I leave for Europe in less than a week where I’ll be spending quality time with my host family in Germany and backpacking through Paris, Sweden, and Norway. I half-assed the Scandinavian countries during my last trip to Europe and have decided that they should be honored this time around. I can’t wait to hit up Uppsala (of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fame) and the fjords of Norway. I’m also looking forward to a much slower pace of life.

It’s crazy to think that this is the last official post of the academic year for me and with it, the end of an era draws to a close. I’m so thankful I made the decision to attend Fletcher and hope that those of you who are coming in during the fall will enjoy your time on campus as much as I have. The sense of agency that accompanies you during your time here is amazing and difficult to come by elsewhere. If you want to stay in touch, drop me a line! I want a lifeline to peeps on campus=) Good luck with the upcoming academic year…

Kimberley.liao@tufts.edu

In terms of moving services, this is trickier depending on where you’re moving to. For international moves, you’ll probably want to ship yourself your stuff and different couriers will specialize in the countries you’re going to. If you’re going within America, depending on your budget, you may or may not go with a professional mover. If you’re lucky, your new job will even offer relo services and you should definitely take advantage of what’s offered to you. I recently had my move done by North American and was pleased as punch with their full-service offering: packing up, transporting, delivery, and unpacking. Easiest move ever and free! If you’re not happy with your job offer, you might want to consider negotiating a relocation package with your employers.

Moving and storage are annoying, but a necessary evil to get you to where you have to be. Don’t forget that you’re not the only one in the position and leverage group power to score better deals.

1) nightly chats with the weekday night shift Joey driver, Ed. Seriously an interesting guy who does like to chat with students if you strike up a connection.

2) the feeling of being able to accomplish anything-and having the connections/resources to be able to do so

3) immediate access to some of the most interesting, down-to-earth people. That is a hard combination to find!

4) Morning glory muffins at Pavement coffee house, namourrah at café Andala, ice cream at Toscaninis, Café Luna, the Danish Pastry House, the Barking Crab, cannolis from Mike’s Pastry, the surreal Japanese food court in the Lesley University building at Porter, Mexican hot chocolate at Simon’s, earl grey tea cupcakes and red crema lattes at Café Crema, the grand cafeteria at Harvard Business school

5) how close all the smart people are on the Red Line and how easy it is to hang out with them

6) the great (and cheap) museums

7) great professors and a school system that encourages learning rather than focusing on grades

8) unlimited access to more lectures, conferences, contests, and workshops than you can possibly hope to fit in

9) how crazily different every neighborhood feels

10) how much cheaper it is to live in Boston

Seriously, as much as I complained about the city, Boston didn’t turn out to be nearly as bad as I had made it out to be. I wouldn’t necessarily go live there indefinitely, but I feel I have done the city justice and discovered enough hidden spots that were just right for me. And herein lies the key to making any city your home: you have to go explore it and you can’t expect to always do it with other people in tow. Enjoy your time in Medford!

1) For those in the dorms: invest in the microfridge which comes with a freezer, microwave, and fridge. You don’t know how much my quality of life increased in my second year compared to my first by having these three things in my room. Trust me, when the snow is even ankle high or the rain is pouring, you are not going to walk your sorry ass to the kitchen to heat up soup. I was one of these folks eating soup straight from the can when possible last year!

2) Good pillows and a great mattress. So much back pain can be mitigated or prevented with a great bed. And don’t shaft yourself on the pillows. I slept all year on a shitty one and boy do I feel it every day.

3) hard-core outdoor gear (especially for winter). I go grocery shopping in ski pants. And those same ski pants saved my life when I had to do a 20 minute walk in a torrential downpour last spring.

4) things to decorate your place with. There is nothing drearier than plain white walls on a gray day. Trust me.

5) Humidifier! Boston is so dry my face was still peeling off in May.

6) Printer-it will get annoying to perpetually be printing things out last minute before deadlines.

7) A fan (unless your place has an AC). It can and does get mighty hot in town when it wants to.

8) your patience and an open mind. Seriously there will be people who you think you’ll be best friends with but who you will hate within a week and people who you hold at arm’s length for a year or more only to realize that they are great folks. Go with the flow.

1) Two years go by very very quickly. At work, they seem to drag by, but at Fletcher, these two years will feel like light years and you’ll wonder if you’ve somehow been transported to an alternate universe.

2) Despite feeling like you’re going it alone in many of the big things like finding a job or writing a thesis, there are plenty of folks who are willing to help you on campus. If you feel like you’re fighting fires all alone, you’re probably doing something wrong

3) Don’t waste too much time over the summer planning for the upcoming school year. You will change for sure and so will your plans. Instead, focus on activities that will help you enjoy the best life for you at the moment so that you are good and ready for the changes coming your way

4) Do not underestimate the power of taking care of yourself. I don’t regret the things I’ve poured myself into, but I wish I had been more capable of taking care of myself. At least I didn’t skimp on massages-I probably would have crashed and burned without them.

5) Don’t worry about the “cool kids.” A lot of them are just plain insecure and while they will be obnoxious and make you feel ‘left out,” you have to trust your judgment about what’s right for you and how to spend your time. I am a huge believer in the fact that you already know what you need and will gravitate to that which is most beneficial to you.

On Class Day which preceded the actual graduation ceremonies, Senator John Kerry delivered the keynote address and it was amazing to listen to him speak because he has some serious oratory skills. The reception afterwards was delightful and stood in stark contrast to the post-graduation food debacle. Within 15 minutes of the start of the luncheon on graduation day, there was NO FOOD to be had anywhere in the tent!!! It was so bad I couldn’t spend time with my fellow graduates and had to high-tail it to Davis since I hadn’t had enough to eat at the champagne breakfast which preceded graduation. I hope that Fletcher event planners correct this atrocious mistake next year.

On graduation day itself, the festivities started off at the ungodly hour of 745 AM with a champagne toast breakfast. Four members of the graduating class delivered toasts and one even memorably delivered hers in iambic pentameter form. Afterwards, graduates attended the all-university commencement where Dean Bosworth was greeted on stage with thunderous applause. One undergrad who I’d worked with over the past two years texted me afterwards and said, “congrats on graduation. Now stop being so loud!” Who said graduate students don’t know how to party?

Finally, it was time to receive degrees and the bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye was only slightly relieved by the joy at seeing two years of hard work crystallize into a tangible object. Of course, the piece of paper does the experience no justice whatsoever, but it is nice to have a feeling of accomplishment after a grueling challenge.

It’s tough to sum up how much two years at Fletcher means, but at least with graduation, we’re given a chance to properly take leave of a special place that nurtures us in so many ways. I am going to miss Medford like crazy, but have no doubt that I’ll be in touch with my classmates in the future. Go mafia!

It’s hard to keep a pulse on the dating scene at Fletcher but a fair amount of folks do show up with significant others. However, this is not to say that intra- or inter-class dating doesn’t occur because it does! And of course, long-distance relationships are tough to maintain so a fair number of incoming students end up dropping out of relationships in the end.

What worked for my boyfriend and me was being on the northeast corridor and knowing precisely when the next visit was going to be. Of course email and phone calls and text messages also helped, but nothing beat spending physical time with the other person. If you’re planning on living in Blakeley, be sure to prep your significant other for the joys of dorm living. It’s tough to fit two folks in an extra-long twin but it can be done. Perhaps getting a futon for the living area is also a wise investment.

At the end of the day, folks in relationships just want to be kept abreast of what’s happening in the other person’s life, so make sure you balance your priorities with your lover’s needs. There is no need to fall out of a relationship simply because of distance, especially when there are so many long breaks during the school year.

I also recently checked out the ICA for the first time. It is a small exhibit of contemporary art but its location right on the harbor and proximity to the Barking Crab (my all time favorite seafood restaurant) makes this a great lunch/afternoon or afternoon/dinner trip. The views of the water-even on gunmetal gray days like the one I visited on-are spectacular. Don’t forget to check out the gift shop. They have cool presents and I picked up a neat lilypad silicone cover which will eliminate the need to ever use saran wrap on bowls again.

The Mapparium is not to be missed and only $4 with student ID. As an aspiring global leader, I presume this 3-D globe is somewhat like porn for diplomats. The acoustics in the room are amazing and you can learn about Christian Science from the leading founder-Mary Baker Eddy.

Lastly, the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum is one of my all-time faves because I love grand, distinguished houses. The inner courtyard is beautiful and it’s in the same neighborhood as the MFA so you could have a very cultured day=)

Boston’s museums actually make me think it is a city, so during your time in Medford, be sure to hit them up!

Not everyone will participate in all the actvities and in fact, I personally prefer smaller gatherings where I know the folks I’ll be hanging out with well. In this vein, I have organized smaller trips to museums, favorite restaurants, movie runs, and coffee dates. Tonight, a few girls organized a happy hour at their place to use up leftover food and spend time with second years and this was a great event! On Sunday night, there was also an impromptu (and super classy) cocktail hour at another fellow second year’s house.

The great thing about Fletcher is finding people to hang out and do stuff with. The bad thing is trying to find enough time to hang out in smaller groups so you can have meaningful conversations. Even at events throughout the normal school year, I struggle with the quality/quantity issue of conversations. I can only stand to repeat myself so many times during a single evening and would much rather sustain a fluid exchange for a sustained period of time. I suspect though that this is a problem in many situations and have yet to find a cure for the problem. Having disjointed conversations though may be a small price to pay for the ability to spend time with folks in general since people appear to be less inclined to socialize these days!

Aside from the deadlines I’m still up against (one coming up on Monday morning! yikes!), I’m also wrapped up in a flurry of lunches, dinners, coffee dates, and movie outings. Tomorrow, I’ll be out at brunch and then am headed to a dinner party at night. A lot of folks are away this weekend either at the Cape or LA or home. That being said, don’t forget to budget in an allowance so you can enjoy the last two weeks at Fletcher and not feel the cash pinch.

I’ve always struggled with the going out aspect of grad school since I keep a close watch on my expenses, but I’m glad I’ve been that anal because I feel I have earned the right to treat myself nicely when I hang out with friends these days. Never underestimate the power of budgeting and delayed gratification. And never underestimate how important it is to go out big when you know your days with your classmates are numbered.

The fact that I’ll be leaving campus soon still hasn’t hit me, but I suspect that my tone will change in the coming days.