NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Exchange Report Spring 2017 By Lau Yan Kiu Tiffany (MARK & IS)
Part 1: Monthly Activity Log JANUARY 2017 I spent a few days with my family and friends in San Francisco for a few days before I arrived in Boston on Jan 4 (5 days before school starts). It was really cold when I landed, as there was a snowstorm those few days. My coat was not warm enough for the wind especially because there is no hood to block the head from the wind-chill. I had to buy a jacket when I got there. I was the only one in the business school exchange program that spring semester, so there was no actual orientation for me. I went to the exchange officer s office on Jan 5 to get my student card, check in to the dorm and course registration (you only get to register for your course when you arrive in person). I was lucky to happen to know someone else from other HK universities who were also going on spring semester exchange in NEU, so I joined their orientation day (their program is different, which is the school based exchange program). I met some other exchange students from that orientation day. Before class started, I took the time to explore around Boston for a bit with my family before they leave. We went to Harvard University, Boston Common and China Town. It snowed quite a bit in January, so there was snow everywhere. I did not stay out that long even on the weekends cause it was too cold to be on the street. During the beginning of the month, I also joined some other larger orientation activities organized by the school like Welcome Dinner. We took the advantage of the long weekend on Jan 16 holiday (Martin Luther King Jr. s Birthday) and went to Salem and Cape Ann in Massachusetts for 3 days. Salem and Cape Ann are 1 hour and 2 hours train away from Boston respectively. Although the weather is too cold to be walking around whole day, the natural scenery was really spectacular, especially the sunrise in Rockport. I also passed the written test for my driving license, it was not really difficult but the complicated part was getting the right documents to start the application. At the end of the month, I also went to Chicago for 4 days. The Skydeck is really a must-go if you are planning to go there. FEBRUARY 2017 On Feb 6, there was the Superbowl, and the entire New England was super excited cheering for New England Patriots football team in the final game.
There was even a parade on the street near campus full of people celebrating the victory. School was cancelled on one snow day and I just stayed in the whole day cause the snow is too thick outside. The next day, I went to Boston Common to sled in the snow with some friends. I also experienced a NBA game with Celtics VS Sixers. Those are free tickets given by the dorm committee of St Stephen St. On Feb 20, it was President s Day so there was another long weekend. I went to Rhode Island for 3 days, visiting Yale University in Providence and walked around Newport to see the ocean. At the end of the month, I also went on a ski trip for a day to Vermont with school s ski club. They sell their tickets on MyNEU and they sold out really quickly. I chose the ticket that included coach transport, equipment rental and class (but you have to prepare your own ski glasses and waterproof ski gloves). MARCH 2017 After taking all the midterms, it was finally Spring Break. I went on a 12 days vacation to Miami and the Caribbean. To get away from the colder climate, we flew to Miami and then went on a 7 days cruise to the Caribbean, with stops in British Virgin Island, U.S. Virgin Island and the Bahamas. This is my first cruise experience but to be honest, the cruise is a bit too boring for young people. There was not much to do when the cruise is on the sea other than eating the unlimited food. Originally, we just planned to stay 3 days in Miami after the cruise. But our flight was cancelled due to a snowstorm in Boston, so we had to stay 2 extra nights before we could go back. At the end of the month, I went to a Bastille Concert in Boston University. The ticket was so much cheaper than watching a band concert in Hong Kong. APRIL 2017 For school, I had so many presentations and homework due before the term ends. The weather was getting warmer and I could finally get out without a down jacket when it was sunny. In the second week of April, there was a Spring Fest Concert organized by the school, with pretty big guests like Ke$ha and Rae Sremmurd. The tickets sold out really quickly as well and it is better to get Floor tickets so as to get closer to the stage. During my day offs, I mostly went for my driving lessons to prepare for my road test. Taking the road test
in Boston is hard I would say, as the roads are tight and many cars. Besides, as Fenway Park was close by campus, we bought tickets to a Red Sox baseball game, trying to get a taste of the baseball craze in the States. This year s Patriots Day was also on Monday, so we had another long weekend. I went to Montreal and Quebec in Canada for 5 days. It was really close to Boston, just 1.5 hours flight away. I really enjoyed Canada very relaxing with French vibes. However, Quebec was not as pretty as I saw in TV Drama because we were not there at the right season. Before leaving Boston, we drove 2 hours to the closest outlet mall Wrentham Village Premium Outlets. The deals were quite good, especially when you do not have to pay tax buying for clothes and shoes in Massachusetts. Because we were not always in town during holidays, it was only until we were about to leave that we finally went to all the touristy places in Boston - Freedom Trail, Boston Library and the famous Neptune Oyster. I finished all my final exams on April 28 and the school required students to move out of dorms 24 hours after their last exam. So then I left Boston for New York. MAY 2017 I travelled 17 more days before I went back to Hong Kong. I went to New York City, Cuba and Los Angeles. I guess one of the most interesting parts of this journey was carrying around 3 suitcases throughout the 17 days going to 3 places. Part 2: General Exchange Information VISA PROCEDURE The exchange officer did not process my visa documents promptly before I set off, so I had to pay a lot of effort chasing for my documents and it was really frustrating for me (especially when I was having finals in HKUST at that time). The exchange officer did not contact me until 1.5 months before I set off and it took 2 weeks for each email reply. I only received the required visa documentation to start my visa application 12 days before I leave Hong Kong. Luckily I had my passport back 4 days after going to the US Embassy. My advice is that to make sure you will not need to use your passport the whole month before you set off for the States, so that your passport can be
kept by the embassy for visa processing. Also, it is better for you to keep track of the visa document processing by the school and make your appointment at the embassy once you know the document is on the way to be delivered to you, so as to speed up the process of getting your visa. ORIENTATION ACTIVITIES To be honest there was no orientation activities available to me as an exchange student. HKUST students going on exchange in NEU are under the business school program instead of the school-based program, and I was the only student under this program going to NEU that semester. At the same time, I was not allowed to join the activities organized by the school-based program. I had to use the connections I have to reach out to new people myself. However, there are a few activities organized by the school and every student can go. ACCOMMODATIONS I only received information on housing arrangement 2 weeks before I set off, luckily I finally received a housing offer in the end. I stayed in 116 St Stephen St. The dorm is relatively old, but it is really convenient as it is just right across the business building (Dodge Hall). I stayed in a double room, sharing a bathroom and kitchen with another single room. It is also bigger when compared to the dorm rooms in HKUST. There are no cooking utensils in the kitchen but if you are lucky enough, your roommates will have some from the past and you can share with them. COURSE REGISTRATION I only registered courses when I met with the exchange officer after I arrived. You do not have time to think that day so it is better for you to Google before hand for what courses you want to take. I planned beforehand so I could have day offs on Tuesday and Friday. I took 4 courses: INTB 1203 International Business and Global Social Responsibility, MKTG 4504 Advertising and Brand Promotion, MKTG 4506 Consumer Behavior, JPNS 1101 Elementary Japanese 1. TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT METHODS For INTB 1203, my professor was Ronald Thomas. The workload was pretty big as I had quite a lot of reading, 3 presentations, and a final. For the two marketing courses, Jennifer Yule taught both of them. The workloads were also bigger as compared to a marketing course in HKUST.
There were 2 group projects and 2 midterms for each course. For Consumer Behavior, I also had to submit a 15 paged single-lined book reflection. Also, there were no finals. As for Japanese, it was mainly for my own interest and I met a lot of friends due to the small class size. There were also some Japanese activities for students to join such as Mochi Day and Japanese Spring Fest Carnival. There were at least 2 assignments every week. For all courses I took, attendance was really important. SPORTS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES Other than going to the school gym, which is really big and with many new facilities, I also joined YMCA. By paying a monthly fee (free for East Village residents, but I am not, so I had to pay), I can go to as many exercise classes as I wanted. There are classes like Yoga, HIIT, Bolly X. Many of these classes I have not tried before so it was a fun experience for me. FINANCE AND BANKING I opened a Bank of America account there for both a Debit and Credit Card. I accumulated points through the travel rewards credit card and did not have to pay transaction fee when I used it outside of US, for example when I went to Canada. It was really convenient to settle the bill, transfer money to friends through the BOA mobile app. In the US, nearly every place you can pay with your card, I just carried very few cash with me. You can also easily split the bill for a meal with friends by giving 2 or more cards. HEALTH AND SAFETY Boston is a relatively safe city in the US. I usually felt safe on the street even when the sun is down. Just do not hang out alone near Downtown Crossing/ Boston Common at night alone will be fine. TRANSPORTATION Boston s transportation is really convenient. With a Charlie Card, you can take the T (subway in Boston). The two stations near campus are Northeastern and Ruggles. It is $2.25 one way with Charlie Card no matter how far/close you go. I also used car-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft very frequently, as they are also pretty affordable when you use Pool. I prefer car sharing especially when the
weather was cold or rainy outside so I did not have to wait for the T in the wind. FOOD For lunch during school days, I usually cook myself, as my dorm is just right across the street from the Business School building. As for dinner, we usually cook together as a group of exchange students and hang out in one of our apartments to catch up with one another. There are also many restaurants nearby the campus. I seldom go to the canteen inside campus. One point to note is that when you dine out, you have to pay a minimum 15% tips. CLIMATE As mentioned above, Boston is really cold in Spring Semester. It will still be snowing in April. So it is really important to stay warm. I wore 2 pair of socks almost every day to keep my toes warm. For clothes, it is better to layer, so that you can take off most layers indoor when the heater is on. For the thick jacket, waterproof material and having a hood would be useful. It also rains really often, so it will be nice to have waterproof shoes. Shoes like Timberland will be ideal for both snowy and rainy days. Part 3: Items to Bring Waterproof shoes Thick jacket Leggings (to wear underneath pants) Umbrella Warm gloves, scarves & hat Computer Formal clothes for presentations Adapters Passport and documents Part 4: Useful Links and Contacts NEU Exchange Website http://www.northeastern.edu/geo/studyabroad/incomingexchange