Living on Your Own as a College Student

Hi all! In this vlog I discuss a couple aspects that have surprised me while I've been living in an apartment over the summer. As my time in the apartment comes to a close (school starts in two weeks!!), I realize this summer has been an incredibly positive experience.

This was my first apartment. I shared it with a friend and her friend also rented a room. The location was above a restaurant and literally a step off of campus and a hop to the train station. Location-wise, it couldn't have been better.

First day - lots of cleaning ahead!

The price of rent was very good, especially since I had the smallest room. As you can tell, it was by no means uncomfortable.

The biggest hassle was by far grocery shopping and laundry. Our building did not have laundry facilities, so we had to drag our dirty clothes to campus and hope that someone would be there to open the door. Grocery shopping was often a pain because the buses were always 20-40 minutes late and once never showed up at all!

Our landlord was overall very helpful and her husband was kind and prompt when we had issues with the toilet and sinks. That said, this apartment is cheap and came with mice poo and cockroaches. Yipes!

The Evidence 

Issues aside, living on my own surrounded by friends far outweighed the negatives. I grew up a lot over this summer from learning how to be independent and leaving my comfort zone. Now I don't want to go back home! (More on this later...)

I'll always have fond memories of my first apartment and hope that the next tenants enjoy it as much as I did. 

xxolivexx

Taste Buddies Episode 1: Japanese Snacks!

Hi everyone! Welcome to the first episode of my new series called Taste Buddies! 

In this video Kait and I try Japanese candies and snack foods. We bought everything from Cherry Mart on Newbury Street in Boston. I highly recommend you go there if you want to try some authentic Japanese snack food.

Here's a little behind the scenes look at our trip:

Recognize the Caramel Corn from my other Japanese taste test video?

So many choices....

Lots and lots of nori (seaweed)

All the men watching the Olympic divers in the train station... haha

This video was so much fun to make, I look forward to making more episodes in the future!

xxolivexx

Florida tastes Boston

This past weekend, Nate's friend Mike from Florida visited Boston for the first time. We took him around Cambridge and Boston to give him an overview of the city. Mike's enthusiasm for everything made the trip even more fun -- it was great to see his reaction.

We rode the trains into Cambridge to show Mike Harvard University and Harvard Square.

Mike and Nate in Harvard -- very color coordinated!

Tradition dictates that visitors should touch the foot of John Harvard, but Nate told us the rushing frat boys pee on the foot, so Mike avoided physical contact.

Harvard library

Mike needs some ass stance.

Mike is majoring in Journalism, hence this picture. Now he can say he went to Harvard's writing program -- he went, took a picture, and left. :P

Of course, a mandatory visit to Newbury Comics, a quirky store with music, toys, and books.

Kait!!

I made them go to a Japanese/anime store across the hall from Newbury Comics -- Kait found this awesomely adorable hat!

The best part of the night was by far the cozy, personal concert performed by Kait and Mike. Both are amazing musicians and sang original acoustic songs. I was blown away!

Mike enjoying Kait's beautiful singing.

Nate listening and working hard on his poster for his research.

Saturday we went into Boston -- See the video at the top of this post for full coverage! I'm really happy with how it turned out.

xxolivexx

My First College Birthday!

This past month I celebrated my first birthday away from home. To be honest, I was not that homesick or nostalgic (probably because I was so busy with school work that I didn't have time to think about it much). My friends knew when my birthday was because there is a calendar on our hall where everyone marks their birthdays.

My school had a long weekend, so Rebecca and I spent a night at Abby's home. We went to the mall to experience normal society (being on campus is so much different from living in the "real" world). During lunch, Rebecca sneakily told the waitress that it was my birthday so we got free ice cream! She also made me an adorable heart shaped birthday badge.

The next night was my actual birthday. We went into town to have ice cream, which you can see in the video.

Thank you to my friends for making this birthday a happy celebration!

xxOlivexx

Day in My Life - 1

Today Al suggested after Chinese class that we study for our neuroscience exam. We agreed to meet up after the review session. Ann joined us at the library. Al and Ann are juniors. Unfortunately the review session wasn't terribly helpful, but studying with Al and Ann was.

California Video!

To vlog or not to vlog...

I have not made a video in a while! For a while, I was working on my "How to Apply to College" series - the new, shiny one that may not be published. (See why here.) I want to get back into making regular videos. I'm thinking about making a "College Countdown" series since I will be leaving for college soon!

This morning I spent quite a bit of time converting video projects to Quicktime files and transferring those files onto my external harddrive. I also discovered that I had not uploaded a video from my California trip. You can view it below. It contains some footage from prom!

Yesterday, my good friend "L" and I went to the mall. We walked around, browsed stores, ate lunch, and talked. L is going into her third year at college. I appreciate all of the wisdom and advice she shares with me. 

xxOlivexx