Kenneth Qua
BSocSc Class of 2017
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“Good. How are you?”
“Good.”
The simplest of greetings in America was what took me the most time to get used to! Living in America might push you out of your comfort zone socially but being on your exchange is the perfect time to do it!
Boston's North End
A Bit on Boston
Boston, Massachusetts (aka Bean Town), home to the legendary sports teams such as the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics (even if you’re not a sports fan, you’ll quickly be inducted into Boston’s sports culture). A modern American city with pockets that ooze historic New England charm. Navigating and living around Boston as a Singaporean doesn't require much of a transition if you overlook the public transport having delays (just like MRT breakdowns but much more frequent). Boston has a subway system that snakes throughout the city called the T, buses that fill in the rest and Uber/Lyft if you ever need to catch a cab. Boston is an incredibly walkable city and you could easily walk to see the main attractions from Newbury Street (Boston’s Orchard Road equivalent) to the Boston Common (a beautiful public park) to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (a touristy but iconic food hall) and the North End (aka Little Italy, where you can find the best pasta in the city).
Sunset along Boston's Charles River
Go Huskies!
The Husky is Northeastern University’s beloved mascot and you can see statues and pictures of the mascot littered around school and oddly enough, some students walking their pet huskies on campus. I lived on-campus for my semester abroad which puts me extremely close to the city center. Like SMU, Northeastern University is a city campus and the school is a 10-minute walk from the shopping district, which makes rent rather expensive but convenient. Studying in Northeastern is very similar to SMU, they have lecture-style classes only that emphasize class participation and a similar number of grading components in each class but less group work. As a Psychology major, Northeastern has a lot of really interesting classes which I had the privilege of taking such as Intro to Linguistics and Psychology of Language which I cleared as SSMRs. However, unless the system changes, exchange students were only allowed to take Freshmen classes which had no pre-requisites despite clearing them in SMU. There are tons of school events and student groups which you should take full use of to meet other fellow Huskies. I had international exchange friends who joined sports teams like water polo and even got to compete with the Northeastern team. I also recommend going to one of the Northeastern games to cheer on your fellow Huskies!
Partying in the St.Patrick's Day Parade!
Tips for Exchange
Unlike your friends who are in Europe on exchange, traveling around the US is rather expensive. The best advice would be to rent a car with a bunch of friends and drive to different cities. Unlike the West Coast, there aren’t that many major cities that border Boston which you can drive to. There are buses that go to New York and Canada which can get really cheap if you book early. You can cut costs on flying to the West Coast if you plan ahead and buy your tickets early.
Eating out can get expensive in Boston and groceries too. The local farmer’s market called Haymarket open every Friday and Saturday and vegetable can be as cheap or even cheaper than Singapore! If you’re ever missing Chinese food, Boston’s Chinatown is great for getting your fix and I even managed to find a premix for Singapore Satay which I made for my American roommate who described is as “game-changing”.
Before the Red Sox game at Fenway Park
If you’re looking to go out and have a drink, get yourself a Massachusetts State ID as soon as you get to Boston, it’s well worth the trouble and you won’t need to worry about carrying your passport. It only takes 2 weeks and $25 for some peace of mind.
Lastly, talk to as many locals as possible! They will give you the best advice and take full advantage of Northeastern University’s Global Experience Office. They organized free trips for us to go see Celtics and Red Sox Games, the Boston Ballet and tours around Boston! Get to know other international students who are also in Northeastern on study abroad and I assure you that you might make some friends that you will keep for the rest of your life.
Group shot of all the exchange students at our farewell dinner