Three years ago when I started this blog as a sophomore at Boston University, I couldn’t even imagine how soon I would be writing this:
I graduated from college!
As I reflect back on my experience as a Bulgarian coming to the States for university, I feel that I have accomplished some very significant achievements. I immersed myself in the American culture, conquered a few personal goals, and even managed to learn a thing or two about Marketing and Management.
This is my list of the greatest things I did while studying in America:
Soak In the American Culture
1. Attended two 4th of July fireworks, 3 Boston Marathons, 4 Thanksgiving celebrations (a very German one, one at Disneyworld, a very American one, and a very Arab one)
2. Went to two Red Sox games, a Celtics game, a Giants game, and a BU vs BC hockey game
3. Watched the Superbowl twice
4. Went whale watching near Cape Cod
5. Saw the Blue Angels in Florida
6. Went to several Broadway musicals in New York, The Blue Man Group and the Boston Pops Orchestra in Boston, drag queen shows in Provincetown
7. Played the slot machines in Las Vegas, Foxwoods, CT and Mohegan Sun, CT
8. Witnessed Obama’s election, learned a lot about American politics, and was there when the global financial system crashed (this is not necessarily my achievement)
9. Interacted with the US military and learned a lot about the philosophy of the enlisted, ROTC, and those who support them
10. Learned about ADHD and how common the misuse of Adderall is at universities
11. Did a pull up at Muscle Beach, LA
12. Partied all night long in Miami
13. Ate like an American: tried Twinkies, s’mores, New England clam chowder, Main lobster, Cajun cuisine and jambalayas, Tex-Mex fajitas, lots of bagels with cream cheese, San Francisco crab bisque in a sourdough bowl, (ate and shucked) oysters, hotdog at the ballpark, salt water taffy, Reese’s peanut butter cups, cranberries (even visited a cranberry bog), a ton of salad dressings, avocado on everything
14. NEVER TRIED A PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH (I just realized that! Must fix that!)
15. Went to some of America’s most beloved chain restaurants: Hooters, Jamba Juice, In-N-Out, Bubba Gump, Hard Rock Café, Krispy Kreme, The Cheesecake Factory
16. Bought something from Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, American Apparel, and Urban Outfitters
Enhance My College Career
17. Met interesting people from all over the world
18. Tailored my education to the area of business and the industry I’m interested in and landed my dream job
19. Had an internship every semester and summer
20. Picked up a third foreign language, Russian
21. Became good friends with some of my professors
22. Visited some of the world’s top universities: Harvard, MIT, Yale, Stanford, Brown, Berkeley, and Columbia U
23. Joined several student groups
24. Went to frat parties and witnessed a lot of MIT frat hazing
25. Attended a house party that got busted by the police
26. Played beer pong, cups, and gunshotting during 21st birthday celebrations
27. Used a fake international ID to get into clubs before I was 21 (very offended because I had been clubbing in Bulgaria since 16)
28. Spent spring break in Cancun with the entire US college population
29. Got my university to pay me for tutoring Writing 100 and Writing 150 students
30. Was in the top 7% of the class.. who would have thought?
Travel As Much As Possible
31. Travelled all over the East and West Coast: Niagara Falls, Walden Pond, Salem, Boston, Plymouth, Cape Cod, Provincetown, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Providence, New Haven, Pittsburgh, State College, New York, New Jersey, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, New Orleans, Jackson MI, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Cancun, The Bahamas, Sierra Nevada, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Lake Havasu, San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Big Sur, Monterey, Berkeley, San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Ramon, Lodi, Napa and Sonoma Valley, Point Reyes.
32. Had a road trip on Route 66 as well as on Highway 1 (in both directions)
33. Soaked my feet both in the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean
34. Took advantage of Boston University’s study abroad programs for a semester in London and in Madrid, where I even lived with a Spanish family.
35. Brought four American friends to Bulgaria, was their tour guide, and left them with wonderful impressions of the Bulgarian people, culture, and nature
Get In Some Thrill:
36. Overcame my fear of the deep, learned how to swim (freestyle, breaststroke, back and butterfly), and won recognitions for second and third place at a swimming competition.
37. Learned to sail a flying junior and had an amazing time sailing on the Charles every spring and fall
38. Constantly challenged myself with something new: Tried fencing, kickboxing, African dancing, belly dancing, pole dancing, snowboarding (I’m yet to perfect that!), jet ski, catamaran, windsurf, sea kayak, coasteering (jumping off rocks into the freezing sea with a wetsuit), flying a Navy flight simulator and a Cessna
39. Completed an AFF skydiving course and am currently on my 11th jump
Become Americanized:
40. Got a Massachusetts ID
41. Received a social security number
42. Filed my taxes (only twice though, should have been four times, oops)
43. Got called for Jury Duty
44. Visited the Sam Adams Brewery
45. Went to a Wal-Mart
9 comments
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July 23, 2012 at 10:28 pm
joaquinbarroso
Congratulations! It seems like you had a lot of fun and accomplished more in those four years than most people do in all their lifetimes! Are you going back to Bulgaria? What are your expectations now?
Best wishes from Mexico
Now if you excuse me I have to go to walmart to pick up some groceries 🙂
July 24, 2012 at 4:37 pm
zikata
Thank you!
I’m in Bulgaria just for a little bit this summer and then I’m heading to the UK for a marketing job. I’m excited to enter the “real world”!
July 24, 2012 at 4:27 am
Simona Deltcheva
LOVE this post. Dori ne znaeh, che si v Amerika samo ot nqkolko godini… Suglasna sum s predishniq comment, izglejda, che si si prekarala vremeto mnogo pulnocenno. Sega v BG li se vrushtash? A, mejdu drugoto, i az skoro zaminavam za Madrid :] Ti kak si prekara tam, nqkakvi preporuki za interesni mesta ili nezabravimi experiences?
July 24, 2012 at 4:41 pm
zikata
Здравей Симона,
Следващата ми дестинация е Англия – този път по работа.
е чудесен! Аз бих прекарала колкото се може повече време в парка Retiro, по площадчетата с чаша сангрия в ръка и по flamenco баровете 🙂 !Que tengas un buen tiempo!
July 24, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Simona Deltcheva
Mersi mersi :]] Ako imash vuzmojnost i jelanie da se vurnesh tam otnovo sum na razpolojenie 😛
July 25, 2012 at 9:51 pm
joaquinbarroso
I wish you a lot of success in London and a pleasant stay in Bulgaria! You have inspired me to do a similar list of the ‘exotic’ things I got to do while leaving in Romania (that ought to be fun!)
Best wishes!
July 26, 2012 at 12:14 am
zikata
Send the link over when you write it! I’d love to hear about swimming in the Danube and getting bitten around Vlad Tepes’s castle… did I guess right? 🙂
July 26, 2012 at 12:18 am
joaquinbarroso
Right on the money! 😀
July 28, 2012 at 4:33 am
Katley
Being young is about living life to the fullest and you have certainly done so! Congratulations on your graduation!
The one time I went whale watching off Cape Cod I was seasick the whole time and didn’t see a single whale 😦
Reading your post reminds me of all the “exotic” things I did while living in Europe many years ago. Brings back good memories 🙂
I just hope the years don’t run out before I’ve done everything on my “bucket list.” This year I went to a dance camp for the first time and did some Serbian workshops, it was great fun! The next dance camp I go to will be a Bulgarian one.