Classes begin tomorrow so I thought I'd make use of this last day without any work whatsoever to post an update on the last few days.
To be honest there isn't that much to report - the weather has been so amazing that its actually been hard to do much purely because of the heat (something I didn't take into consideration when packing...). Each day its been upwards of 30 degrees so for a pale, sun-deprived Scot its been a real shock to the system! Last time I enjoyed weather this good I was in Lamu paradise, just off the coast of Kenya - Boston is good, but its not that good!
The one thing we have done is taken a trip to one of the harbour islands, a recommendation of nearly every guide book you come across. This involved getting the T (subway) to the aquarium stop at Boston and then catching a ferry that took us to Spectacle island, situated about 5 or 6 miles away from Boston. We spent a few really relaxing hours just wandering around the island (its pretty small) and catching some rays. The major disappointment of the day, however, was the absence of the promised hotdog eating contest - still, I imagine there will be plenty more opportunities to witness such an event while here...!
Coming back from the island also gave us a good chance to see a little bit more of Boston - hurried as we were. Certainly, Boston just keeps getting higher in my estimations - the architecture is tasteful, it feels pretty clean, and the array of shops is quite incredible. I think next weekend will have to be spent having a proper look around the city!
Apart from that, though, the last few days have really only consisted of meeting people for lunch, drinks and dinner... I could get used to this life of leisure! However, classes of course start tomorrow and I will be thrown back into a quite different working routine to what I experienced at Cambridge. I'm actually looking forward to finally getting started though - and the courses I've chosen promise to be hugely insightful. For those who are interested, I plan on taking four from the following this semester (though am yet to settle on exactly which ones):
1) Government and politics of China
2) International Law
3) Islam and modernity in Central Asia
4) Modern Latin American History
5) International organisations in the C20th
6) Politics of India
Some of them will no doubt be quite tough but, at the end of the day, grades and marks don't matter for me (there's no degree at the end of it, after all) - the whole year is just an incredible opportunity to try an array of new things and expand my knowledge about parts of the world I feel I should know more about. How lucky am I?!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
"Complete the danged fence"
Roughly forty years ago, Richard Nixon - in reference to the staunch liberalism of its faculty and students - dubbed Harvard 'The kremlin on the Charles'.
Of course, its not always been this way - until the 1960s Harvard was, by reputation, conservative. Furthermore, today people speak of an erosion of liberal principles on campus: while in 1969 students stormed University hall in protest against the ROTC's presence on campus, now there is overwhelming support to bring the organisation back. Moreover, under half of students in a recent poll wanted to see the abolition of the death penalty. Such examples are numerous.
Despite these recent findings, though, Harvard remains considerably more liberal than the US population at large, and on Wednesday in particular I was reminded of this.
On Wednesday, McCain 'slammed' Hayworth in the contest for Republican senate nomination in Arizona. As usual, an inordinate amount of money was ploughed into each candidate's respective campaign ($20 million in McCain's case), but of most interest to me was McCain's handling of the big issue - immigration reform. Previously, his stance has been as palatable as you can hope for from a Republican, supporting a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. During the campaign, however, he stood far to the right on this issue, calling for that 'danged fence' to be completed. Interestingly, Tea Party supporters quickly noted that McCain had already had 28 years to 'complete the fence'. Either way, from both sides illegal immigrants were getting it in the neck.
Now don't get me wrong, illegal immigration is a far cry from an ideal situation. But equally, there's two sides to every story. All too often, the only story told is that of the drain on resources by these people who come through the fence without documents.
I've just gone through the whole process of trying to get into this so-called Land of the Free which has been, frankly, an expensive nightmare. Interestingly, I have to carry my visa documents absolutely everywhere I go - hardly conducive to that warm feeling of liberty I had so hoped to experience while out here. My point really is that it is so hard - and so costly - for people to come here through all the official channels - though I'm not for a minute condoning taking the 'unofficial' route. All I am saying is that I understand why people take it.
While at Cambridge, I spent some time studying Latin America and its history during the C20th. In fact, not only was it the most enjoyable and fascinating topic I studied throughout the three years, it was also largely what prompted my sudden interest in the US - or more specifically, an interest in how the US perceives itself, how it is perceived by others and why. Throughout much of the C20th, the relationship between the US and Latin American countries was one-sided. Known as America's backyard, the US interfered in the region at will, frequently propping up military dictatorships (and even helping them to power) and using aid money to buy or force political outcomes. Studying this region during the C20th, in short, can make you look at the US through very cynical eyes. Its not too outrageous to say, in fact, that much of the region's poverty and its inability to take steps to remedy its structural problems can be traced back the the US, be it through its support of oppressive, embezzling right-wing regimes, or through its imposition of structural adjustment programmes that made the fatal mistake of cutting crucial social spending to a minimum. The bottom line is this: the US - like it or not, admit it or not - has played no small part in the severe poverty of this region.
So back to all those illegal immigrants scrambling over, under and through the fence in order to enter the economic power-house that is the US of A. By highlighting the poverty from which so many of these people come and the US' part to play in their dire plight, I am not saying that they should be allowed automatic entry as some form of compensation or good-will gesture. No country has enough resources to offer such a tabula rasa. My point is this though: so many of these people - the majority, even - come not to sponge off the system but to do honest work and simply earn enough to support their families, a pursuit that no human should be vilified for. Indeed, the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence, embodying the roots of that great American Dream, states that 'all men are created equal' and that they are 'endowed...with certain inalienable Rights' including 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'
With this in mind, it is narrow-minded to paint these people with the same single face - that of the burdensome thief that ought to be firmly and finally shut out - 'vermin' in Sarkozy's France. Particularly given the millions upon millions of dollars they contribute to the American economy, but most especially when you consider the contribution they make to that rich culture of diversity that America is both founded on and so vehemently prides itself on. Their faces - while some people may forget or ignore it - are all different, all simply human.
Of course, its not always been this way - until the 1960s Harvard was, by reputation, conservative. Furthermore, today people speak of an erosion of liberal principles on campus: while in 1969 students stormed University hall in protest against the ROTC's presence on campus, now there is overwhelming support to bring the organisation back. Moreover, under half of students in a recent poll wanted to see the abolition of the death penalty. Such examples are numerous.
Despite these recent findings, though, Harvard remains considerably more liberal than the US population at large, and on Wednesday in particular I was reminded of this.
On Wednesday, McCain 'slammed' Hayworth in the contest for Republican senate nomination in Arizona. As usual, an inordinate amount of money was ploughed into each candidate's respective campaign ($20 million in McCain's case), but of most interest to me was McCain's handling of the big issue - immigration reform. Previously, his stance has been as palatable as you can hope for from a Republican, supporting a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. During the campaign, however, he stood far to the right on this issue, calling for that 'danged fence' to be completed. Interestingly, Tea Party supporters quickly noted that McCain had already had 28 years to 'complete the fence'. Either way, from both sides illegal immigrants were getting it in the neck.
Now don't get me wrong, illegal immigration is a far cry from an ideal situation. But equally, there's two sides to every story. All too often, the only story told is that of the drain on resources by these people who come through the fence without documents.
I've just gone through the whole process of trying to get into this so-called Land of the Free which has been, frankly, an expensive nightmare. Interestingly, I have to carry my visa documents absolutely everywhere I go - hardly conducive to that warm feeling of liberty I had so hoped to experience while out here. My point really is that it is so hard - and so costly - for people to come here through all the official channels - though I'm not for a minute condoning taking the 'unofficial' route. All I am saying is that I understand why people take it.
While at Cambridge, I spent some time studying Latin America and its history during the C20th. In fact, not only was it the most enjoyable and fascinating topic I studied throughout the three years, it was also largely what prompted my sudden interest in the US - or more specifically, an interest in how the US perceives itself, how it is perceived by others and why. Throughout much of the C20th, the relationship between the US and Latin American countries was one-sided. Known as America's backyard, the US interfered in the region at will, frequently propping up military dictatorships (and even helping them to power) and using aid money to buy or force political outcomes. Studying this region during the C20th, in short, can make you look at the US through very cynical eyes. Its not too outrageous to say, in fact, that much of the region's poverty and its inability to take steps to remedy its structural problems can be traced back the the US, be it through its support of oppressive, embezzling right-wing regimes, or through its imposition of structural adjustment programmes that made the fatal mistake of cutting crucial social spending to a minimum. The bottom line is this: the US - like it or not, admit it or not - has played no small part in the severe poverty of this region.
So back to all those illegal immigrants scrambling over, under and through the fence in order to enter the economic power-house that is the US of A. By highlighting the poverty from which so many of these people come and the US' part to play in their dire plight, I am not saying that they should be allowed automatic entry as some form of compensation or good-will gesture. No country has enough resources to offer such a tabula rasa. My point is this though: so many of these people - the majority, even - come not to sponge off the system but to do honest work and simply earn enough to support their families, a pursuit that no human should be vilified for. Indeed, the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence, embodying the roots of that great American Dream, states that 'all men are created equal' and that they are 'endowed...with certain inalienable Rights' including 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'
With this in mind, it is narrow-minded to paint these people with the same single face - that of the burdensome thief that ought to be firmly and finally shut out - 'vermin' in Sarkozy's France. Particularly given the millions upon millions of dollars they contribute to the American economy, but most especially when you consider the contribution they make to that rich culture of diversity that America is both founded on and so vehemently prides itself on. Their faces - while some people may forget or ignore it - are all different, all simply human.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Winthrop
Unlike the majority of graduates, I have a set of rooms in undergraduate accommodation - Winthrop House, one of Harvard's twelve undergrad houses (*obligatory name-drop* - the one JFK was at). My suite is pretty fantastic to be honest, and from asking around not many have been as lucky as me: its comprised of three rooms - a bathroom, bedroom and a great, sizeable living room kitted out with, for added comfort, a sofa and sofa chairs. Whats more, all of my rooms have fantastic large windows that look out across Winthrop's small quad with the Charles river just a few metres beyond.... it really is quite cool!
The rest of Winthrop is pretty nice too - although it was all built in 1912, its tried to replicate the old oxbridge college look with a fair bit of success. The library is undoubtedly its best feature, though its collection pales in comparison to Caius. Despite its rather stagnant collection, though, it certainly promises to be a valuable workspace (particularly given the low quality of music that is presently emanating at some decibels from the flat next door). Plus, being the 'special' student that I am, I also get my own personal key! Which, on reading that back, probably doesn't make me that cool...
One surprise is that when I got here I found myself promoted to the position of 'resident tutor'... at some point I think you just have to say enough is enough, Im quite special enough without all of these additional titles. That said, I think I'll see what the job entails before I break the news...
So that's Winthrop. Perfectly central - only 5 mins from Harvard Yard which is ideal. Plenty of room for visitors, too!
The rest of Winthrop is pretty nice too - although it was all built in 1912, its tried to replicate the old oxbridge college look with a fair bit of success. The library is undoubtedly its best feature, though its collection pales in comparison to Caius. Despite its rather stagnant collection, though, it certainly promises to be a valuable workspace (particularly given the low quality of music that is presently emanating at some decibels from the flat next door). Plus, being the 'special' student that I am, I also get my own personal key! Which, on reading that back, probably doesn't make me that cool...
One surprise is that when I got here I found myself promoted to the position of 'resident tutor'... at some point I think you just have to say enough is enough, Im quite special enough without all of these additional titles. That said, I think I'll see what the job entails before I break the news...
So that's Winthrop. Perfectly central - only 5 mins from Harvard Yard which is ideal. Plenty of room for visitors, too!
First impressions of life on the other side of the pond
As our plane approached the runway at Boston's Logan airport, with everything below us - the bay, the sailing boats, the cars driving on the wrong side of the road - coming more clearly into vision, I was hit by that great sense of transition. The long wait was finally over and I couldn't help but feel, with great excitement and anticipation, that something very special was about to begin.
The first few days in Cambridge - separated from Boston by the Charles River - have been a veritable whirlwind of orientation programmes, registration deadlines, tutor meetings and library tours (after all, I am here to do some work!). Along the busy way, however, I've met a great bunch of people that is slowly added to each day. While this week is essentially a freshers week for graduates, there hasn't been the same unnerving urgency about forging friendships instantly - and for that reason perhaps, over these last few days it really feels like everything has happened a great deal more naturally, albeit at an appreciably slower pace.
A selection of highlights, then:
Tour of the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library
Located within Harvard Yard, this is an interesting place for two reasons: its striking architecture and the story behind it. Not much to look at from the outside, you walk in and are greeted by romanesque pillars, high ceilings, an abundance of natural light, and the portrait of Harry Widener looking out at you from the 'Treasure Room'. The whole library - as its name suggests - is a memorial to this young man. Widener came from two very wealthy families and during his time as a Harvard undergraduate began collecting books, a pursuit be continued - full-time - after leaving the university. To cut a long story short, Widener, aged 27 or so, his mother and his father were among those to board the Titanic: only Eleanor was to survive. The library, opened in 1915, was built with the $3 million donated to the university by the mother, along with Widener's (enormous) personal book collection. It was stipulated by Eleanor that the portrait of Harry must be seen by everyone who enters the building. The collection itself is quite incredible - too much to describe but this is a link to the website, its well worth a look -
http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton/collections/widener/
Impromptu trip into Boston
Yesterday, given the amazing weather (a welcome change from the rain we have had most days!) a couple of us decided to get the subway into Boston where we sat in a park listening to some live music. It was only after 45 minutes or so that we realised it was a Christian band intent on 'spreading the word'. However, it was certainly an enjoyable afternoon and nice to explore beyond the river. I should also say, Benjamin - I have seen Crane, Poole and Shmidt HQ but am yet to get a photo in front of it!
Cafe culture
Someone said to me before I left that New England - and the Boston area in particular - has a very European feel to it. Thats certainly the impression I've got since arriving - there are loads of cafes (many of which are really very nice) which stay open long into the evening and are nearly always jammed packed. In fact, its a very sociable place in general in the evening, in a way that Britain perhaps isn't - which I've always tended to put down to our climate. There are of course pubs and bars, but by and large I've found that students tend to be found just as much - if not more so - drinking their mocha light frappuccionos and their caramel macchiatos in coffee houses across Cambridge. Add me and my standard order of English Breakfast to that list....
American food
Although I'm writing in the 'highlights' section, my experience so far of food in America has been mixed. The major annoyance is only being able to buy fruit in supermarkets. In fact, the nearest place I'm able to buy fruit - and bear in mind this is an urban area - is a 2 mile walk away....! Suddenly solving America's obesity problem seems easy and logical enough! In general I've found food to be marginally (and sometimes considerably) more expensive than in the UK. In restaurants its different though - I'd say actually probably slightly cheaper if not the same and you certainly get more for your money (and in my case, nearly always a 'doggy bag' too...). One thing I was horrified to see was Starbucks selling burgers - upmarket ones, granted, but still wholly inappropriate if you ask me! Certainly, if there's one thing that has surprised me more than anything else in coming to America, its the difficulty in eating healthily - having to make a conscious effort to seek out a place that sells healthy food which was just something I really didn't expect.
The first few days in Cambridge - separated from Boston by the Charles River - have been a veritable whirlwind of orientation programmes, registration deadlines, tutor meetings and library tours (after all, I am here to do some work!). Along the busy way, however, I've met a great bunch of people that is slowly added to each day. While this week is essentially a freshers week for graduates, there hasn't been the same unnerving urgency about forging friendships instantly - and for that reason perhaps, over these last few days it really feels like everything has happened a great deal more naturally, albeit at an appreciably slower pace.
A selection of highlights, then:
Tour of the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library
Located within Harvard Yard, this is an interesting place for two reasons: its striking architecture and the story behind it. Not much to look at from the outside, you walk in and are greeted by romanesque pillars, high ceilings, an abundance of natural light, and the portrait of Harry Widener looking out at you from the 'Treasure Room'. The whole library - as its name suggests - is a memorial to this young man. Widener came from two very wealthy families and during his time as a Harvard undergraduate began collecting books, a pursuit be continued - full-time - after leaving the university. To cut a long story short, Widener, aged 27 or so, his mother and his father were among those to board the Titanic: only Eleanor was to survive. The library, opened in 1915, was built with the $3 million donated to the university by the mother, along with Widener's (enormous) personal book collection. It was stipulated by Eleanor that the portrait of Harry must be seen by everyone who enters the building. The collection itself is quite incredible - too much to describe but this is a link to the website, its well worth a look -
http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton/collections/widener/
Impromptu trip into Boston
Yesterday, given the amazing weather (a welcome change from the rain we have had most days!) a couple of us decided to get the subway into Boston where we sat in a park listening to some live music. It was only after 45 minutes or so that we realised it was a Christian band intent on 'spreading the word'. However, it was certainly an enjoyable afternoon and nice to explore beyond the river. I should also say, Benjamin - I have seen Crane, Poole and Shmidt HQ but am yet to get a photo in front of it!
Cafe culture
Someone said to me before I left that New England - and the Boston area in particular - has a very European feel to it. Thats certainly the impression I've got since arriving - there are loads of cafes (many of which are really very nice) which stay open long into the evening and are nearly always jammed packed. In fact, its a very sociable place in general in the evening, in a way that Britain perhaps isn't - which I've always tended to put down to our climate. There are of course pubs and bars, but by and large I've found that students tend to be found just as much - if not more so - drinking their mocha light frappuccionos and their caramel macchiatos in coffee houses across Cambridge. Add me and my standard order of English Breakfast to that list....
American food
Although I'm writing in the 'highlights' section, my experience so far of food in America has been mixed. The major annoyance is only being able to buy fruit in supermarkets. In fact, the nearest place I'm able to buy fruit - and bear in mind this is an urban area - is a 2 mile walk away....! Suddenly solving America's obesity problem seems easy and logical enough! In general I've found food to be marginally (and sometimes considerably) more expensive than in the UK. In restaurants its different though - I'd say actually probably slightly cheaper if not the same and you certainly get more for your money (and in my case, nearly always a 'doggy bag' too...). One thing I was horrified to see was Starbucks selling burgers - upmarket ones, granted, but still wholly inappropriate if you ask me! Certainly, if there's one thing that has surprised me more than anything else in coming to America, its the difficulty in eating healthily - having to make a conscious effort to seek out a place that sells healthy food which was just something I really didn't expect.
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