Life as an International Student at Boston University

Life as an International Student at Boston University

For international student José, Boston is extremely accommodating and provides experiences that are foreign to him. Boston University is open to internationals which has enabled José to learn from his newfound experiences, and the community can also learn from him.

José, a student from Spain, has come to Boston University to study english for six months. He is hoping to secure a law degree, and learning english is crucial for this. José studies about five hours a day, and he is also able to explore the culture of America outside of his studies.

Life as a BU student allows for easy access to the city. “The trains and bus system are easy and effective. I am able to travel into Newbury Street to grab a bite to eat,” says José.

BU is also very accommodating for international visitors. “My family is able to stay at the Commonwealth Hotel which is right down the street,” comments José. According to the bellman from the Commonwealth Hotel, they receive many visitors from all over the world.

“We get visitors coming from as far as Japan,” says the bellman. “ I enjoy talking to all the visitors, and it is especially interesting to come across a different language and culture of a visitor. I have to learn different customs.”

José also finds time to do the activities that every local BU student would do. He enjoys going to the cinema, the nightclubs, and Harvard Square. But José finds that there are some differences from his home in Spain to his new life on campus at BU. José especially noted, “The drinking age in Spain is 18, so it was an adjustment to come to America where the drinking age was 21.”

Not only is the drinking age different, but the food has taken some getting used to as well. Local food truck, Clover, receives about 175 customers a day. Their bestseller is the chickpea fritter, which differs from José’s usual meals. However, José says, “Although it is different from what I am used to, I am enjoying trying the different cuisines.”

When asking José if he had experienced any unusual experiences, he noted one very prominent event. “I was at a house party, and my friends and I started to dance in a distinguished spanish style, and we started to get some weird looks. We later had to explain that that was how we danced at home.”

Even though life in Boston is different from his life in Spain, Boston is able to provide José with a new, enjoyable, and beneficial experience. BU has given José many great opportunities that will inevitably help him with his future career prospect to become a lawyer back home. And BU benefits in that has a diverse community where everyone can learn from each other’s different lifestyles.