What challenges are you running into as you adjust to life in Boston? A lot international professionals struggle with American customs such as tipping. Other people have a hard time with their English skills including understanding sales assistants while shopping or doing other everyday tasks. Some graduate students get anxious about their English when it comes to participating in an interview, attending classes or writing a paper. These are all common experiences for newcomers in Boston and they can be very stressful! The good news is, there are solutions for all of these problems! In today's video, listen to stories from newcomers in Boston as they talk about what they struggled with when they first arrived. Also, get some advice on how to deal with these problems if you are experiencing the same thing!
Adjusting to Life in Boston | Three Common Challenges:
- Tipping: A lot of newcomers in Boston aren't sure how to tip, where to tip and how much to tip. There are a lot of places to tip such as a restaurant or a cafe. You should also tip a hair stylist or a taxi driver. Here are some things you should consider when you decide how much to tip in a restaurant: Was the food fresh? Was the service friendly? Was the service reasonably fast? For more information on how much to tip in other situations, check out this article: Tipping in the US- When, Where and How Much?
- Shopping: Shopping for everyday items like food at the grocery store or clothes at the mall can be stressful if you just arrived in the US. If your main problem is not being able to understand what the salespeople are saying, here are some things that you can say to them:
"Excuse me, can you repeat that please?", "I didn't catch that, can you say it again", "Would you mind repeating that?" "I didn't understand, can you speak more slowly please?"
- Writing Academic Papers, Attending Graduate Courses and Being Interviewed: If these are some of the things that you are struggling with in Boston, you are not alone. There are plenty of other international graduate students in Boston. The best thing to do is improve your English fluency and general conversation skills so that you will have more confidence in these situations. Try to join a meetup group, find a language exchange or work with a private English tutor
Would you like more resources and information how to succeed in your new life in Boston? If so, please click on the button below and download our e-book! We want to help you feel comfortable in Boston! Get started now!
Photo Credit: bettlebrox
