Welcome to the Widener

The Harvard Library system is truly staggering -there are 70 libraries -- all interconnected.  The Widener alone has 50 miles of bookshelves.  It is a sight to see.  I have secured a carrel in the stacks.  The carrels can be reserved for the entire year.  3 students each have access to one carrel.  If you want to be the one in the chair when the music stops so to speak you can reserve your carrel for up to 9 hours.  I expect that I won't use it much but I know the other two students which is good because it appears very territorial. The preponderance of bed pillows in carrels and even tooth brushes was a little alarming..... It is also a bit creepy spooky in the stacks - very dark although the carrels are on the side with windows.

One of the beautiful reading rooms...

Drinking and quizzing with geeks

Went to the Drinking with Geeks Quiz Night with about 13 classmates.

The boys took a fancy to the punch....apparently these punch bowls are a big part of the US student drinking scene delivered ina variety of receptacles including fishbowls, buckets - the bigger the better.  This is a tiny finger bowl in comparison....

Australia forges unique ties with Indonesia and New Zealand....introducing ANZI

7 Aussies, 3 Kiwis and one Indonesian  met on neutral territory, the West Side Lounge to further international relations.  A good time was had by all.

Stuart, Carl, Sara, me, Justin, Ross, Glenn, Eric, Ben and Sam (Chris not in shot)

Widener Library

One of the biggest libraries in the US, the Widener goes 15 stories underground. It is dedicated to Harry Widener, who perished on the Titanic. His mother who made the endowment stipulated that not one single brick could be moved.  An enclosed bridge connecting Widener to the Houghton Library exited through one of its windows,  thus respecting Eleanor Widener's stipula­tion.

Hogwarts Dining room

This is where Harvard College Freshmen, all 1600 of them, eat every day.

What the?

Clearly not the stair way to heaven...or is it??? This set of stairs (which I am not standing on - it is below me and separated from me by a glass partition) leads absolutely no where!!

Them bones, them bones, them dry bones

Dinner at Redbones - a famous BBQ joint -last night with some class mates. Lots of meat!



 

Zoz!

Caught up with Dr Zoz Brooks at Charlie's Bar in Cambridge.

The lad is well and very busy on a bunch of projects.

Zoz recommended the Blue Ribbon for Barbecue - a place I intend to go to when Catherine is over here- and if Zoz is in town, he might join us.

Getting the hang of a full day of lectures and then a night of homework.  I am actually enjoying the study.

I plan to do all the optional courses including Macroeconomics, American Political History, Excel.

Asian Potluck

A great night at Peabody Terrace courtesy of the Asian Students in the class who provided their traditional dishes to eat.  I brought along good South Aussie wine - Mr Riggs.

It's official....

I finally have my Harvard University ID (complete with double chin....)

Hot Fuzz

I want to be a Harvard Police Officer - they have all the cool toys...

Getting into the swing of things....

I am starting to feel more like I belong.  Everyone is cheerful and helpful.  I start quant and economics classes tomorrow.  I am actually looking forward to it!!

My First Day at Kennedy School

What can I say.  It was exhilarating and exhausting.  220 students from 72 countries with 2600 years of accumulated professional experience.

Two tests - one on quantitative methods and one on economics so they can place us in the right stream.  Summer school is all about accelerated learning to help people that have been away from study cope with the academic rigours of the course.  Quant was a nightmare, economics less so.  Met a whole new bunch of people.

The academic staff who welcomed us had lots of wisdom to impart.  Frank Hartman, Summer Program Faculty Chair talked about us "not selling ourselves cheaply for the urgency of the moment", a trap we are all guilty of  - confusing the urgent with the important.

Any how Day 1 is over.  I look forward to tomorrow.

Seating courtesy of the American Chiropractors Association

Good lord, those seats look uncomfortable...

Graduate Commons

The folks at Harvard are determined that graduates experience all that the University, Cambridge and Boston has to offer.


The Graduate Commons program promises to fill in your every non studying, non sleeping moment with social and educational activities.  I feel exhausted already....:-)

Happy Birthday Mum!

A hearty hello and happy birthday to my wonderful Mum!

Bastille Day

A bit of a fizzer especially after my attendance at Pato's World Cup party with a tribe of other classmates...

This one is for Jeed

It is just down the road from the Kennedy School

School starts tomorrow...

Herzlich Wilkommen Bienvenue, Come In...

My humble abode - finally fully fitted out and furnished.  Furniture courtesy of Cort Rental, everything else courtesy of Amazon...

And of course my humble commode....

Fenway Park - The Cathedral

Fenway Park – the Cathedral – the home of the Boston Red Sox, the current World Champions.  Any visit to Boston demands a visit to the Mecca of baseball. 

Fenway Park represents old-fashioned baseball. The “Cathedral” was constructed in 1912 and has changed little since.  Before the game, under the bleachers, there is a seething mass of fans all wearing an assortment of Red Sox regalia.  It is hot.  It is crowded. 

Vendors sell the traditional fare available at all baseball games – unshelled peanuts, crackerjacks, popcorn, hotdogs and of course, beer - lots of it.   We find our seats and take in the spectacle.  The Americans around us sing the Star Spangled Banner with gusto.  Then the cry “Play Ball”!

The game is a disappointment.   A mere 7 hits – the same you would expect to see in a couple of overs in cricket – and the Red Sox lose. But it does not matter. The crowd keeps singing and dancing whenever the stadium camera lights upon them. 

Even a thunderstorm does not deter their spirit. Their joy for the game. The game of baseball. 

The Red Sox lost this night but the season is long, and there will always be another game. 

The beauties of Cambridge and Harvard

Cambridge, Boston is beautiful in summer.

The Charles River

All the buildings looks like this..

In the beginning...

OK, this is my first attempt at a Blog and I don't promise that I will be both regular and entertaining in my posts.  That disclaimer aside I did say that I would try and stay in contact with you my friends and family, so here goes.

I arrived in Boston on the 4th July - it was nice of the city to put on fireworks just for me...ahem.

I booked a local hotel in Harvard Square for convenience and the next morning I set about my long list of to dos.  First stop - the bank.  Joy of joys they are open here on Saturdays. The lovely bank manager at Bank of America opens an account for me in half an hour! Next stop- a US cell phone - another painless process.  I'm on a roll and it only gets better.  Bryce at Harvard Housing is a doll - she introduces me to my building's site manager - the super helpful Joe.  Before I know it I have a storage cage in the basement for surplus stuff.

My studio apartment is very conveniently located. A short walk from Harvard Square, the Kennedy school, and the Charles River.

The building is not fully occupied at the moment.

And the undergrad housing which is scattered all over has tumble weeds blowing through it.  It is lovely and peaceful.  I plan to enjoy it before the screaming hoards of American teenagers arrive in September.....

Opposite my building is a Harvard Police substation.  They have cool cars and bikes...

CHIPS!!!!