There are few universities in the world better known than Harvard! A couple of weeks ago, students got the opportunity to explore and learn at the university that has educated multiple US presidents, various public figures, and the beloved, fictional lawyer, Elle Woods. Students started by visiting the Harvard Museum of Natural History where they learned about animals, plants, and minerals in North America. Following the museum visit, students were able to walk around Harvard

This week, students got to experience the traditional and delicious food of American Thanksgiving right at MAIA! We ate in the Atrium for a change, and the kitchen spent the whole week preparing for the feast. Students were greeted with mashed potatoes, turkey legs, roasted vegetables, green beans, and a massive table of desserts including apple pie, pumpkin pie, and cherry pie! Yum!

Last weekend, MAIA students went out into the local community to enjoy the winter weather and sample some new cuisine! First, we had a record number of students go ice skating at a local rink on Sunday. Some students were quick to skate laps around the rink, while some brave first-timers also came along and made huge strides in their skating. Studying abroad is all about risk-taking! We had a blast embracing the chilly weather, and already have requests to run another trip so

This week, students got the chance to participate an a full day of English and exchange with a local high school. Students at MAIA and a local school spent the last few weeks preparing and exchanging questions for each other, and getting ready for a day filled with interviews, conversations, games, activities, and more! At the start of the day, local students presented on a typical day at their school, popular music and movies, and their favorite things to do in their free ti

Students got the chance this Wednesday to compete against their classmates in a Ping Pong tournament! The event started right after dinner and four students all played each other to see who was the champion! The winner, Ming He, got a medal and movie gift card and the runners up received passes the skip the line at lunch. After the tournament, many more MAIA students came to join us and play against each other. Some of their friends also came to watch and hang out with us. On

This past Friday, a group of 14 students and 2 SAs went to visit a local chocolate factory in Somerville, MA. This chocolate factory, Taza, brings cacao beans from different countries in Latin America through fair trade practices and processes them into chocolate bars and other treats using traditional equipment, including hand-carved stones. Students were able to learn about how chocolate is made and where it comes from. We even got to learn some Spanish from our fantastic t

Last week, students had their first experience with yoga at MAIA. With some relaxed breathing and focus on new poses, students practiced their balance, posture, and strength. We spent an hour together in MAIA's gymnasium, practicing our breath, yoga postures and working on our strength and flexibility. Our teacher Ritu guided us through many different yoga poses, some much more challenging than others. We hope to bring Ritu back for more classes in the future!

Students learned about a new sport this week, American Football! Popular for watching in the US, especially in Boston, American football can be exciting, but also a bit confusing. Why do they stop playing so often? How can you score? Why do they have 6 points now? Students learned the answers to all these questions and more as they snacked on some classic American football treats. Students enjoyed buffalo and barbecue chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, and na

To start off Halloween Day, students went through a spooky Haunted House created by staff and faculty members at MAIA. This is a tradition that has been continued from past years and turned out to be a great success after many students ran through screaming from scary doctor and patients, ghosts, spiders, coffins, and other characters popping out at them! Some even went through twice! At the end Tigger and a fuzzy lion were there to pass out candy to help recover from the sca