The BBB (Byron at Babson Blog)

Happy Thanksgiving from Hong Kong!

2009-11-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Hong Kong!

Although I am not sure that I will get any turkey, I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving that is full of food, family and friends! I think my American friends and I will try to get together for the company even if we are unable to find some turkey (duck may have to do).

I apologize again for no post in such a long time. With my recent trip to Bangkok as well as the semester coming to an end, it has gotten quite busy for me in the last few weeks. But! I have finished two projects this week and now I have just a paper or two until final exams.

Before I start explaining my trip to Thailand, last night several of my friends from Babson who were studying in Russia and China joined Hong and I for an epic night all over Hong Kong Island. My good friend Connor, Nick and Christina joined a few friends from St. Olaf College (on their study abroad program called Global) and we enjoyed a night at Happy Valley, watching horses race while people’s lives were lost or made. We did a Hong Kong nightlife tour all in a few hours ending at a diner called the Flying Pan. To American standards, perhaps it wasn’t great food. But to me (mind you I haven’t had real American breakfast food since my whole time here), it was a great taste of home. It was a great night with great company.

BUSY!

2009-11-16T04:24:00.000-08:00

It has been extremely busy here in Hong Kong. Several presentations as well as papers and projects. But, I am going to Thailand this Wednesday for 4 days which I am highly looking forward to!

The weather has gotten significantly colder for the last few days, my guess is that its around 45 to 55 degrees. I didn't expect it to get this cold!

This last weekend a case team from Babson flew in to Hong Kong to compete at my school. My friend Hong and I went to go watch and then took the team out on the town afterwards. It was good to see some Babson people (even though I didn't know them) or at least be able to talk about familiar things. Last week, Babson's new president was also in Hong Kong so Hong and I went to go see him. It was full of Babson alumni that seemed to be successful business people in China.

Back to studying!

Halloween!

2009-10-29T01:46:00.001-07:00

So not much has passed since the trip to Beijing. We had a bit of catch up work to get under control so I have basically been studying, reading and refining my resume. A lot of students at HKBU have midterms this last week and the week to come. I have a quiz Monday in Cantonese and a midterm in Consumer Behavior next Wednesday. The tests here are structured differently, my midterm will only be 1 hour long and all multiple choice questions. I'm not sure how to study for it.

I have several projects due. One for marketing, one for philosophy, one for sociology and one for urban development. Actually, for each class I have a paper, presentation and final exam. It shall be a busy next two months considering I am going to Bangkok and trying to get to China one more time and Taiwan as well!

I'll keep posting when I have time!

WHAT A TRIP!

2009-10-23T03:21:00.001-07:00

I apologize that I haven’t posted about Beijing sooner. There is so much and with classes immediately upon arrival in Hong Kong, it has taken a bit to get to this post. Beijing is probably the most amazing urban city I’ve so far encountered! The driving is nuts!

THE SPECS-
What: Trip to Beijing, China from Hong Kong.
Who: Our entourage consisted of five friends who all attend Hong Kong Baptist and one friend who we met in Beijing who is currently studying abroad there.

Hong-Hong is a close friend from Babson. We hang out on a consistent basis back at Babson and here in Hong Kong.
Lindsay-Lindsay is also from Babson. She is a Korean friend. Hong, Lindsay and I hang out with the same people back at Babson.
Vincent-Vincent is a friend that I met here in Hong Kong. He is from Manchester in the UK. He quickly became part of our entourage because the girls love his “foreign” accent.
Robert- Robert is another friend we met here in Hong Kong. He is from Berlin and definitely shows it.
Connor- Connor is one of my best friends at Babson. He is the friend we met in Beijing. He is on a program in which they jump from St. Petersburg to Beijing and then finally Shanghai. He will be joining us for fun in mid November here in Hong Kong.

Where: Beijing consists of six rings surrounding the center of the city. We stayed in the third ring at a hotel call the Orange Hotel.
When: We left Wednesday evening and arrived Wednesday night. We stayed for five nights and left back to Hong Kong Monday morning, arriving in time for classes.

So, because we arrived in Beijing late Wednesday and wanted to do some major touring the next day, we decided it would be best to go to sleep and be well rested for the next day. Connor met us at the airport where he found us a private minivan to take us 50 minutes to our hotel. I quickly realized that no one really spoke good English and if it wasn’t for Connor’s Mandarin speaking ability it would have taken us a lot longer to get to the hotel. Throughout the whole trip, we rarely encountered taxi drivers or people in general who could speak English. We were lucky to have Connor with us.

So the next day after arriving at the Orange Hotel, Connor had to attend some classes so he wrote down (in Chinese) how to get to the Summer Palace. We simply handed the paper to the taxi driver and they took us to the Summer Palace. We decided to try an audio tour and shared it between the five of us. The Palace was built right next to a lake for the Emperor to live in during the summer season. It was gigantic. I have pictures on Facebook but basically, we walked around for five hours and only covered about 40 percent. It was truly amazing. Within this palace, there was a small town built with shops, banks, restaurants, etc, on a small river that connected to the lake. This was to create an illusion for the Royal family to “experience” town life. Picture a couple streets of downtown Hayward, WI within the Palace. The temples and structures themselves were gigantic, much bigger than any palace in Korea. Unlike Korea, the geographical location of this palace was not taken into consideration. They just built it around huge boulders and on small mountain sides. Yes, there was a mountain in the middle of the palace. On the other side of the palace was the lake. Here, you could rent a small electric boat that would go about 5 knots to drive around on the lake. Of course we all split the cost and relaxed for an hour on the lake. After, we continued on to see the museums and theatres that were built for the Emperor’s entertainment…within the palace. Truly amazing.

After the Summer Palace, Connor met us and took us to Silk Street, a huge department store that was all bargaining. You would enter and there would be small shops set up. The tenders would yell at you and tell you the “hot” deals they were offering. They would even grab your arm and drag you to their shop. This wasn’t light pulling either, I saw a little Chinese lady pull a 180 pound white man into her shop. Yes, crazy. The girls were in heaven. We learned from Connor the rules of bargaining. He was quite good at negotiating in Mandarin with everyone, getting us good deals. The tenders would start out with 5 Polo Ralph Lauren shirts for 1500 Yuan, a little more than $200 USD. By the end of the conversation, we were walking away with 5 Polo Ralph Lauren shirts for 150 Yuan, a little more than 20 USD! It was such an experience. While we were in Silk Street, the guys had customized dress shirts made. I got two fitted shirts for about 23 USD. After dinner, Connor took us to a bar street that is comparable to Block E or some places in Uptown. Here, there would be about 15 bars all with performers singing and dancing to empty bars! It was quite strange.

After this whole day, all of us were extremely tired. Also, the weather was a lot colder than we expected. As a side note, I have never seen traffic like Beijing. It was ridiculous! Every so often, there would be a ten lane street intersecting with another ten lane street. The cars followed loose guidance from the traffic lights but pedestrians and bikers just crossed whenever they could fit through! You had anywhere from 100 to 300 people walking or on bikes just trying to cross the street as cars rocket through the intersection. It is amazing that accidents don’t happen every minute.

The next day, we got up and went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The thing about Beijing is that every touristy spot you go, it is going to be ridiculously crowded. You couldn’t really get good pictures because there was literally thousands and thousands of people trying to do the same thing. The square was pretty empty but the Forbidden City was amazing. All the buildings looked the same but the size of the city was unbelievable. It went on and on and on. Most of the rooms were “forbidden” but just looking at the vast size of the city was amazing enough. There was a long pathway that went from outside the city straight through. As tourists, you walk through and get to see each center courtyard. I After the inside of the city, we walked up a mountain to look down at it. Again, I could not comprehend how they could make such a building. I have a video on Facebook looking down on it.

After touring this area, we went back to Silk Street to pick up some of our shirts. Once we got them, because they were so cheap we decided to get some more. We walked around that area a little longer and then went and got Korean barbeque. The Korean food in Beijing was much better than in Hong Kong. After this, we met some more Babson students that were on the same program as Connor. We went to another night life area where we encountered a German dress up party. It was quite interesting…

The next day we went to the Great Wall of China. Connor arranged for a private can to bring us an hour and a half out of Beijing to the wall and to drive us around the next day. The countryside of Beijing is beautiful but the people living out there are quite poor. The Great Wall is without a doubt one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is truly unbelievable that such a wall could be built thousands of years ago. The wall itself is big with so many stairs and towers. But what is more unbelievable is where the wall is built. They didn’t build the wall in between mountains or around them. They built the wall right over the mountain, and we aren’t talking about mountains in North New England either. Actually, we aren’t even talking about the ski-mountains in Colorado. We are talking about impossible mountains. Mountains were the wall follows the top of the peak where the wall is just as wide as the top of the peak and over the fall is a thousand foot drop. It really is something that everyone must see once in their life. We walked for a couple of hours and came to the end of the safe part of the wall. Connor, Robert and I decided to trek on through the un-groomed part. This is where we saw the true Great Wall because there were trees and bushes growing everywhere. It looked like ruins more than the cleaned up part of the great wall. Again, it was really amazing. On the wall up to the wall, we took a chair lift like a ski resort. On the way down was completely different. At this certain part of the Great Wall, they constructed a luge run. We sat on a little seat with four wheels and a brake and then shot down a windy track. You weren’t supposed to go fast but we were four male, young adults so we definitely went fast! Actually, I’m surprised they let the karts go that fast because at some points I thought I was going to fly off the track. It was really fun. I took two videos while we were going down (you weren’t suppose to but oh well) but I deleted the better of the two. I will put the short one up on Facebook anyway.

After the wall, we had a Peking duck dinner. The duck takes an hour to prepare so we actually finished all the other food before the duck came. It was really tasty and very inexpensive for such a plentiful meal. After the meal, Connor, Hong, Robert and I met up with a guy who graduated Babson last year and who is living in Beijing now. We went to a really popular night club and relatively speaking, it was like everything else in Beijing…gigantic! No joke, you could fit about 10-12 American night clubs into this one club. We met a lot of people and had a good night.

The next day we woke up late and took the day at a relaxing pace. It was really, really cold and windy but we trekked on to the Olympic City and went inside the stadium! It was really cool because we were so close to everything we saw on TV. It would be really cool to watch the Olympics in person. Again, there were a lot of people touring that area too. That night, we went to a pizza parlor that was established by an American some years ago. He now has four or five around Beijing and is a millionaire just because of simple pizza! It encouraged a little business scheming…

By this time we were so exhausted that we went back to our hotel and got ready to trek out at three in the morning. To be honest, I felt like a got about 5 percent of Beijing during our trip. I really want to go back but Beijing is a city where you need to spend a few months, not a few days. But it was great! I will upload all the pictures so you can see on Facebook!

Busy Weekend!

2009-10-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

So this weekend was packed full of new and fun things.

First, my friend Robert and I joined several other Europeans and went to Happy Valley, a horse racing club. It was a lot of fun because it was my first time going. You had to pay about $1.50 USD to get in and then you could bet as little as $.13 USD on a race. I bet 10 to 30 HKD which is like 3 USD. There was a total of five races and I won two of them! But I think I lost about $5 USD. It was really fun and it was more for the experience than the actual gambling.

Then we went to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha. There are pictures on facebook but basically we took a gandola up the mountain and the floor was glass so you could look down. The scenery was beautiful and the buddha was really big. We walked around and there were several little temples off to the sides. It wasn't the peak but there was like a small village that had a bunch of little shops and stuff to walk into and whatnot. We also saw a wild pack of dogs and found a good area to hike.

Also, my friend Assean's brother was here from Scotland. We had a great time showing him some fun places to go to around HK. Now I can visit Scotland and have a place to stay!

Okay post finally!

2009-10-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I finally found some time to post again! This might be a long update so I'm not sure if I will include everything.

This last weekend was quite full of events. Last Thursday was National day so everyone had school and work off that day. We decided to celebrate by going to this area of HK called LanGwai where a lot of bars and clubs are. Edmond, my first local friend here in HK, met us and brought a bunch of his friends to celebrate with us. The streets were crowded at LanGwai but it was a lot of fun. We met a lot of local students.

Thursday, HK put on a gigantic firework display that lasted 23 minutes. It doesn't seem like a long time but imagine a regular firework display in the States x four. They launched all the fireworks from four different boats in the harbour. Basically, it was the same display multiplied by four so it appeared sync-ed and uniform. At the end, they had fireworks that burst into Chinese characters (which is a lot more complex than English letters mind you). They shut down a main strip of streets at Tsim Sha Tsui and it was completely packed. I don't think I've ever seen so many people in one place, perhaps it was because I was in the midst of it. We were so tired after the fireworks we decided to go back to our dorms and play some games.

Friday night, we decided to go to my friends' favorite club with my roommate and one of his friends. At about 230 or 3 in the morning, everyone comes out of the bars and clubs and just hang out in street. It turns into a big street party. There, we met several other foreigners, one teaching English in HK. Our night progressed when Bosco, my roommate, took us to this secret place were several of us just hung out and chatted till we met up with the girls again.

Saturday was the Moon festival. Bosco explained that it was like America's Thanksgiving. Family would get together for dinner and then you hang out with your friends afterwards. Late at night, we lite candles and lanterns at a near by park and ate mooncakes and just hung out for several hours. The moon was super bright and there were a lot of other groups carrying around lanterns and enjoying the festival as well. It was really fun.

Last night, I went and practiced with the TKD club here at HKBU. Although it was quite different from anything at home, everyone was very intrigued about me being "Korean" and knowing TaeKwonDo. The instructor is very friendly and wanted to make sure I learned from him, but also he learning from me. I already met a lot of people just from the club and my friend Vincent, who has never trained before, decided to start this Thursday too. I think it will be something good to get into again.

Other than that, classes are really good and I keep finding interesting and "neat" things about Asia. Such as my highlighter pen that has a plastic window pane and highlighter material around it. This enables the user to see what they are highlighting and enables them to stop before highlighting too much.

Pretty nifty.

New post!

2009-10-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

Dang. I wanted to post tonight but Taekwondo got out really late! I'll post tomorrow!

Macau...

2009-09-27T06:45:00.000-07:00

So Macau was definitely a lot different than I expected. Hong Kong, the people are nice, friendly and helpful (especially if you are foreign). It wasn't that people in Macau weren't friendly, it was that you could tell you weren't in Hong Kong and that you were in a tourist area. There was a completely different vibe in Macau than Hong Kong.

So we arrived at the port in Macau and we were not expecting a full out customs. Because people go back and forth so often, we thought it would be a watered down version. Nope, full out customs. So, because our friend Vincent is staying in HK for two semesters, he is considered a HK resident and had to wait in a long line. I had to go to the bathroom and this is when we discovered the first complication. Our HK phones don't work in Macau, resulting in me having no idea when my friends were going to come out because I couldn't go back in.

Eventually we all met together and made our way outside. It was extremely hot and we were running late to our tour. Macau is split into two islands, one being where our hotel was and the other where the tour launched from. By the time we got there, we had fifteen minutes to buy the tickets. We didn't eat yet and because it was so hot we decided to skip the four hour tour. In retrospect, it would have been fun because trying to sight see when you don't know where anything is in Macau is hard.

However, we did get to see Japan's display of fireworks (which I'll post on Facebook) for the firework competition. All the casino's neon lights were quite spectacular as well. We stayed at the Beverly Hotel, gambled in the MGM Grand, Wynn and the Venetian. The Venetian was the best place for a resort, but the Grand was the best place to gamble. NOTE: Casinos in Macau have different blackjack rules. Perhaps the reason why I lost...wahhhh.

Anyway, it was a great weekend and it was nice sleeping in a soft bed. Hopefully, I can go back to take in more of the sightseeing and culture instead of the foreign casinos! I'll post pictures on Facebook!

"Ninety Boeing 747's can fit into the Venetian at Macau."

2009-09-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

So a group of seven of us are off to Macau this weekend. We are leaving at 10 tomorrow morning and are arriving at 1200 by ferry. We will go on a tour put on by the Venetian and then exploring the rest of the night. I think I will be able to blog more after the weekend? :)

Magic club, Temple Street, Koreans and the Peak

2009-09-20T00:53:00.000-07:00

So I had a pretty packed and fun weekend. Of course, my weekend is longer than just your Friday night, Saturday afternoon and night and Sunday afternoon. My weekend starts Wednesday night and lasts till Sunday night because my first class isn't till 230 pm Monday.

Anyway, to start things off, my friend Hong really wanted to join the magic club but of course not by herself. Hong and I have two classes together and we were checking out the club booths after class Wednesday and that's when she slyly tricked me into joining the magic club with her Hong-ish ways. Oh well, hopefully I can learn some cool tricks.

Then we had a get together in my room, finding my friend Vincent some new clothes and eating regular food at the Canteen. But then starting Friday afternoon, things got pretty fun. We wanted to go find jade necklaces and figured we would check out a town called Jordan. Here we found Temple Street and finally found what we imagined Hong Kong to be. Tens of tables set out right in the middle of the street with fresh sea food being run across streets to different tables. We sat at the intersecting looking on while waiters brought seafood from one corner, drinks from another and everything pan cooked from another. There were bright neon lights making arches over us and several people practically forcing advertisements into your hand. After we ate, we walked down a market that reminded me of Itaewon or Namdaemoon five years ago. Tight, private shops set up with anything you wanted to buy. It was a great night.

Saturday, Lindsay's Aunt and her boyfriend flew from Indonesia and Seoul to drop off some luggage to Lindsay. I joined them for dinner and drinks that night. We had a great meal and one of my favorite Dim Sum places in Hong Kong and then proceeded to have drinks on top of the IFC building in Hong Kong Island over looking the harbour. Koreans are quite the drinkers I must say. But, the next day we met them at their hotel and took a taxi to Victoria Peak for lunch. It was a lot fun.

Other news. I am probably going to join the TaeKwonDo club over here and see whats it like. I will report about that some other time.

Typhoon Warning Level 8 Hoisted!

2009-09-14T03:09:00.000-07:00

So my second lecture class was cut short because today at 6pm they hoisted a level 8 typhoon warning. Sounds intense right? Although level 10 is the highest, my roommate says that people go to the beaches and surf when the typhoons come. But as much fun as that sounds, I think I'll stay indoors for this one. I AM however going to take a picture of the level 8 warning sign and use it as my profile picture!

Visa to China.

2009-09-10T02:11:00.000-07:00

Today, my friends Kenneth and Robert joined me to go figure out visas to mainland China. It took forever to find the stupid place and once we got there it took about 3 minutes. We are planning on going to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen if we have time. We hear that custom made suits are cheaper in the mainland.

After that, we stopped at a "wet market" to buy some fruit. It was quite the market. I mean, Chinatown New York you see a lot of stuff like fresh fish, pig head and other weird animals. But this market was crazy. You saw butchers take apart a whole pig and you would see bones everywhere in buckets. Kinda crazy. But the fruit is fresh and my friends like to buy to keep in their rooms. I finally know what a dragon fruit looks like. It is quite interesting actually.

Other than that, there is a typhoon warning level 3 hoisted right now. This morning it was level one but now it has started to rain. I'll just stay in the dorms for tonight.

Relaxing Saturday night...

2009-09-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

My friends and I just finished playing Monopoly (The Hong Kong Edition, naturally). It was a lot of fun.

Yesterday, my friends and I tried out Korean BBQ in Hong Kong. It was pretty good and a good amount cheaper than in Boston. After that, Bosco (my roommate), his developing girlfriend, my friend Vincent went to Big Wave Bay beach in the afternoon. It was extremely hot and the water was really dirty. But no one seemed to mind. There, I noticed the variety of Hong Kong people. There is no consistency among Hong Kongers like there is with Koreans.

After, we returned to our campus, ate dinner and then went to a night club we went to last week. It was interesting because during the night there was a random police raid. About 30-35 officers came in, blocked the doors and checked everyone's ID. Although everyone was laughing and taking it lightly, the club workers were very serious. Hong Kong is very orderly and efficient. I like it.

We are finally settling in. Most of my friends and I are ready to start classes. The first two weeks was like a vacation. Being somewhere new, engaging in the culture, SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY. But now we are ready to slow things down and start classes. We find ourselves with nothing to do during the weekends (hence why we resorted to Monopoly). But its a good thing.

Because of my confusing course situation, I am going to try to find tutors for learning Cantonese and Mandarin.

Hope all is well. My email is byron.nilsson@gmail.com if any of you would like to get in touch!

Lights Show!

2009-09-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my friends Hong, Lindsay, Vicent and I went to Victoria's Harbour to watch the lights show. Although it lasted only fifteen minutes, it was pretty cool and creative. There was green lasers on some roofs, and spotlights on others. Then some buildings have their lines outlined with bright neon colors and they flash to the beat of music. There was a nice breeze which was a nice break from the humidity here.

Today was my first day of classes, and although I have only had one, it seems like its going to be fun. My teacher, a foreigner, has been teaching here at HKBU for about 20 years. He is tall, long white beard and WHITE. However, the first words out of his mouth was fluent Cantonese. Then he proceeded to say the exact same thing in English and to top it off, mandarin for the mainland students. For the next 50 mintues, he would say everything in all three languages. Quite interesting.

Later, my friends and I met one of our local friends from Babson and had dinner. We are planning to do some touristy visits this weekend.

Other than that, my roommate Bosco is kind enough to let me borrow his computer throughout the day because my internet is still not fixed. No classes tommorrow so we are going to the Island to shop around!

A few day update!

2009-08-30T00:24:00.000-07:00

So I have been here about a week and haven't started classes yet. My friends have just been getting aqquainted with the city and whatnot. There is a huge shopping area called Mong Kok, more busier than Korea. Its absolutely nuts. And then there is a district called Central where a lot of the night life occurs. The train is pretty simple to get around and the whole city uses Octopus cards. Basically you fill it up and you can use it anywhere except for taxis. Whether its at the super market or train station, you place it against the reader and bam, you're on your way. Hong Kong is convenient like that.

Which brings me to another cool Hong Kong finding. I'm sure there are a lot of places that have this in this day and age but believe it or not, its the first time I saw it myself. In one of HKBU's education buildings there are escalators. My friends and I stumbled across one that we thought was broken down. There were not caution tape so we just thought it was turned off. We proceeded to walk up the escalator and before I knew it I was relying on my ninja skills to catch and re-orient myself. The escalator was motion censor so it didn't waste energy running when no one was using it. Another cool little thing that made me laugh to myself.

Other than that, I have been eating a lot of Dim Sum and I think i am going to gain weight. All the food is so good but so greasy as well. Speaking of which, I am going to go exercise right now! Bye!

Internet Finally!

2009-08-26T01:59:00.000-07:00

So today was the first day of orientation for the exchange students. There are 207 students from 28 different countries. Again, it is quite a group and I am meeting a lot of people from all over, including Sweden and Norway, Berlin and the UK.

Lindsay, Kylie, Hong and I all met our Hong Kong friend Soo Jin last night for dinner. We all brought our international friends we've met so far and we went to a popular low priced place. It was a great time.

Now that I have internet in my room, I will be making more regular posts! I'll update again soon!

August 24, 2009 12:37 AM

2009-08-26T01:58:00.000-07:00

After my flight from Chicago to Hong Kong was delayed four hours, I managed to get aboard, sleep for 12 hours and finish the flight by watching NCIS and listening to music. One of the flight attendants, Omar from Thailand but currently living in Hong Kong, kept sneaking me candy and asking me questions about where I was from and what am I doing in Hong Kong. I arrived in Hong Kong around 8:15 got my bags and found the HKBU ambassadors.

While I was waiting for my bags, I noticed some pretty cools things about the Hong Kong airport. One in particular made me laugh to myself. I was sitting down waiting for my bags at the carousel and as it went round and round, I noticed that the bags were clumped together in groups of three or four. Also, they were standing upright on their skinny end. There was no way the luggage could come off the conveyer belt and land perfectly sideways like this. Then I realized that the airport had workers constantly at the carousels grouping the luggage together and sideways. Not only did they put them sideways, but they arranged the bags with the biggest and most convenient handle upwards to make it easier for the passenger to grab his or her bag. Awesome right? That’s not all. Still, why were they clumping them together? That question was answered shortly after. While waiting for my luggage, I like to look at the area where they emerge from the depths so I can jump up, run to a clear spot and grab them. Here is where I noticed that sometimes the bags would stop and run into each other before falling onto the belt that carried them around and around. At first, I thought the bags were just getting jammed, but I soon realized that there was a laser camera a few feet from the bag drop (where the bag emerges from below and drops onto the belt). The baggage carousel would read when a clump of baggage was coming and would block new luggage from dropping down and hitting the clumps. As soon as a clump would leave, the blocked luggage would fall down and avoid hitting any of the baggage. HOW COOL IS THAT? Why don’t we have anything like that?!

Anyways, I got to my dorm where I ran into Lindsay, my friend from Babson who is also studying here. One of the ambassadors was kind enough to take me to my room and show me some of the ropes of living here. He lived here last year before studying abroad in Berlin. I found out that the air conditioning works like a vending machine. You fill up an amount on your card and pay for it as you use it. So, I paid five bucks for who knows how long of air conditioning…

A couple weeks before take off!

2009-08-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

So, I think I will avoid catching up and just start anew from here on. In less than two weeks I will be departing from Minnesota, stopping in Chicago and then heading to Hong Kong for the semester! I will be there from August 24th to late December studying at Hong Kong Baptist University. I am very excited and hopefully I will do a better job keeping this blog up to date!

Finger, Wallet and Work

2008-09-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

So a few things have happened since the last check in...

The injury i suffered a few days before departing Minnesota (the volleyball incident) has officially been taken care of after a visit to Newton's Hand specialtist. After three weeks of swollen knuck and inability to bend my pinky finger (by the way, out here they definitely do not call it the "pinky" finger) i decided to go to the school doctor and get it checked out. Within one minute, without xrays, the nurse informs me that my finger is probably fractured and the swollenness will not go away on its own and that i would probably have to have surgery (not lying, i think i still have the referral). Upon hearing that, i freak out mildly. After many phones between Mom back home i finally get myself to this hand specialtist. After filling out paperwork and getting a quick xray, within one minute of walking in, the Doctor says, "oh, this will go away on its own. Its not fractured or anything." He then sent me on my way with some therapy putty and some simple bandages.

Last Thursday, we had Freshman initiation for the Korean Society. After a huge dinner all the koreans proceed to go outside to smoke their cigarettes (because almost all koreans do). I decide that its a good time to call Mira and walk across the street from where everyone is standing to call. I lean against a fence with my back to the street talking to Mira. I suddenly see a shadow and hear footsteps and i think its probably just some of the koreans coming over to bug me. Then, they take my wallet! I turn around to see two guys running down the street. I get off the phone and walk towards my friends to tell them what happened. But then the two guys coming running past me, literally ten feet away. So before reaching my friends, i take off after them. A couple koreans saw me start running so they followed. I immediately caught the first guy and right before grabbing him, he turns and throws my wallet back at me. While he is still running away, i pick it up, check for everything (nothing is taken) and look up. Their pants are so far down their butts they didnt run more than 30 feet away. So i start running after them again. A second time, i catch up to one of them and well...if you wanna hear the rest of the story ill tell it to you through an email or phone call. Its a cliff hanger.

And finally, i have just been working in the library and working on homework. I hope all is well! Email me if you get a chance!

All settled!

2008-09-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Well today i had my first classes and i am all settled in to my room with my roommates. I start work tonight at the library and i get to train Yuuki in because he is starting to work at the library too. My classes so far (I have had only two) seem like they are going to be interesting but more importantly beneficial and helpful. Other than that, we havent encountered freshmen yet, but so far life as an upperclassmen is much better. Stay tuned!

Byron

byron.nilsson@gmail.com

Oh man.

2008-04-25T10:07:00.001-07:00

So the lack of posts have been due to the fact that I have been crazy busy with everything. The last three weeks have been a blur and now i find myself with two big papers, a medium paper, a ten minute speech and a final presentation for FME thats an hour long. On top of that, work plus intramural sports and Korean soccer have left me little time to write on the blog. My roommate and a few friends have been grilling for dinner and last weekend we had a Korean barbecue at a nearby park. This weekend, besides the papers and presentations, i have a all day Korean soccer tournament Saturday. Other than that, classes end for me Wednesday and then i have four finals and thats all for freshman year! Kinda crazy that its already over.

Terrible Hectic Stressful Sunday Night

2008-04-06T12:01:00.001-07:00

Oh man. So you know how that nice and relaxing Friday night was sooo nice? Well Tonight is going to be crazy! I have a FME meeting right now and then i work from 6-1030. I already started to study for my math midterm tomorrow but i have a ten page paper due tomorrow! Ahhhh! But last night i watched the beauty and the beast put on by Babson and i decided to do the musical next year. Ill keep posting.

Relaxing Friday night.

2008-04-04T18:22:00.000-07:00

Friday night and I'm just watching the Soxes game and taking it easy because tomorrow and Sunday I have a 10 page paper to write for Rhetoric. Nothing too exciting over here. I had my first Flag football game Wednesday, which we got beat terribly and i had my first softball game thursday which we got beat badly. However, both were very fun and i look forward to playing more. Well thats about it. This last paper is the last major obstacle of the semester.

...Whoops...

2008-03-30T09:53:00.001-07:00

Sooooo its been over a month now since i have posted. I do apologize but i have good reason...kinda. The three weeks before my spring break were absolutely crazy. I can honestly say that i didnt even procrastinate and i still had to stay up till three in the morning every night of the last two weeks. I had presentations, speeches, papers and tests all due on same days. So this made it really hard to post and even if i did, it would be the same thing over and over, "I'm screwed, I'm screwed, I have no life." But, I made it pass that mile-marker and got back to Minnesota for a nice 10 days of nothing...kinda.

Because Mom was still in Mexico when I got home, i decided it would be an ideal time to jet down to St. Olaf to see Mira. While i was down there i got to see Cam, Kumar some other high school buddies and yes, Natalie. As funny as it is, it always seemed that Mira and I would run into her EVERYWHERE we went. At first it was a good laugh after the encounter but after it happened for the fifth time we were getting tired of it. Anyway, it didnt annoy us too much and i still had a good time at St. Olaf. Mira went off to Mississippi for her Spring Break to help with Hurricane Katrina. Other news while i was home, i met with two people for two different internships and it turns out that i will be in Minnesota for the summer working for Merrill Lynch in Minneapolis and Bloomington. So thats quite exciting. Other than that, I got some good meals in with the family, played some Ping Pong at the Blisses and caught up on some sleep.

Upon return to Babson, Boston, i was immediately hit with another ridiculous week. An Annotated Bibliography within one week! And ontop of that, an Accounting Midterm friday. Well, i managed to get passed both of those only to realize that i have a long research paper due in a week as well. Oh well, i guess this is college. My Rhetoric Professor made a slogan for Babson, "Babson, It ain't no limbo," because it raised the bar haha. He uses it in class a lot when he assigns something hard. Anyway, other than that, Friday i played in a Ping Pong tournament which i lost in the semifinals but it was still fun to play. Saturday i had a soccer game which my team won, but i need to start practicing a lot more and now its sunday, i have intramural softball and work along with homework. And thats about it.

Sorry about not posting sooner but i will try to be better about it. Take care everybody!

Oh vey...

2008-02-25T19:48:00.000-08:00

So its been pretty busy over here so i apologize for not posting more often. I had my first Accounting midterm last friday and wednesday i have my Statistic midterm and friday i have a FME midterm. On top of that i have a paper for rhetoric and a paper for Arts and Humanity both due next week. The business is always around, i cannot escape phone calls and emails from group members with questions.

At the same time, I am trying to start a website business called One Pix Wonder and right now we are in the legal process meeting with a Business Law professor. On the other hand, a group of five or six of us are in the middle of starting a business plan. I will keep updates coming but its crazy to try to figure it all this stuff out while dealing with studying and work.

So ill be home on March 13th, so if anything is going let me know whats going on and hopefully i can see everybody! Make sure to let me know whats going on back in Minnesota!

Babson's Smartest CEO

2008-02-20T09:37:00.001-08:00

Hey guys,

Go to youtube.com and check out "Babson's Smartest CEO."

Radio Show

2008-02-19T07:52:00.000-08:00

If you want to listen to the radio show go to http://radio.babson.edu/index.php then click listen now! 5-6 pm Tuesdays eastern time!

Quick Trip to New York City

2008-02-17T08:55:00.000-08:00

Last night i got in from NYC, a quick trip to see my parents, cousins and aunt. After the grossly long 8 hour car ride there, we shared some good conversations, a nice stroll in Central Park, a good look at the MET and some entrepreneurial ideas.

My Intramural basketball team is doing alright, even though we should have won both games so far, its really fun to play some basketball once and a while. Also, the Korean guys on campus get together once a week and play soccer and basketball together as well.

I am doing a radio show now with two of my good friends. Its every Tuesday from 5-6pm. Ill find the hyperlink so if anyone wants to check it out you can.

My FME business is being featured in a local magazine which is pretty exciting. Although we dont have all our inventory you can check out our website. WWW.Finders-keypers.com

Also, i am in the process of starting a new website. Its the unofficial school website for students to post what they feel like. Ill let you know when it goes up.

Hope all is well!

Happy (Lunar) New Year!

2008-02-08T10:09:00.001-08:00

Last night my buddies and I made a trip into Chinatown in Boston to celebrate the New Year. What started as a group of 6 or 7 turned into a group of 20 students from Babson. After we ate like Kings at a restaurant we all proceeded to walk through the streets to stumble across a Karoke lounge. The twelve of us fit into the VIP room and sang until most of us didnt have voices left. Also, i think we have 75% of the Asian countries represented as well.

So I successfully got Mira to the airport and off to Minnesota again. I think she had a good time in Boston, we got to do quite a bit in the few days she was here, including a concert of which my Aunt played in. Tour of Quincy Market and Boston Harbor as well as all the Korean restaurants and Asian food places near Babson.

Tonight is Babson's President's Ball which I and several friends will be going to. It has snowed the last few days and i think i caught a runny nose even though i have been sleeping a lot. I've been playing soccer and basketball on a regular basis and been exercising quite a bit. My classes are good, professors are enthusiastic but so far nothing too over the top. I've learned how to delegate and to choose when i need to do it myself or when i can pass it off when it comes to my business so that makes FME a lot more managable and less stressful.

Till next time!

A silent day...

2008-02-04T11:38:00.000-08:00

So its been pretty quiet around campus, good for studying but bad for interaction. In todays classes everyone kept quiet except for the Giants fans from New York. Its ok though, i prefer baseball anyways Hahaha. Actually the Patriots deserved to lose that game because they played like crap. Haha plus its not like the knicks are going to beat the celtics anytime soon.

Business is staying the same. Still pressing for a product but there some business plan changes that might be heading in a better direction than before.

My basketball intramural starts tomorrow which my roommate Johnny and some other guys from my floor are all on a team. Also, the Koreans are getting an indoor soccer team together to play in the soccer intramural. So i guess i can try to keep in shape as much as possible.

I showed Mira the town this last weekend and she experienced the hardcore fans of the patriots. She also got to get some real clam chowda. I think she is enjoying the warmer weather as well.

Im going to try to get to New York over Presidents day weekend but im not sure if its going to happen. Other than that there isnt much going on here other than some studying. Hows Minnesota?

Ug...

2008-01-30T18:07:00.000-08:00

So you know how when people were asking me "are you ready to go back to school yet?" and i was like "yea but i bet when i get back there ill just want to go home again," well that completely the case now. After a few days of the over-gorging of the, im assuming, unnutritional food and hours and hours of business crap...im ready to go back to chill Minnesota...actually, only if its warm as here.

Besides the weather, i miss everything back in Minnesota once again. I have been getting to the gym a couple of times so hopefully i wont be too out of shape like last time. I think i will be attending a couple of my aunts concerts this spring which i am looking forward to!

FME business is quite stressful. We have had some problems with our supplier because of the Lunar New Year so we came up with a follow-up product that we are going to sell before our original product and we had to do market research in two days when before we had a month and its all just nuts. Sounds like fun eh? Besides that i have a friend coming to visit me and i might be going to New York over presidents day weekend. Other than that, just school and the library.

I hope all is well back home, make sure to email me as much as possible!

Back at Babson in Boston

2008-01-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

Well i arrived back at campus around three oclock today. The weather is great! Its like 35 to 40 degrees which is so much nicer that back in Minnesota. That -5 high is something i will not miss. It is good to be back in my room, im ready to take on the second semester. I already saw a bunch of my friends and actually one of my best friend is moving into the room next door so its going to be a lot of fun!

Yet, i will miss everyone back home. It was really great to see everyone and to spend the time i was able to with ya'll. This past break was a nice reminder of my Minnesotan pride (which consists of being able to say, "12 degrees? Man its getting warm!").

Tomorrow i jump right in and start my courses. This semester i will be taking Accounting, Rhetoric B, Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship, Probability and Stats as well as a Arts and Humanity class, however, the real test will be the implement of my business. I will try to keep everything up to date with whats going on!

If anything exciting happens back home or wherever make sure to let me know! Ill post again soon! Take care!

So Sorry!

2007-12-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

So i realized that i havent written for quite some time now and i just wanted to say that these last few weeks have been kinda crazy with final papers, presentations and tests. But, its two days before i come home and i am definitely ready. I have one more test on friday and then ill be home saturday afternoon. Here is a list of what i am ready for:

1. Food other than cafeteria food
2. Exercise (Taekwondo and X country skiing)
3. Hard core canasta and shanghai
4. Quite winter days at the cabin (as well as some loud crazy and intense paintball days at the cabin)
5. Good ol' boot hockey at the Bogers
6. Familiarity of Minnesota
7. Driving
8. Casino!
9. Friends and Family during the holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See ya'll soon. ^^

Another Monday...

2007-11-26T10:12:00.000-08:00

So classes resumed today and i almost slept through my first class. Good thing for roommates. Its pretty gloomy today, a little rain and no sun. A bit chilly but not cold. I cant wait for snow...

So 19 more days, 7 more class days, 16 more classes, 3 more finals, 2 more speeches, a few more papers before i come home. Ill be home in no time.

Things so far:

1. Video games will be the downfall of college kids.
2. Procrastination is the devil himself.
3. Instant noodles saves lives.

Gotta do some work!

Back in Boston and Babson

2007-11-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

Wednesday i got back to Babson around 7 oclock and after unpacking and doing wash i went to bed. The bus ride was uneventful and i slept the whole way basically.

For Thanksgiving, my friend Lindsay and I went to my aunt Kristina's house for dinner. Althought there was only nine guests, it was good to eat a home cooked meal after all the food in china town and also the cafeteria food at Babson. It was good to talk with the whole gang at the Rhodes/Nilssons. After we played some games and stuffed ourselves with pie, i was quite exhausted. We got back to Babson and i gave Hillary and Rob a quick tour of my room and soon after they left i quickly went to bed not to wake up till 1:30 the next day.

The campus is still dead. Other than Lindsay, i have had interaction with one other person. Tonight i might go into Boston with Hillary but other than that ill just be doing homewok.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Ill be back in three weeks!

The Dearth

2007-11-18T15:13:00.000-08:00

I use "dearth" because hanging out with Rob you realize that he makes a lot of jokes. I was trying to get at that.

A Day in New York.

2007-11-17T22:55:00.000-08:00

So today i woke up around 12 oclock and after the rest of the crew (Basically just Rob because Hillary was already up)we decided to take an easy afternoon in Chelsea to visit the art galleries. They were very interesting and after we stopped at a Market consisting of New York pizza, real italian food and a bakery opened by a St Olaf grad. After returning to the apartment, we traveled to Ktown to eat with my friend Lindsay and one of her friends. After dinner Hillary and Rob went to a band showing and I followed Lindsay and her friend back to NYU. From here i met up with Hillary and Rob again to get some dessert however we came up unsuccessful. Rob continued to prove himself as he fearlessly confronted rudely behaving passerbys. I am thoroughly impressed. Im back at the apartment after an exhausting day and ready for another day in New York...

So sorry!

2007-11-16T22:11:00.000-08:00

So i realize that its been almost two weeks since the last post. It has been really busy at Babson because i had two weeks in which Professors were trying to catch their classes up and plus they wanted to get in exams and papers before Thanksgiving. But now i should be back on track!

The last two weeks have been a blur and i cant remember exactly what happened. I know that my work as the CEO of my business has kind of been crazy but at the same time really fun. I have really good SVPs and VPs so it makes my job easier. Recently, i had the first meeting for all the CEOs and all of a sudden the whole project became more offical. The school really hands over the responsibility and power to the students. The next step of the business is the 40 page business plan and the Request for Funding Presentation. Its going to be challenging because the business plan is around 40 pages. Overall, this class is definitely teaching me how to start a business from a basic concept.

For about two months now, My friend Yuuki and i have been trying to get a business off the ground. We have been jumping from idea to idea and might have possibly found one. His dad is an entrepreneur over in Japan and we might collaborate. But thats just a sidenote and ill keep the progress reports coming when there is news to be known.

I'm actually in New York right now with my cousin Hillary and her boyfriend Rob. Although its just me staying with them, Yuuki is with his girlfriend in a hotel a few blocks away and my good friend Lindsay is at New York University with her friend. The fourth partner in crime, Arthur, is joining us tomorrow. Its been two years since ive been to New York so im happy to have a break from classes and a different atmosphere.

More specifically to the Nilssons: Rob is approved by me. He is really friendly and didnt hesitate to crack jokes or poke fun. He seems like he has a good head on his shoulders and it sounds like he is chasing his passion for a career. Im impressed with his dearth of knowledge about not only websites but entrepreneurship in general. Tonight, we watched a movie and tomorrow we plan to meet with Yuuki and Lindsay and have dinner in Korea Town.

So here is the future schedule. I head back to Boston Wednesday to have Thanksgiving Dinner at Aunt Kristina's. I return to classes the following Monday. From there, i have only a week and a half to two weeks (its always weird cause i have a monday through thursday week) and then one week of finals and thats it for the first semester. I come home December 15th and cant wait to see everyone! Other than the people and family though, here are the top five things i miss the most:

1. Caribou Coffee. Even though im not a coffee person, Starbucks sucks and so does Dunkin Donuts.
2. The Rosedale Mall. I dont know what it is but i miss the Rosedale mall.
3. Driving. Although my dad sold my car i really want to drive!
4. Sparring. I need to kick Dan really hard, really soon.
5. Minnesota everything!

Other than my new taste in country music nothing else is new. I promise ill post consistantly from now till break. Hope all is well! I miss everyone and make sure to write me some emails!

Here we go again.

2007-11-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

I got a nice little break between papers and presentations to just relax, sleep and have some fun this last weekend. I thought of it as a "reward" for some "good work done." But as usual, the week seems like it will never end and its only Monday! Oh well.

So this last weekend i saw the movie American Gangster with Denzel Washington. It was a very good movie but as i sat in the theatre before the movie started an ad for St Olaf's Christmas Music Program popped up! I thought that was pretty cool so i turned and told all my friends. I think they laughed at me but i still thought it was pretty cool.

Im pretty happy with our SGA (Student Government Association) here on campus. Their recent "gift" to the student body was four fully loaded Apple computers for any students use which i am currently using. Babson takes care of their students.

TKD people, good luck with the tournament this weekend! Everyone will do great i know it. Hope to hear from you all soon!

Some light through the clouds.

2007-10-30T12:05:00.001-07:00

So today for my Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship class we had our final presentations for business selection. Three other members of my team and I presented the feasibility of our business and my group (selling key locaters) as well as my friend Yuuki's business of cell phone mirrors were chosen. So out of 19 ideas, my original idea was picked! Which is exciting stuff because the census so far is for me to be the CEO of the group. All this is great but more importantly I feel like i am learning a lot and i am meeting a lot of new friends and having fun at the same time.

Also today, i got back my first rhetoric paper. This is probably my hardest class with the most intense teacher ive ever had. We are learning a completely new way of writing so he told us this paper was going to be a disaster. Before handing them back, we all wrote what we thought we would get on the paper. I wrote a 79 which was a little higher than the average because i put a good 30 hours into a four and one line page paper. The majority of people put down 75-82. I actually ended up getting a 90 out of 100 to my complete suprise which, not to brag, was the highest score in the class. WHOO HOO. Although this is a good score, im more happy with the fact that i think im getting smarter. Im pretty happy with the results of today.

So Mom and Dad, i think you are getting your moneys worth by sending me here. Good Day yall.

Monday Monday...

2007-10-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

So although the soccer team didnt do so hot in the tournament, we all had a lot of fun and i've thoroughly been introduced to almost all the koreans on campus. Although its hard not knowing Korean, a lot of them have made it their goal to teach me.

Despite the soccer playing, i am definitely out of shape. Because i only play soccer once a week and its hard with group meetings during the week, i havent been exercising as much as i should. And to make it worst, in one of the games saturday, i got a hard knee to the thigh, resulting in me wobbling around campus. After my leg is better i am planning on hitting the gym.

I am quickly finding that not only being good at time management is vital, more importantly the flexibility of time management is even more important. If you cant easily and quickly rearrange your time in an organized fashion then you are in big trouble here. Besides that, ive been able to sneak a couple Swedish sessions in here and there.

The final rocket pitch for my FME class is tomorrow. Although its the most important one, my group has someone slipped behind schedule and we are facing some problems. Out of the five teams, our group is suppose to win with ease so there is a lot of work to be done. Not to brag or anything but i was voted ceo for my group which even though is a lot of work, its exciting.

Anyways, i hope everything back home is going well! Write me emails when anyone can!

Uff tah...

2007-10-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

After a nice visit from mom and dad, ive jumped right back into the swing of things. A lot of work to do this week but looking forward to this weekend. Friday, the Asia organization is going into Chinatown and then my friends and i are going to watch American Gangster afterwards. Saturday, the Korean soccer team has a tournament as well as the Halloween party held by the school Saturday night. And to top it all off, my friend from Texas is flying up to visit! Whaaa!

Is it starting to get cold in Minnesota/Wisconsin? Hope all is well!

The air.

2007-10-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

So perhaps the weather temperature is the same here but the air is definitely different. I think its more dry. Just one more thing i miss about home, not waking up with a sore throat in the morning haha.

Parent's weekend coming up so ill be seeing my parents and my brother. Hmm other than that, i just always have papers and exams. Hope all is well back home!

Week by week

2007-10-12T11:09:00.001-07:00

So another week is over and it was none stop stressful thing after stressful thing. But its all over now and i have a little time to relax and recharger by rereading a book for a paper for Tuesday.

FYI, a rocket pitch is basically a presentation to a board to "sell" a product (for our Business class). We get all dressed up and act really professional. The first round, my class of about 60 students was split into 19 groups of 3. From here, we each choose a "business opportunity" and sell it to the board and class. Everyone votes and after the class votes on each presentation. For the first round, my group was first. After adding additional members (people whose idea was not selected) we work towards the next step in the entrepreneurial process. This was market research so after we conducted focus groups we had another presentation. For this round, my group of seven came in second. My team received additional members and the next pitch is in a couple of weeks. SO thats the background of a rocket pitch.

Wahhhh!

2007-10-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

Wow so i lied big time. That "not much going on this week" turned into "crap i have so much to do this week." However i completed my math midterm and i am very confident that i did well. My next rocket pitch is tomorrow and i also have a presentation on Africa, a paper rewrite, a spanish presentation and an essay to read. So much for a chill short week.

EMAIL ME!

Colombus Day!

2007-10-08T10:10:00.001-07:00

So i dont have classes today due to Colombus day. Im discovering a bunch of new holidays that didnt reach the midwest hahaha but im not complaining. It was a nice weekend. I got a little RandR after a stressful two weeks. I ended up seeing a couple of movies and going into Boston's ChiTown. Anyways, not much going on this week. I have a math midterm and thats about it! Hope to hear from ya'll soon!

Whew

2007-10-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

So i just had my first big midterm and it was difficult but its over! It definitely was a learning experience and now i have some good stragedies for the next one. Other than that, nothing much is new. Its Colombus Day this monday so its an extra long weekend. Everyone around seems like they are heading home. So my friends and I are having a "if you live more than three states away/three countries away" get together! After my test today, it was the first time i could actually relax and just sit in at least two weeks. Its nice to have time just to think once and a while.

How did the tournament go? Let me know as soon as you guys can! Feel free to email me whenever, ill probably respond pretty quickly now because i dont have much to do this weekend!

Wish me luck!

2007-10-04T20:46:00.001-07:00

So i have my first big midterm tomorrow! Ill let you know how it goes! Wish me luck!

Ahem

2007-10-02T06:56:00.001-07:00

Well i stand corrected. But know that this is no college paper. HAHAHA. Whoops i meant this "is not" a college paper.

2007-10-01T09:14:00.002-07:00

...-___-...i havent drank any pop

2007-10-01T09:14:00.001-07:00

****I have had not one pop***

A New Week

2007-10-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

I find myself going through the usual routine of a Monday again. It was a high-low weekend i believe. For one thing, i encountered my first cold away from the comfort of home. Good thing my special remedies of gallons of orange juice, vegetable powder and sleep. I must admit though, i did cheap and take some dayquill. Haha decided not to risk getting really sick so i went against my usual habits. Are you happy mom?

So soccer is becoming more and more present. We have our first game this saturday (i might have mentioned that previously). SO how are the sports going? Kelly- let me know if and how Grant's soccer games go as well as Logan's football games? Zack-Congrats on the A team, let me know how your team does! My roommate is really into basketball, at any given time ill walk into my room and see Love and Basketball. And for the TaeKwonBoys, good luck this weekend in Baxter. Go kick some butt, Dan will probably do that literally too.

For Dad,

Even though i eat a lot of unhealthy food here, im happy to let you knwo that since ive arrived here, i have not had one pop at the cafeteria. Primarily because they dont have the good kind of rootbeer but also i refrain from the desert section of the cafeteria as well. If you can, bring me some vitamins (as well as any Chopin and Tchaikovsky cds) and ill take them religiously. But on a good note for you, instead of gaining the freshman 20, ive actually lost a good 7-8 pounds so now you only weight twenty pounds less than me!

Take care all.

A few things...

2007-09-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

So today i had the first practice with the Korean soccer team. They is quite a wide variety of skill but the guys are all funny and at least ill take away some Korean words. We had practice and games every weekend and there is a big tournament in October where Korean teams from the Boston area as well as Brown and a couple more come and play. That should be fun.

Still havent found anyone to practice TKD with but im starting to get in shape though so Dan, you better watch out when i get back. Wait, you always had to watch out anyways. Hahaha

So i checked the weather and Ive been talking to some friends back home and i want Minnesota weather as weird as that sounds. Its still like 85 degrees out here and its weird. Its suppose to be colder!

Hope all is well back home!

Whew

2007-09-25T05:23:00.002-07:00

SO one of my fairly large projects, an analytical speech on a quirk of the book Death In Vence, was due today. Not that i wasnt ready (i stayed up till 330 last night), but my class was canceled and it is going to be a good day! Anyways, updates. Working in the library is the best college job ever. Not only do i meet new people (because at Babson every student goes to the library), i get to do my homework while i work which is much needed. I find myself eating a lot of shin cup (korean version of ramen) late at night. But i have met a lot of fun people in the library and they are upperclassmen so they give me advice about Babson and whatnot. I've found a lot of different groups of friends who are spread out through campus.

So the first two weeks i was really good about going to the gym, however, shortly there after that changed. Now i dont make it to the gym but i find time once or twice a week to play a game of intense stick football or wiffle ball with the guys. Im still trying to find a place to train for tkd but im sure i will find somewhere soon. I start playing with the Korean soccer team that roams around the Boston area playing other Korean soccer teams from other colleges and universities.

Thats it for now! Please send emails to Byron.nilsson@gmail.com instead of my school address! Thanks much!

Another week.

2007-09-17T20:46:00.002-07:00

It seems like every possible stressful thing was dumped on Babson freshman today. Not only personal issues of stress, we have our first "real" paper due Wednesday and our first Rocket Pitch (trying to sell our product for our business) this Friday. Its times like these when i wish i was five years old with no cares in the world. haha but i know it will all turn out. On a lighter note, the Yanks and the Soxes finished a three game series yesterday. I am officially a Red Soxes fan now. I've never found baseball too exciting, but i must admit its growing on me. Sorry Zack, i guess im going to have to wear a soxes hat back home.

I hope TaeKwonDo is going well for everyone. Im not sure if i will make the october tournament. I hope school is going well for all the kids, cousins included (Grant and Logan!). I think my plans for Thanksgiving will land me in New York with my cousin Hillary, my friend Yuuki and perhaps my friend Lindsay as well. As much as i like Babson, its clear why so many students leave campus on the weekends. The atmosphere is very stressful and i already need a break!

But put aside all the things on my mind and all the stress, im enjoying Boston and im enjoying college. I hope everything back home is well. Hope to hear from you all soon.

9/11

2007-09-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

Its been a very quiet day. I feel like im adjusted to everything and i know how to get my work done and have a little fun as well. I start working in the library tomorrow and other than that im just waiting to for the weekend. I joined the Babson players club which is the acting group on campus as well as an intramural soccer team with some of my sophomore friends. Im starting to feel the distant from Boston to Minnesota. I get excited over anything that reminds me or is similiar to Minnesota. I hope everything is well back home!

The Swing of things...

2007-09-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

Well i feel like i have gotten into the swing of things here. I pretty much go to class, from class go to lunch, after lunch either take a nap (depending on how late i stayed up the previous night) or go to the gym, and then hit the library to study for a good four to six hours a night. Other than that, my classes are quite challenging, but in a good way. I got a work study job at the library so i will be helping other peers find books and things. Also, i found a heavy bag and a boxing thing to practice with. Its not ideal but it will do. Hope to hear from you guys soon.

Labor Day

2007-09-03T10:41:00.001-07:00

So things are going great in Boston, I havent really heard from any of you guys...hint hint. But there are a lot of Korean people here and at any given time Im with one and Im constantly hearing Korean. So there is this huge Korean society here and minus the food i dont even need to visit Korea! Haha just kidding. I hope everyone has a nice Labor day! EMAIL ME!

Things are moving a long..

2007-08-31T15:22:00.001-07:00

So things have been nonstop here for a while. It seems like I'm already in the swing of things. I joined a few clubs and looking to join some intramural sports teams. I already have met so many new people from around the world. One of my friends that i hang out with the most is from Japan. However, i need to learn Korean asap because i meet so many Korean kids! Anyways, hope to hear from everyone soon!

Monday 8/27

2007-08-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

So I moved in yesterday. I got to campus around nine oclock and after my roomates moved in we had constant group meetings and orientations till eleven that night. My room is somewhat spacious, ill make sure to get pictures up so you can see where i am living. Today, after a couple of seminars, they are taking us on a Boston Harbor cruise which sounds really fun. So the parents are off and im just settling in. It feels pretty good! Hope to hear from everyone soon!

PS. Zack, one of my roomates is a die hard Yankees fan. That doesnt go over too well in Boston.

Saturday

2007-08-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

This morning i went to my campus just to find my room. Its quite cozy but will do just fine. After i met one of my friends from Boston right before he left for U Penn. After the campus visit, my family and I went to Salem and Marblehead where we met family friends and ate dinner at a Yacht club. I move in tomorrow and have a full day of introduction!

Arriving in Boston

2007-08-24T22:25:00.001-07:00

We made it to Boston today! Whoo hoo. We also stopped at Niagara Falls, which isn't as big as i thought, nonetheless, was still fascinating. Other than that, I'm really sleepy even though I slept and sat for a good 16 hours today.

Indiana

2007-08-23T21:46:00.000-07:00

So today we left at 830 in the morning. I fell almost immediately asleep and woke up in Madison. I met some family for lunch and then got back in the car where i fell asleep quite quickly once again. When i woke, i was near Chicago! We continued driving and after ten minutes i fell asleep, no suprise. Next i woke up and we were in South Bend, Indiana where i met my good friend Bryan at Notre Dame. At this rate, i just have to fall alseep and wake up four more times for four more states and ill be there!

Oh by the way, im stuck in Indiana right now. Its worse than northern Minnesota.

Hello!

2007-08-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

So I created this blog page to keep everyone updated with what is going on in Boston and at Babson! If you dont want to email me i believe you can leave comments to each posting! Ill try my best to keep this updated!

So far my dad, mom and brother have been really ill so im not leaving till Thursday!