so that they might not be influenced by the extremist mentality that is seeping quickly in Syria. Personally, I was teaching the Syrian children mathematics and I was determined to spread the peaceful mentality and perspective among all the children. In the end, I am delighted to have worked with this organization since its rigorous control on the Syrian children will definitely have a positive impact on the children on both the short and long term.
Your Hands are Beautiful - by Mohammed Alshajajeer
Last year on Thanksgiving Day, I had feelings of hesitation, excitement, and happiness twice as intense as Neil Armstrong did when he went to the moon. Last Fall semester, my teacher Mr. Mark Stepner suggested an idea to the class, which was “ Volunteering on Thanksgiving Day at Center Club Boston.” I was not quite sure I wanted to be a volunteer on Thanksgiving because I did not want to miss my first Thanksgiving dinner with my American parent. Nonetheless, I decided to go. I found people there who worked sincerely and happily as though bees in their hive. In my life, I became a volunteer in two charities in Saudi Arabia; the first one was at a charity, which helps children to memorize the holy book “Quran” and the second was in an orphanage. I worked on administrative duties, such as communicating with restaurants to provide dinners and sending letters to corporations to reserve their beach camps. In Center Club Boston, I worked differently; I became a chef's assistant: I peeled and chopped vegetables, arranged the tables, and then I dispensed the desserts, which were pecan and apple pie to homeless people. I really enjoyed working there and when a homeless man came to me and said thank you, I felt as though I won a Nobel award for peace.
New Years in Boston - by Julia Wang
On December 31th, 2014, I went to Copley Square to celebrate on New Year’s Eve. It was my first time to join this event in Boston. There were a lot of different parade vehicles, which belong to different groups, such as Chinese groups from Chinatown, children’s groups from some organizations, and other groups. These group would throw the candy to people from their vehicles. Everyone was so excited to celebrate the New Year. People with families and friends, or couples took videos, pictures, and talked to each other and laughed. During the music and bell from the church, people went to the Boston Common waiting for the fireworks. At 11:40 p.m. the fireworks show started even though the weather was too cold and I was freezing. However, when I watched the beautiful fireworks, I forgot the cold. I also took videos and counted down to the New Year. That was the best activity in Boston.
Amazing Trip to Warren Towers – by Abdullah AlArifi
Since I came to Boston, I really wanted to participate in volunteer work for my first time. In early April my English school (CELOP) offered an opportunity for volunteer work at Warren Towers to clean and decorate the plants there. I signed up for the volunteer work. On April 18, 2015, first, I met with one of the CELOP staff and some students from CELOP, and two students from BU. The students from BU gave us small lunch bags and T-shirts. Then after that, we went together to Warren Towers and cleaned and decorated many plants for an hour. After we finished cleaning and decorating, we threw all of the dirt in big trash bins outside the building. Last but not least, the students from BU asked us how we felt. I felt really great from doing this volunteer work. I helped to clean the green places in the building and I helped to make it more beautiful. Finally, I hope that everyone who hasn’t participated in volunteer work will participate, because he or she will feel a great feeling even if he or she did something simple and easy like what I did.
Meetups in Boston - by Alanoud Alqahtai
Last Friday, I went out with my friend to do something new. We signed up in an application called MeetUp. This application gives you the chance to meet people who share the same ideas, interests, and hobbies with others. We met a group of six and we went to Harvard Square. We visited different places to taste ice-cream. I discovered new places at Boston and I would like to do it more often. I recommend you to try this too.
Golden Advice - by Aziza Yahya
If I have a chance to give golden advice for CELOP students it will be “Don't waste your time, go and volunteer ”. As it is known, volunteering won't grant you any financial gain but it will provide you benefits that you cannot get from other activities. I remembered before Christmas my lovely teacher Nora Smith told me about the Cambridge Science Festival which is an extraordinary celebration of science held every spring in Boston. Immediately, I filled out the application to join the volunteer team and I got accepted. My duty was to help to organize the location, answer or direct visitors' questions, and to clean the area after the event. It was a rewarding experience volunteering in Boston. I practiced my English with different people from diverse backgrounds. Also, I made new relationships with individuals who share the same interests with me. Moreover, it is an experience where you train how to manage and solve problems. Finally, I encourage you to volunteer your free time in any field that interests you. For those who want to participate in Cambridge Science Festival 2016 go to this link http://www.cambridgesciencefestival.org/Home.aspx.
GPS Malfunction - by Miguel Martinez
Boston: the big bang for my new adventures. At first, I was surprised by its shining light as the airplane landed in this city. As I walked through the doors of the airport I started to realize that the climate and the accent of several people were different. Consequently, I encouraged myself to take the train following directions from my smartphone's GPS. Therefore, due to a cellphone malfunction the GPS on my phone stopped working and I found myself depending on a stranger in Boston. I asked him if people here were usually as generous as him and he said that they were. After my arrival to Boston, for about 1 month I figured that the people in Boston behaved as the stranger said.
