Residential Life

I am getting resigned to the heat and humidity here in Boston.  When I leave my dorm, which is a 25-minute walk to Berklee, I expect to be dripping with sweat regardless of whether I walk or take the T.  Even the air-conditioned rooms at Berklee don’t provide total comfort—they tend to heat up when people enter them.  

The Stairwell from the Fourth Floor

Unfortunately, the Fisher College dorms, where I live, are not air-conditioned.  The dorm rooms are in these two lovely 1900’s townhouses close to the public gardens and a short walk from the river.  The rooms are spacious, have private bathrooms, and have big windows.  But there is no air conditioning. 

As I climb the stairs from the first floor, which is hot but cools down at night, to the fourth floor, the temperature rises.  It’s like descending into a volcano by moving going up.  By the time I’ve reached my door, I’m sweaty and either wishing for air-conditioning, a room on the first floor, or a big ice cream cone. 

My roommates and my solutions to this are to keep our three fans running 24/7 and to take numerous cold showers.  I even sleep with my fan right on my bed, so that it can blow the maximum amount of air on me.  Even with the incredible heat, I still once managed to wake up cold!  I don’t quite know how it’s possible. 

The other problematic thing about living at Fisher College is that there is no cooking facility.  There is one fridge and microwave for the whole dorm complex.  This is particularly frustrating for my Italian roommate and me.  We’re both used to cooking and eating nice food.  We’re tired of buying all our food at over priced restaurants. 

Just a couple of days ago I finally discovered a solution.  Microwave food!!  I’ve never bought microwave food before, but now I have a selection of Indian, Chinese, Thai, and Italian instant food.  I also bought some fruit.  Yesterday I was in heaven when I ate two tomatoes and a humus and bread sandwich for lunch. 

Just a word on my roommates—they’re awesome.  One is Italian and she sings jazz (I jammed with her last night until we were kicked out of the ensemble room ‘round midnight).  The other is from Argentina and plays electric guitar.  They’re both really lovely people with whom its fun to hang out.  Before I flew here, I was initially quite worried about spending five weeks with two unknown roommates, but my fears were totally unfounded.  I’m quite lucky, as some others here aren’t totally thrilled with their roomies.