Our Boston Adventure!

The first week of February found me on a plane by myself with two carry on bags, and lots of books to keep me entertained on the way to Boston! I was headed to the school of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) for an interview for graduate school! It was not the first big city I have navigated to and around partly alone, but it had been a while since my Berlin adventure of 2007, and I was a wee bit nervous. Not only was I feeling jittery about navigating in Boston without my John, but I was feeling a great deal of anticipation for my actual interview.

After landing, I lugged my bags to a bus stop and rode the hour long trip to a suburb of Boston where John's Uncle and Aunt, whom I had never met previously, were to pick me up. John's dad had contacted his brother to help me arrange a place to stay, and so John's uncle graciously agreed to host me. After formalities, get to know yous, a delicious chili feast and relaxing evening, I retreated to my bedroom to prepare for the upcoming interview.

The next day dawned bright and early, particularly since the time zone was two hours earlier than that of Provo's. I prepared meticulously including my interview outfit and going over my notes. John's Uncle dropped me off at the Charlestown Navy Yard, and I was on my own. Since I was 45 minutes early, I strolled along the harbor bundled up in the poofy coat which John's aunt had insisted I wear (apparently I had not prepared as adequately for the cold as I had thought). This is what I saw:

Here's what I posted with this pic on Instagram: "Why yes, I think I could stand having a view like this every day of graduate school..."

My impression of MGH only got better throughout the day. It is a brand new doctorate program, which I find exciting! Most of the occupational therapy programs are currently 2 year masters program, but MGH is a new 3 year doctorate program! The facilities are just as beautiful inside as outside, with state of the art classrooms and brand new occupational therapy labs. The faculty were very nice and thrilled with being part of being such a great new program. The program itself sounds fabulous, with a heavy emphasis on inter-professional education, hands on education, clinical work beginning at the start of the program, and many opportunities for students to serve within the community! My interview was fun, and overall it was a very positive experience. I left being able to picture myself as a student of the school.

The rest of the weekend flew by with entertaining myself on the Boston Freedom Walk, experimenting with Boston's public transportation system, getting to know John's aunt and uncle over an Indian dinner, forgetting my purse at the Indian restaurant and having to drive back to get it, a fabulous blitz-tour of Boston's two art museums (the MFA and Gardner museums) given by John's uncle who is a bit of an art buff and is part of the asian art committee. Here's a couple pictures from that:

The evil Gnyardon and his followers were even illustrated in the MFA!
I wonder what poor, unsuspecting soul they are stalking! ;)

My appetizer, which was a "taco", at the Gardner museum

Uncle Steve's soup--I have got to try my hand at making butternut squash soup!

Last glimpse of Boston from the plane

So I headed back home to Provo, Utah, to await the response from MGH. I focused on work and tried not to think much about the upcoming results.

A couple of weeks later, I received an acceptance letter to MGH! I also received an acceptance letter to USciences in Philadelphia, as well as an invitation for two skype interviews with schools in DC and CA. I did the interview with Howard University in DC, and we contemplated our options. We considered a lot of factors about each of the schools and locations before finally making our decision. This decision was made before even receiving the results from Howard (which I am pretty sure I got into).

Brace yourselves....



And the verdict is in! We are going to Boston in the middle to end of May!!!




Phew! Glad that decision is made. I am filled with many different thoughts and emotions. On one hand I am thrilled to be pursuing my dream of going to occupational therapy school! I am so excited for the change of scenery, the adventures and experiences to come. I am sad to leave Provo and all of my friends. I don't love living in Provo, but I love my friends here and will miss them a lot. I am also really sad to leave my new job at Rise Employment Services. I have loved working with people who have disabilities to help them find employment!!! I have committed to myself to find all of my current clients jobs before I leave! They are so capable and I want them to have employment where they will be happy and be able to contribute. I will miss working with them, and with my lovely coworkers.

Change is good. I feel a little overwhelmed and anxious about the changes, but I am also eager to begin a new chapter in our lives. I am so glad to have John by my side to experience these changes with!

The program begins June 1, so we'll be leaving Provo sometime mid- to late-May.

Wish me luck! :)