Students at Embassy

Saudi Day in Embassy CES, Boston

Hello,
We Saudi Students came form diffrent parts from Saudi Arabia with one main mission and that is to contribute with King Abdullah’s dream to make our country one of the best top countries in the world in many aspects.
I believe that each student comes to US must have a piece of his/her culture with them. Thus, and by the support of our school we held this Saudi day to show the international students and teachers these different pieces as one full beautiful picture.
The day started by a presentation of general information about Saudi Arabia. Then, we had the culture corner where the students took pictures wearing the Saudi traditional cloths with their names written in Arabic in cards.
Finally, the students and teachers indulged them selves by having the great arabic culinary.
I made this video clip to share with you all how amazing that day was.
Especial thanks and respects to Study Group for giving us the opportunity to have such event.
Ahmed Kaifi  

 

3) *A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.* (Lao Tzu)

I've been busy these past weeks studying for the TOEFL, and I have only one week left in the United States but I wanted to write a post about the wonderful city of Boston, where I've been plenty of times.

During the 3 months I spent here, I familiarized myself with this town and felt in love with its atmosphere.  At first I lost a lot of time seeking help to find my way in the subway network, but then I found my footing in this big town and I took pleasure in going for a walk in downtown Boston.

It’s a very nice town and I especially appreciate the harbor jetty, which is a real breath of fresh air. For a moment, you don’t feel like you are in the United States anymore.

Besides the town, I also learned to appreciate its inhabitants. Bostonians are friendly, smiley and outgoing. Each time I needed help, as I was unable to locate myself on the map, I could stop a passerby and he would give me information with a smile. A few times I engaged some people in conversation, while waiting for the subway, or sitting in the commuter rail. 

Here come some pictures of Boston, and some of my favorite places.

 
When arriving in Boston by car

 
Quincy Market, a very pleasant place to have lunch and enjoy watching many street shows

 
Go to Quincy Market and try some "French crêpes" !

 

 
Boston Common and its ice rink (unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to try it yet)

 
Beacon Hill, a really pretty part of Boston

 

 The Prudential Tower

 
 View of Boston, from the 50th floor of the Prudential tower ! (The Charles river)

 
 
 
Boston Public Library, a magnificent and very peaceful place

 
The harbor jetty

Cécilia studies at Embassy Boston Merrimack. Find out more on the Embassy website.

2) * Make voyages! Attempt them... there's nothing else.* (Tennessee Williams)

I undertook this trip to the United States with the objective of soaking up American culture and experiencing the American way of life. Therefore, I definitely had to attend a sports event given the importance of sports in American people’s lives !

Baseball

First, I attended the last baseball game of the season, which took place at Fenway Park, where the Boston Red Sox played against the New York Yankees. Even though I still need to perfect my knowledge of baseball rules, I really had a great time and especially enjoyed the atmosphere in the stadium.

 

 

The Red Sox/Yankees rivalry is very strong, and moreover the championship title was at stake for the Yankees, therefore all the Bostonian spectators in the stands were wearing a Red Sox cap or t-shirt, were booing at the players and singing supporting songs. (The few Yankees supporters were being very discreet ! )

 

 
A guy proposed to his girlfriend during the game !

American Football game

I also attended two of my host brother’s American football games; in some way it is similar to European “rugby”. It was spectacular, and so “American”. At each touchdown, the spectators would stand up, shout, and hug each other. The mothers would cheer their sons on, and at the end of the game go down on the field to distribute hugs and homemade cookies.

 

 

 

Hockey game

Finally, I experienced two hockey games at Merrimack College and loved it! It was so pleasant to support our team and share this college spirit with other students. However, I didn’t expect hockey to be as violent; the players skated very quickly and often pushed each other onto the picture windows lining the ice rink. They got hit in the face with sticks and almost fought with the opposing players!

 

 

 

At each of these sporting events, I was pleasantly surprised by the patriotic fervor; when it was time for the American national anthem, most of the people would stand up, hand on heart, and sing it, whereas in France the “Marseillaise” is sometimes booed during football games.

In order to carry on with my discovery of American sports, I am planning to attend a Celtics basketball game, in Boston !

Cécilia studies English at Embassy Boston Merrimack - read more about the school and its courses on the website.

President Obama, happy birthday

Hello again,

My last week was such a busy week for me, simply because I just moved into my new apartment, which took all my time so that I couldn’t go out for the weekend or even join the many school activities. I even asked Patrick my favorite teacher if he could help me to write something.

 

Patrick's Super Class

However this week I did one thing. I thought it was so easy, and didn’t expect anything in return from it. I just sent to Mr. President Obama, a birthday E-card wishing him happy birthday. After 2 days, I got an email from president Obama himself thanking me for the E-card. It made me so happy  that I’ll keep it in the “never ever delete box”

The email

Finally, I want to say "Ramadan Mubarak" to all Muslims around the world, and wish them happy great month starting from Aug. 10

Thanks a lot!

Find me on Facebook: Ahmed Kaifi.

Why Boston?

Boston is one of the greatest cities to visit. Why?

Almost everyone would agree that Boston has the best universities in the world, which make it like a dream educational city for every student to come and study. However I won't tell you about the huge number of universities in this city because I'm sure everyone already knows that, maybe even more than I do.

I'm wondering whether Boston has places to enjoy yourself and have fun, apart from studying? Only if you believe that studying has a small part of fun in it ;) I couldn't know the answer before I "discovered" many fun places in this city.

I even didn't believe Erisa, the sister of my Japanese friend Maya, when she sent me such a big list of places I could visit in this city. So many restaurants, parks, malls, bars, and nightclubs which are, according to her, "my favorite place to have fun in”.

It was such a useful list to know where to enjoy the best of this city. I did visit some of the places she mentioned and it’s great so far.

However, everyone has his own reasons for choosing Boston, but whatever you think could attract you to a city; for sure you can find it in Boston.

Have a look at Erisa's list for Boston; you may like some!

 

And here are some of the places we visited from the list:

 

The best hot chocolate cafe in the world.

 

John Harvard.

Before I end I want to say thanks to my Friend Anmar for video he made for me. I think it’s too early to be called a writer, but that was so nice of him.

Thanks all,,,

Find me in Facebook: Ahmed Kaifi
 

Introducing Ahmed Kaifi

Hi there!

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Ahmed Kaifi, a 26 year old Mechanical Engineer from Saudi Arabia.

Before I came to Boston, I used to work in a company which gave me the opportunity to visit many countries around the world such as Malaysia, China, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, and many other countries. However, that made me realize how pleasant it is to meet people from different cultures. 

I'm such an easy going person, love outdoor activities as much as I enjoy browsing for new information on the internet. In addition I'm a quick learner and I like to challenge myself

Well, now I've been in Boston for 1 month and that is a new challenge in my life because I decided to continue my education and take a Masters degree in Engineering Management. In addition to that, I'm studying at Embassy Boston to improve my English "hopefully" to get a good score on the TOEFL test.

I'll share with you an Embassy student's life in Boston, and the activities we do in many places in this wonderful historical city. I hope you'll find it interesting to discover the old Boston in a new way.

That's all for now, but don't miss the next edition of "Why Boston?"

Ahmed Kaifi

Harvard Museum of Natural History

Harvard Museum of Natural History is the most visited attraction at Harvard for its historical collections and its temporary exhibitions. We went to the museum and it was really excellent. Here are some pictures from our Embassy activity.

 

 

 

 

Birthday Party at Boston Downtown

Boston has a considerable young population. Therefore, you can find extensive range of bars. Embassy students went to a marvellous birthday party. You can see a few photos from the party.

 

 

 

 

Top to bottom:

1. Photo as a class, students and our teacher.

2. After hours, a few students.

3. Marcelo Santoni, Me, Marta Gori Fernandez, Judith Jimenez.

4. Photo of the bar from second floor.

Student blogger from Boston, Erdem

Hi everybody,

My name is Erdem and I'm 22 years old. I'm from Turkey, and I came to Boston about three months ago. I'm a civil engineer in my country, so English is very significant for me. If you ask "Why Boston ?", the answer is so simple. Boston is the capital and largest city of Massachusetts. Moreover, Massachusetts has over 100 universities and colleges. This supplies a good opportunity, if you want to continue your education in America. Also, you can see Harvard University and MIT, which are obviously excellent universities in the world.

Boston is one of the oldest and most historical cities in America. When you are walking, everything you see is absolutely fascinating.

There are a lot of students from all over the world.Therefore, you can easily enjoy fully.

I will give information and news about Boston, Embassy activities, and being a student in Boston. I hope you will really feel Boston, and you will want to come here.

All the best,

Erdem