CATS Academy Courier

By: Jackie Kovalcin

The recent warm weather we’ve been having can ignite excitement in anyone for spring break. Who doesn’t love a three-week break from school, the routine of classes, and endless amounts of homework? Below I have listed a few tips on how to get the most out of your 2017 spring break vacation.

Spend time with family: When you live here at CATS, you’re not living with your family. By the end of this 8-week period, you may be starting to feel a bit homesick. Take advantage of the three weeks by having fun with your siblings and your parents, even if that means sacrificing time that you could be hanging out with your friends. Your parents will enjoy it more than you know, and you won’t regret time spent with them later.

Sleep, sleep, sleep! When you’re given the opportunity to sleep in every day for three weeks, take advantage of it! Catch up on all the all-nighters and get some rest. It will benefit your mind and body immensely.

Eat! This is a given, but here at CATS you may not have access to your favorite meals and foods that you have at your home. Spring break is an opportunity to enjoy home-cooked meals with your family. Meals are a great way to enjoy conversation with your family and enjoy some delicious food.

Work on your New Year’s Resolution : Want to read more? Get fit? Learn new hobbies? Get organized? A break from school is just what you need. Surround yourself with motivation, create a routine, and have fun! This is a great time to work on yourself and try new things.

Get Outside : With the temperature increasing and the grass turning green, springtime is the perfect time of year to get some fresh air. Try going for a walk/run, plant a garden, ride a bike, go for a hike, or visit the beach (although the water may be a bit cold for swimming).

Enjoy your hometown: Go to your favorite places you may not have the chance to here at CATS Academy. Have your favorite drink at your favorite café, find a great new book at your town’s library, or have a photoshoot at your favorite locations!

By: Tristan Fornari Hospital

The community of Cats is very diverse regarding the different cultures that makes up the school. Our students come from countries all over the globe including, Brazil, China, Mexico, Vietnam, Russia, Albania, and more. Although each of have different life experiences, we are all united in one community and live in the United States. CATS Academy Boston truly exemplifies the concept of America being a melting pot with different cultures, foods, traditions, and thoughts. Food is truly an excellent example of how each culture uniquely identifies itself. Each country has their own unique traditional foods. I have found that going to another country with its own food can be especially hard when it’s your only choice. The positive is that you can try other cultures’ foods that haven’t tried before.

“Food from this country is very different. In my country, the food is more homemade and less from factories or  [processed]food. It can be very hard to adapt because the food can be too greasy,” said Ivan Osipov from Russia. He also said that he would like if the cafeteria tried to make some Russian entrees.

“It’s very different in my country. People eat from a big plate and share with chopsticks,” remarked Lo Tsz Fung. Lo later stated, however, that it’s not hard to adapt because some of the food that they serve in the cafeteria is like his native country of China.

American culture related with food is very different compared to a lot of cultures. American meals are eaten in very large quantities compared to many different cultures. The food in United States contains a lot more calories than other cultures, can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. An advantage of CATS Academy is that a lot of cultures have access to food of their country. This is thanks to the cafeteria providing a variety of food. Special occasions like the lunar year give us the chance to try food from other cultures.

In conclusion, the community from CATS Academy Boston is very diverse in culture, which may seem difficult to adapt to the food. In reality, though, the CATS Academy teachers, dorm parents, and staff make the transition as smooth as possible.

By Jackie Kovalcin

For many, the winter months in New England can be the harshest. The freezing weather, snow storms, and flu season can really get people feeling down. Of course, there are a few tips and tricks to make the winter time more bearable. To help you survive your winter in New England, I have listed a few of my favorite tips and tricks learned over the many winter seasons spent on the coast of Maine.

• Stay moisturized and hydrated: Always keep a tube of chapstick with you throughout the day. This will help prevent the common dry and chapped lips. Often times during these cold and dry winter months our skin will start to dry out. To prevent this, I would recommend putting lotion on the dry spots. Remember to stay hydrated. Try to get your 8 cups of water each day!

• Get a Netflix account or a library card: Because of the harsh weather conditions, you will be spending more of your time indoors during the winter. In order to keep yourself occupied, sign up for a Netflix account so you can watch movies while it snows. This is also a good opportunity to curl up with a good book. (Check out the great selection at the CATS library!)

• Eat healthy and stay active: With viruses spreading and more and more people getting sick, it is in your best interest to make sure you do your best to prevent getting sick. Drink orange juice for vitamin C, eat a healthy diet, and WASH YOUR HANDS. Although it may be tempting to stay in your warm bed during the cold winter months, it would benefit your mind and body to take part in physical activity. Indoor workouts include weight lifting, treadmill running, and crew. But if you don’t feel like leaving your dorm, try yoga!

• Be prepared: Download a weather tracking app so you can be updated on snow storm developments and potential snow days! Keep a supply of hot cocoa or tea in your dorm  so you can have something warm to sip while you watch the snow fall (you’ll thank me later.) Have a supply of cozy blankets and thick socks to keep you warm at night.

• Have fun: With the shorter days and darker nights, you may find that your mood is changing. Spending time with friends and having fun can prevent any sadness that comes with the winter season. I would recommend building a snowman, making Coca-Cola snow cones, go sledding, or have a friendly snowball fight. These activities are also a great way to spend more time outdoors and enjoy winter!

By: Sasha Chernysheva

It is no surprise to anyone that, as the new spring semester started, the school became more crowded, and our multinational community is even bigger now. Many people left in the last semester, and we miss them a lot, but this December is our great chance to meet new people, start a new life. CATS Academy on behalf of the CATS Academy Courier welcomes all of our new students and we genuinely hope that the months spent here will become one of your favorite life-memories.

➢           We hope you will find many close or life-long friends here. Maybe in 30 years you will be sitting together, remembering these times…who knows?

➢           We hope CATS will show you how to enjoy studying because you can choose any course you want.

➢           We hope you will enhance your English skills in a fun way: by talking to your friends, reading books in English, writing poems in English and all the other fun ways that CATS provides you.

➢           We hope you will learn a lot about other cultures and know how to live in a diverse community. These are  essentials that will follow you during your entire life.

➢           We hope you will explore the USA, visit the places you probably would never visit, see things you would probably never see.

In general, we hope you will love being here, enjoy this wonderful experience, and achieve all the goals you had in mind when coming to CATS.

With love,

CATS Community