By Olivia Stevens (Wellesley College, Massachusetts, USA).
I have been in America for the past few hours now. The main thing that hit me was the cold. It is freezing here! Luckily my family had helped me prepare by buying me lots of thermal top and tights for Christmas. I do think I will need to invest in some proper snow boots soon though, as spring isn’t meant to come for another few months.
Last night was a nerve wracking experience as lots of the flights to the New England area were being cancelled due to the snowstorms there. My mum and I were frantically checking the airline website to check that my flight was not affected. Fortunately it was still going and I set off without a hitch. I was a bit nervous about flying alone as I’ve never done it before but it was fine. One unfortunate thing was that the screen in the seat in front of me was broken so I wasn’t able to watch any of the films. This meant I had to spend a large part of the journey reading the in-flight magazines. Not the most entertaining things in the world! But I did get a £30 voucher to use on the in-flight shop as compensation so it wasn’t too bad. Before the flight I was worried I may be hungry as the reputation of aeroplane food is not the greatest, but I was pleasantly surprised. Everything was very tasty. During the flight, I also spoke to the passenger sitting next to me, who was a student in Boston. He said that he loved studying there which made me even more excited to arrive.
Packing was a fun experience. I wasn’t too worried about fitting everything in my case, as it was huge, but was sure I was going to be over the 23kg weight limit and would have to pay the extra charge. When I arrived at the check in, I found I was over the maximum but nowhere near the amount I thought I would be. The man at the desk recommended that I try and move some things into my hand luggage, which I did at a struggle. I was still 0.5kg over but he took pity on me and let me get away with it. I was so relieved!
Tonight I am staying in a hostel in downtown Boston as I can’t move in to my accommodation at Wellesley till tomorrow. They have different activities on every night and tonight’s is sushi making which I am very excited to try later on. I am really looking forward to finally getting to Wellesley after months and months of stress, planning everything. I am also slightly nervous too. I felt like I was really settled in Manchester and it is going to be hard leaving everyone I know and starting all over again. I am also curious what it will be like to have a roommate. I have never had to share a room with someone for such a long time, especially when I barely know them. Despite these worries, I’m sure I will have a fantastic time and am very keen for tomorrow to begin!