The Life Of Robert: The Interns in Boston!

The interns outside Boston University, School of Management!

"Your ID, please?" The girl at the cashier looks at us in a “what do you think you are” kind of way. I am thinking, “Interesting, they’re even stricter than back home”, and giving her my passport. But, NO, NO, NO, the problem is far from solved. She is going “Well, I have to see ALL your passports”, and drivers license is not enough. Turning into “are you serious” mode we’re searching hysterically in our pockets…!

According to my observations Norwegians tend to buy (and consume) almost ridiculous amounts of alcohol when we are abroad. Norwegians interns in Boston being no exception, my flat mates and me rushed to the liquor store and filled our baskets with, litterly speaking, more bottles than we could ever carry! With big smiles on our faces, and half prices compared to what we’re used to, the only thing we were worried about was how to get a big enough taxi back home! We were just about to learn about the Massachusetts alcohol policy the hard way!!!!

Bring your passport to get this!

No charm or excuse helped us. Only 2 out of the 4 of us brought the passport. For all future travelers thinking of buying alcohol in Boston, non or some passport is equivalent with a NO GO/NO WAY: “How can I know that two of you aren’t’ buying that booze for your friends”, the girl said. Being far from rational (rather close to desperate and so in need of a Corona with lime) I kept thinking, “stupid, stupid, STUPID”…and then I recalled something the exchange students at NHH kept telling me, “Norway has such stupid rules, Robert, can you tell me why I can’t buy a bottle of beer after 6 pm on Saturdays”. The answer “it’s just the way it is” never seemed to impress anyone!

Alanis Morisette sings “you live you learn”, and the learning here is probably to realize that when you’re moving to a new country you’re better off not asking too many “WHY’s” and just go with the flow - in other words, adapting.

The happy ending!

Using “The Interns in Boston” as the heading and then focus on alcohol policy probably does not make much sense, even though alcohol indeed is a big part of our lives right now. Anyway, here are some other examples of how we’re adapting to American culture:

Speaking up in the classes. Something that we defiantly are not used to at the colleges back home. “So, what do you think Robert, and why?”

Solving problems at Boston University

Trying new food, sometimes unhealthy and with strong colors. Check out what my flat mate Daro brought to the kitchen table:

Eatable? Healthy?

Learning Baseball rules. Still not sure what they are doing on the playing field. Basket is more my cup of tea, and when Boston Celtics won the NBA finale against Los Angeles Lakers last week, we for sure knew how to party with the locals. What a night!

Nervous fans watching the NBA finale - Boston Celtics won!

Celebrating the championship like real fans!

What a night!!!

The Entrepreneurship program at Boston University

Boston - The view from Dexter Park where we live

I haven’t really told you why I am in Boston and what I am doing here. The short version can be summed up as travelling, working and studying.

Earlier this year I decided to join the Entrepreneurship program, more known as “Gründerskolen” in Norway. The beauty of the program is that it attracts master students from a wide range of colleges in Norway. Students from very different backgrounds, for example politics, law, medicine, architecture, business and engineering get together to learn about how to start their own business. In addition to the 40 of us located in Boston, there are students in San Francisco, Cape Town, Singapore and Shanghai.

Class of 2008

As a part of the program, I am studying at Boston University and I am doing an internship in a startup company. I will tell you more about this later. Since this post is too long already, (I am impressed that you’re still reading), I will finish it with a short presentation of my flat and new roommates.

Our flat

The members of #613 - Håkon, Daro and Robert!

Room #613, Dexter Park

Dexter Park, a housing complex located in the Brookline neighborhood, is our home for the next 3 months. Students at Boston University (BU) pays $50 000 per year in tuition fee , and the parking lot outside tells me that some of the students here comes from families with more money than most of us. Thanks to the Norwegian Government, and their “lånekassen”-funding, it is possible for us to take a part of this.

My room

The pictures of the apartment don’t need much explanation. The conditions are great, and the best gym I have ever attended is just a short walk from the front door. My roommates are two dudes from the best technical school in Norway, NTNU. And even though they are geeks we’re getting along well. Actually, they know about more than computers, electricity and machines. They kicked my butt in the squash court the other day, one of them knows how to turn chicken filet and pasta into a decent meal ,while the other knows the hip-hop moves a lot better than the average Norwegian! So what I am adding to the room? I am terrorizing them with my new SLR camera (speilrefleks) trying to figure out all the functions.