And This Raider Moves on to Boston

After arriving back in the United States, I drove to Boston, MA a mere seven hours later!  Talk about a quick turn-around.  Good family friends of ours, the Ecker's, were conveniently driving to Boston the day I needed to come here.  So they helped me move in to my fourth story room on the edge of the Charles River.  I live in a MIT fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, with about 35 other people.  It's about half girls/half guys and everyone is so nice.  Recently, we had a "southern soul food" night.... we all piled in to the huge dining room to eat fried chicken, waffles, and homemade macaroni and cheese.  What college student doesn't love that combination of food?  Move in day was pretty uneventful; I unpacked for a few hours and then slept for the rest of the day... jet lag's a (you know what). 

The next day, I was determined to find out how I was going to get to work (in a town that's actually a suburb of Boston).  So, like a rookie, I took a piece of paper with my work address and made my way down to the Kenmore Square T-Stop (the train line that runs through Boston).  I was sitting at a large, somewhat confusing-looking map, when a woman walked up to me and asked me if I needed help.  At first I put up my "No, it's okay, I can do this on my own...," I surrounded to her help after learning she used to work on the same street I was trying to get to.  This kind woman showed me how to get to Waltham (the town where Drama Play Connection is, the non-profit I'm working for).  After that, I walked around Kenmore Square (which is right near Cambridge, just across the Charles River); I saw Fenway Park and went to the grocery store.  The following three days were nice... I went to work every day on "the T," like a regular working class woman.  I had to figure out how to buy a ticket, how to know where to get off, how to catch the right train going in the right direction, and how to figure out when the trains arrived at the station.  Thanks, studying abroad, for teaching me how to independently figure out all modes of transportation. 

One night, I met up with a good friend, Leo, to go to Quincy Markets for ice cream.  Another two afternoons I ran along the Charles River and strolled around the MIT campus.  There are SO MANY things to do in Boston, so I plan on making a list tonight of things to do after I get out of work... because there's a solid three hours of daylight after work ends to enjoy the beautiful city!

Today, I drove back to MA from NH (huge family reunion in NH... always a blast!) at 6 a.m. in time to arrive at work by 9 a.m.  I'm working at a summer theatre camp for kids with Asperger's Syndrome, Social Anxiety Disorder, etc.  The past week, I've learned all about Asperger's, learned how camps runs, set up camp at Regis College, and today I read camper charts all day (to learn about the specific needs and impairments of each camper).  Throughout the duration of the camp, campers learn about drama techniques, pragmatics... all in preparation to make their own full-length film, starring the campers themselves.  So, during the week, campers attend workshops on drama pragmatics, attend field trips, and film scenes for the video.  At the end of camp, there's a movie premiere showing the film they made... this year we'll be helping to produce "Ghostbusters"!

http://www.dramaplayconnection.com/

Because I only slept four hours last night, I think tonight is going to be an early night.  But tomorrow I plan on taking advantage of the sunny afternoon in Boston!

Peace out Girl Scout.

The T-line map.

Oh, also!  Today the Green Line on the T (that's the line I take... there's four different lines) was down, so I had to take the bus home.  As I walked back to my house, I was greeted by hundreds of people in the streets, all milling about, eating, drinking, and taking pictures in preparation for the big Red Sox game tonight.  Because there were so many people on the streets, I nearly hit a man next to me on the sidewalk with the luggage I was carrying.  Instead of saying "Oh, you're fine," like an American, he said "You're alright"... a classic Australian phrase.  Was he Australian?  I'm not sure.  But it sure made me feel like I was back in the land of kangaroos and boomerangs : )... a subtle reminder of the past five months of my life.