Alejandro Herreria
Culture: D.C. from the Eyes of a BU Student
By Alejandro Herreria
Spring 2015
When I first came to Washington, D.C. as part of the Boston University Study Abroad program, I was unsure what to expect as far as the culture. I really enjoyed the city the last time I visited but was unsure of how it would be living in a city known primarily for politics. Would I be the only one who didn’t know a lot about politics? Would the city’s charm wear off as I started to grow tired of political talk? These were honest questions that I had asked myself on the eight hour drive down from Massachusetts, which were all the more terrifying since I didn’t really know the answers.
There ended up being quite a few differences, but fortunately, the transition period of getting accustomed to cultural norms in D.C. was not as hard as I had anticipated. Politics is not the only language spoken in D.C. after all, and as I soon found out there are many different professionals around the D.C. metro area, not just people working solely in the political sphere. D.C. in some ways has reminded me of Boston, but with a better public transportation system. No longer did I have to wait for the trolley-like green line to crawl down Commonwealth Avenue when I wanted to get to another part of the city. Instead, I could actually plan ahead and see exactly when the next train is coming in real time. Another improvement compared to Boston is that people in D.C. seem to understand that some people have places to go. By this I mean that people actually stay to the right on the escalator if they want to stand so that people can pass on the left! It blew my mind at how well people stuck to this simple rule, which I hope and pray will someday be adopted in Boston. A quick note to anybody coming up to D.C. for the first time: keep this escalator rule in mind or else somebody will probably call you out for it (this happened to me the first time I visited the city).
A similarity between the two cities I have found is that both are more medium-sized cities. Having grown up near the Boston area, D.C. has ended up feeling more like home than I had originally anticipated. Though I really miss Boston and some of the characters that are in and around the Boston metro area, the size of D.C. feels similar to that of Boston. There are ritzy areas with fancy food and rough areas in between, just like your average city. However there are also more suburban feeling areas of the city too, with great restaurants that are relatively cheap, which is always good on a student budget. I do have to say though, as a guy with a part Italian family, it has been tough trying to find Italian food in D.C. compared to Boston. Fortunately though, my desire for great Latino food has been fulfilled while here, as there are some great Latino restaurants around D.C. too. Although not strictly Hispanic in origin, Nando’s Chicken is one of the best places in D.C. for chicken, and I would highly recommend it.
Hopefully any incoming students reading this can understand that they shouldn’t be nervous about coming to D.C. It’s a city of professionals, with a somewhat formal dress code, and often times a bit too much networking. However, it has been one of the best experiences in my academic and professional career so far, and I would really encourage everyone to take advantage of just how much this city has to offer.
In front of the reflecting pool Photo Credit: Camila Rivera-Garcia
Alejandro Herreria is a junior studying Health Sciences with a Public Health minor in Sargent College at Boston University. He is currently interning at Pulmonary Hypertension Association.
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