Letter from Boston New School Year By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
新学期の準備始まる アメリカの大学は、9月が新年度の始まりです。雅子さんの大学の学生寮にも新入生がたくさん引っ越してきて、夏休みの間、静まり返っていたキャンパスが徐々に活気づいてきています。今週は、雅子さんが新年度が始まるキャンパスの様子を紹介してくれます。

The summer school session at Boston University (BU) ended about a week ago, and I noticed lots of students sitting in front of the dorms with their luggage, waiting to be picked up by their parents and friends. A few days later, I noticed a new crop of students entering the dorms in preparation for the new school year.

The first students to enter the dorms are the resident advisors (RAs). They must go through an orientation session before the other students move in. I noticed a bunch of them playing a "get acquainted" game on the banks of the Charles River. They all stood in a circle — arms linked — and took turns yelling each others' names out loud. I thought it looked like a silly game, but I suppose it takes such energy and enthusiasm to tolerate being an RA.

I noticed the next arrivals, the first-year students, while I was waiting in the Student Union. The first-year students have to come before classes start in order to go through their own orientation program. After all, they have to get acquainted with the notion of college. I noticed some of the new students discussing which long-distance phone company they should use; others were busy setting up their meal plans; still others were waiting to have their pictures taken for their student IDs.

The Student Union cafeteria has been nearly empty all summer, but it's gradually starting to fill again. The small cafeteria in the Science Center will also be reopening soon.

The rest of the students have started moving into their dorms and off-campus apartments as well. Since I'm a graduate student and I don't take classes full-time anymore, I don't feel like I'm living my life according to the school year schedule.

My lifestyle rhythm doesn't exactly fit that of the university at large. I don't have a special summer vacation, so the beginning of the school year doesn't have as much significance to me as it does to an undergraduate. I've gotten used to the routine of my life in the research laboratory, and I know it will be more or less the same for the next two or three years. Nevertheless, I've been affected by the sudden change in the atmosphere around me, and it makes me feel excited.

The two summer residents in our apartment left this weekend, and my roommate who had been living at Brookhaven National Laboratory this summer returned. My new roommate has already settled in. These changes in the apartment atmosphere have certainly affected me, but perhaps what makes me most feel that life is "back to normal" is that I've signed up for a class.

I will be taking an advanced lab class once a week. I'm looking forward to this class, since it's a change from both the theory classes I've taken in the past and my pure research. I also hope to be able to continue my Chinese studies by auditing third-year Chinese class. (Alas, I don't think I can get by trying to take the course for credit any longer, since it doesn't relate to my work at all.)

I can't believe that I'm entering my third year of graduate school. I remember that my first two years of undergraduate life went by very slowly, and by the time my third year rolled around, I was eager to leave. I feel different now. The thought of remaining in school for another few years is daunting, but I don't have the urge to leave. Perhaps because I had a concrete goal during the first two years of my graduate school life — don't get expelled — those years seemed to go by very quickly.

I see my younger colleagues frantically doing their final reviews for the comprehensive exams, which are coming up this week. Looking back, I can recall how unsure I felt then. Just a year ago, I wasn't sure of what I'd be doing after I got my master's degree. I was even considering other career options. Now I'm facing a new year in the BU physics department and, at least right now, I'm enjoying it.

Shukan ST: Sept. 11, 1998

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