T-1: Explorations and new friends
After the preparations of week T-2, week T-1 provides a chance to get settled in to Boston with my wife Liz and explore the area.
I like to walk new cities. Walking, strolling, ambling, treking — call it what you may. Rather than driving or catching public transport, walking provides access to the hidden charms of a new place: that neighbourhood coffee shop, that awesome bit of street art, those two old men playing chess in a park. It is these chance encourters and hidden gems that add richness to an area. Zoom past and whistle underground and you will miss them.
This week while Liz was unfortunately sick I took the opportunity to explore Cambridge between Harvard Square and MIT. Down Mass Av and back along Broadway. My reward for braving the heat (over 30 degrees) was a decent cup of coffee at the end, destination tatte bakery. The food was good if a little pretentious. Overall worth a visit if in the area but wouldn’t trek out to it. Along the walk I added a few items to the to-do list: coffee at Voltage, beers at the Meadhall, various restaurants at OneKendall Square including Cambridge Brewing Company that we went back to later that week, and Toscanini’s ice cream.
By Sunday Liz had headed off to NYC for a week before jetting back to Aus. As such I need to get some people to share these experiences with. But luckily 900 new friends are just around the corner
This week everyone is starting to filtering into town. More people are wandering around campus and I can feel a buzz in the air. Thursday is officially “Move day”. Over the last week moving trucks have been coming and going as people shift furniture into their places. But Move Day takes this to a whole new level. It is the day when dorms can be accessed and so the streets are figuratively (don’t you hate when people say literally when it clearly isn’t literal) flooded with trucks and oh-so-polite Bostonians delicately wearing the crap out of their horns.
And with the trucks come my classmates. The facebook group is filled with offers for catch ups and sets the scene for a busy week
- Monday a quick dinner in Harvard Square with Lee, a mate from BCG
- Tuesday we join about 15 others at Deadalus
- Wednesday we decide to skip a student’s birthday drinks in downtown and instead stay in to cook nachos. Seems like a good choice as most international forget to bring their passports and are denied alcohol service — good tip to note
- Thursday is another causal affair this time at the ShakeShack
- Friday back at Daedalus, now for dinner with friend studying at the Kennedy School
- Saturday at Wagamama for the only scheduled catch up. Quite a few here from California’s Bay Area including a couple who worked at Apple and one with a background in education
- Sunday brings together everyone from Australia and NZ, about 15 of us.
Each occasion provides a opportunity to connect with new people: engineers from Apple and Google, investment bankers, venture capitalists, army officers, doctors, political strategists, consultants (so many consultants).
Meanwhile on Monday I’ll meet the 90 odd other who will form my section. Over the next year I’ll be working with these same people as we go through hundreds of cases together challeging each other and justifying our convictions. They will be our friends, sparring partners, confidants, and dinner buddies. Exciting indeed
When you did you last experience a situation where you were suddenly thrust into meeting a whole bunch of new people. How did you react? What did you feel?
Keen to hear your thoughts
Until next time, cheers
Jesse
