Hey!
Hope finals and the end of term are going well for everyone. I'm currently in Berlin, which is blanketed by snow and quite chilly.

Term's Over!

Sorry for the lack of posts the past month as I've been quite busy.

BUT, term is officially over and I'm pretty much packed.

Tonight, I'm actually going to Selwyn Snowball with some friends.

And, tomorrow starts Eurotrip 2010.

First stop, Morocco for a week with the Cambridge University Surfing Association. After the dreadful weather (and even snow!), I could really use some time in the sun. Weather forecast is between 70 to 80F, so I can't wait to hang ten as they say in Hawaii. Haha

N.B. I'll have limited internet access in Europe (until January 11th) so EMAIL ME!

Pennying/ Formal Halls

During Formal Halls, students often bring copious amounts of wine to drink with the catered lavish meals that are provided by the dining staff. The event is very formal, as the name implies, and involves not only dressing up in a suit/tie, but also wearing a college gown (think shortened version of post-grad gown). Usually, there is an appetizer (either soup or salad) accompanied with bread, a main entree with vegetables (usually some sort of potato and a vegetable), and finally dessert with coffee. (On a side note: formal halls cost about 6 pounds/ ~$9).

Throughout the night, students attempt to penny each other's wine glasses. The process involves tossing a British penny into the other person's drink without them noticing or stopping you. Upon being pennied, the person must chug the entire glass without stopping. The origins of this tradition stemmed from the fact that the penny has an image of the Queen and that in order to save the Queen from drowning, the entire glass had to be finished. Other rules of pennying exist, such as pennying an empty glass, which requires the person to fill up a glass and finishing it again. Another interesting example is the engineer's penny, which is a bent penny that is used to penny an entire bottle of wine, so that the person who bought it must drink all of it. As such, by the end of Formal Halls, many people are quite tipsy or drunk. Nonetheless, the food at Formal Halls is usually quite good. In total, I've been to 6 Formal Halls: 3 at Emma, 1 at Peterhouse, 1 at Churchill, and 1 at Caius. Before the semester is over (in a month), I plan on going to Trinity , Selwyn , Emma , and Murray Edwards Formals and possibly even more!

What It Means to Be A Cambridge Student

Dressing preppy on a daily basis

Having a bedder/ maid clean your room everyday

Receiving free laundry and folding service

Breakdancing at the School of Pythagoras at St. John's College while old, rich alums walk by and stare

Eating at Formal Hall (3 course fancy dinners) multiple times on a weekly basis

Meeting famous classmates, such as Freddie Highmore and talking about football (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Highmore)

Being ready to eat at Trailer of Life (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-trailer-of-life-cambridge) at any point during the night

Not studying for exams until May

Listening to dreadful British music and having to educate DJs about real American music

Rowing multiple times a week

Being prepared to eat potatoes on a daily basis if needed

Watching out for pennying during Formal Hall (more to follow on this)

Cambridge: Some Preliminary Thoughts

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire is quite the interesting town.

As one of my fellow CME friends pointed out, this place is way better than the other Cambridge.

For instance, my college, Emma, is right near the center of town, yet there are various school buildings interspersed with stores and restaurants. All of my classes are all within 1 block walking distance (5 minutes at the most). The post office is literally 50m away, and even closer is a huge 4 floor department store, John Lewis, which sells literally everything (random aside, they had ads in GQ UK). Right next to John Lewis is a HUGE shopping center called Grand Arcade with electronics stores, an Apple store, and even a Hollister. A HSBC and several other banks are also on the same street as Emma. I feel like I'm living next to Harvard Square, Newbury St., and MIT all at once.

There are a multitude on restaurants, ranging from Korean and Chinese to Mexican and American (i.e. pizza hut, Subway and burgers!). Best of all is the fact that dining halls serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which means that I have so many various options for lunch. Cambridge, UK is so much more different (and fun).

The other day when I woke up and looked out my window, I realized that there were huge grapes growing on one of the walls of the courtyard...seriously wtf? Sometimes, I feel like I'm living in a chateau as there's pretty much a dedicated "concierge" (porters), laundry service, and so many fancy occasions.

Another random fact is that Cambridge students party/ go out Sundays to Thursdays and do work on Friday and Saturdays...which is quite strange. It is justified by the fact that people in the town of Cambridge usually go out during those times and don't want to mingle with us college folk. I actually spent part of last Friday night in the library writing a paper on "Did a scientific revolution occur in the 16th and 17th Centuries." Quite the experience....

Matriculation Dinner

Tuesday 12th October 2010

Grilled artichoke with goats' cheese crumble

Slow cooked scottish salmon with beetroot puree and beurre blanc

Supreme of free range guinea fowl with caramelised shallot puree and herb jus

Baked white chocolate cheesecake with dark chocolate sauce

Coffee and mints

Flamingo Bay Chenin Blanc 2010

Nero d'Avola 2009

Emmanuel College Tawny Port

so filling and good.

Rowing

Woke up at 630 AM...(that's a first in college) to go rowing today. The sun wasn't even up yet and it was fairly chilly outside. After washing up, I went for a quick jog to the boat house (~15 min walk). The members of my boat were all upperclassmen today, including my college "dad." After erging with the proper technique for about 1500m, we took the boat out of the boathouse.

My position on the boat is called stroke (I'm situated at the very front of the boat and set the pace). In total there are 8 seats and room for a cox. Today, we practiced drills of 4 people rowing at a time, while the other 4 stabilized the boat with their oars. Although it was a bit shaky at the beginning, we managed to set a good rhythm. Towards the second half of the outing, we managed to have 6 people rowing at once, while 2 stabilized the boat. We were moving fairly fast, when we were all in rhythm! We even managed to pass by some other novice boats which started before us. After an hour and a half, we put the boat back and had a quick coaching talk.

Afterwards, I ran back to Emma (the Cambridge River is very pretty in the morning!) and grabbed a quick breakfast at about 9am. Luckily, I have no classes or supervisions on Tuesday, so I'll probably do some reading later on. Tonight is Matriculation dinner, which is a very fancy three course dinner with various wines and drinks. It should be fairly exciting as it completes our official enrollment into the University of Cambridge!

Welcome to Emma!

For those who don't know, the University of Cambridge is comprised of 31 independent colleges. Of these colleges, I am a student at Emmanuel College, which is known for its plethora of ducks and friendly atmosphere.

Upon my arrival at Emma, I went to the porter's lodge (the equivalent of the front desk but staffed with professional workers 24/7 in fancy dress and bowler's hats). They weren't able to find my lodging info and told me my university card was being fixed...fail. I ended up going to the registrar and talking with her before finally moving into my room.

My room is located in New Court, which is mostly, if not all third year students. It is HUGE! Not only do I have a living room, but I also have a mini hallway, a private bathroom, a bedroom, and a kitchenette. Freshmen are housed in either North Court or South Court. My room is on the first floor (the one above ground floor) and directly across from the dining hall, which is pretty convenient. Here's a map and pictures of my room:

Famished, I skipped unpacking and went straight to the dining hall. I ended up having mash potatoes, steak, and corn. The food was eh...the meat was fairly salty, while the vegetables were bland.

From Cambridge to Cambridge

After spending 6 hours in the air, 4 hours at the airport, and 2 hours on a bus, I finally arrived in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire!

Thanks to Will who came by and saw me off before I left!

The airplane ride was pretty fast. During the flight, I watched Kickass and attempted to sleep, but wasn't too successful due to the number of people who had their reading lights on...nonetheless the food was decent and there were no anomalies.

Unfortunately, three separate flights all landed into London Heathrow at the same time, so getting through customs took forever! Coincidentally, I met up with the twins and Steph while waiting in line...I may have lied when I checked "no" to "Did you have a cough within the past 6 months," haha oh well. After clearing customs, we met up with other CME students and grabbed a light breakfast. I purchased a tuna wrap and a lemonade for ~8 pounds... Finally, the Cambridge International Office Rep met us after 2.5 hours and directed us onto a shuttle. Operating on one hour of sleep, I instantly dozed off and awoke to green pastures and the countryside of Cambridgeshire. Next, the Office Rep hailed university taxis for us which ended up taking us to our respective colleges; my college is called Emmanuel. My instant first impression of Cambridge University was wow, everything is so green and fancy.

Arrived

Safely and having lots of fun!

Went punting and to some pubs tonight.

Updates soon

-Bohan

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.

T-minus 6 hours now. The other day, I was talking to a very close friend of mine and he sent me this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHoFMZitxXI I've been listening to it on repeat for a while and hope you guys enjoy it too. Again, I'll miss everyone in the US!

"You'll be fine tomorrow the sun will rise, it's never easy to say goodbye."

Edit: http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightStatus/flightStatusByFlight.do?id=204789479&utm_source=airlineInformationAndStatus&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=co-op

If you're interested.

Reflections on September

Current song: Wake Me Up When September Ends- Green Day

"Summer has come and past, the innocent can never last."

"Nine" has always been a special and favorite number of mine; it is no surprise that I have always loved the month of September. However, this September has been exceptionally and even surreal at times. I've had quite memorable experiences and will never forget them. Since I'll be in the UK for the majority of the rest of the year, I decided to try and hang out with all my friends, even ones that I haven't seen since the end of high school. For the most part, I was mostly successful (Tony, John D, John L, and Jon: we'll have to hang out ASAP).

For starters, working in a Chemical Engineering research lab in the sub-basement of Building 66 throughout the month of September can become quite dull, especially when everyone else is busy with classes and other commitments; I spent much time working out and "attempting" to study for MCATs. Studying didn't really worked out as planned, but I was able to take up running and going to the gym daily, and sometimes between experiments haha. My weekdays were fairly boring, but my weekends were quite action-filled. Thanks to everyone who hung out with me and for the ones I couldn't meet up with, we'll have to catch up when I'm back in the States. I'm really grateful towards my awesome friends and family for their support and help!

I honestly don't remember how many times I crashed at MIT on the weekends...it felt like I was living there with everyone (thanks Anthony and Feng for accommodating me). From playing card games to partying and from working out to just talking, I enjoyed catching up with everyone after the summer. I hope everyone will have an amazing year and keep in touch!

The following is partial summary, shoutout and reflection:

I thoroughly appreciated gaming with Andrew, Anthony, Chris, Feng, Peter, Yanping, and others. Thanks for keeping me entertained on those boring nights and distracting me from studying. Whether online or in person, hanging out with you guys is always fun.

Thanks Ahmed for accompanying me on an epic Harold and Kumar-esque trip to NYC that involved, but was not limited to surmounting sketchy parks at night, having a cameo appearance in Joseph Gordon-Levitt's newest upcoming film, eating at White Castle in Harlem, partying at Columbia frats, and taking NYC by storm in our shades.

Thanks so much John and Janice for hanging out with me in NYC and keeping me entertained. Good luck this year and enjoy NYC. Both of you owe me a visit at MIT when I get back next year!

Thanks Gloria for organizing a dinner at Royal East with your littles- Andrew, Anthony, Anton, Feng, Jenny, Julian, Peter, and myself. The food was very yummy and we'll have to go again sometime.

To all those who were present at some point during or after my birthday, thanks for taking the time to see me before I leave! The surprise dinner at Gargoyle's in Davis Square was awesome- I loved the steak and the ambiance of the restaurant. Thanks Andrew, Anthony, Anton, Chris, Eunice, Feng, Jenny, Julian, Kuan, Robert, Will, Yanping for coming out that night! In addition, thanks go to Jenny for an awesomely decorated cake! I loved the cards and the messages I received! I hope you guys enjoyed showering me- next year I promise it'll be even harder.

Thanks Peter for grabbing lunch with me in the Brain and Cog. Building and hanging out in general. I always enjoy our conversations, and especially the one we had when we went to Castle Island during spring break last year by ourselves.

Thanks Julia for taking me out to Uno's and catching up before I leave! Stay in touch and good luck with your classes.

Thanks Sanyee for treating me out to lunch at Taiwan Cafe and an awesome chat about life at Boston Common. Don't overload yourself too much this year and keep me posted on life!

Thanks Wesley for meeting up with me and treating me to Ramen. It was awesome seeing you for the first time since graduation. Good luck with your senior year and keep me updated. Next time, it'll be my treat.

Thanks Louis, Will, and Paul for grabbing Korean food at 88 and chilling afterwards. Definitely repeat when I return.

Thanks Ethan, Neel, Latif, Ameya and Sam for partying with me on my last weekend in Cambridge. Despite the minor obstacles, we eventually made it. PS We need to joyride in the Porsche and drive down Newbury St while blasting loud music when I get back.

Thanks Feng, Jenny, and Kuan for the late night heart-to-heart. Hope you guys weren't too tired the rest of the weekend.

Thanks Robert and Sam for getting lunch with me in Harvard Square. You guys are always down to hang out regardless of the situation. Good luck with work this semester and manage time more efficiently! Sam: you'll be a great doctor, don't worry too much. Robert: bros for life...not much more can be said.

Thanks Will for all the awesome advice you've given me, I'll miss you next year. PS I owe you a match of tennis; be prepared for a challenge.

Thanks to my boss for taking me out to coffee at Starbucks just to chat. Hopefully, I'll see you in London or Paris.

I'll miss all of you and hope you know that I am so grateful for wonderful friends and being able to spend time with you!

Wow, after saying thanks so many times I feel like I just won an Emmy or something...haha. Well, I'm off to the UK in under 24 hours. Looks like this adventure is finally about to start ...I promise to keep this updated and come back even more badass than ever, if that's even possible ;).

Some UK Goals (just for reference)

1. Pick up a British accent

2. Ski in the Alps

3. Visit Morocco

4. Attend a Premiere League game (Man U vs. Barcelona or Chelsea?)

5. More to be added

Updates Coming Soon

Key FAQs

University of Cambridge Term Dates:

Year	Full Michaelmas Term		Full Lent Term		Easter Day	Full Easter Term
	begins Tue, Oct	ends Fri, Dec	begins Tue, Jan	ends Fri, Mar		begins Tue, April	ends Fri, Jun
2010-11	5	3	18	18	24 Apr	26	17

For those who don't know yet, the University of Cambridge has a much different academic calendar than schools in the states. Each term is around 8 weeks in duration and final exams at the end of the academic year determine the overall grade (talk about pressure!).

Since school won't officially start until October 5th, I won't be leaving the states until sometime at night on September 28th to arrive in the UK on the 29th in time for International student orientation. Consequently, I'll be free to hang out throughout most of September; to all my friends, pester me to come visit you in NY, DC, etc!