I’m also continuing to volunteer at Gaining Ground. What a
wonderful place – so peaceful and beautiful. Once, when I was walking there (it’s
about 1.5 miles from the bus stop), I saw a man with headphones. We struck a conversation,
and he told me that he takes a bus here every weekend and then walks back to
Boston, which is 14 miles away. He said that it helps him with his job in
finance. Poor thing. After farming, I found the trail he was taking (it was a famous
Minute Man Trail!), and walked to Lexington in about one hour. Great walk!
I’m also taking Krav Maga self-defense courses. It’s a lot
of fun, but I realize I’m not really a fighter and don’t like hurting people. My
instructor told me that if I have an opportunity, I should just run (and I gladly
will).
Every day, when I go somewhere, I think how lucky I am, and
how wonderfully my summer is going. I’m almost always conscious of the fact
that I will not be back to Boston in the next 2 summers, and so I try
appreciate every walk, every T ride, every air-conditioned office, and every
cultural event.
I already realize what things I will be missing about Boston
and the US (besides people, of course):
Boston skyline
Cool windGood beer (subjective, I know, but will I be able to find Ithaca Brewery’s Apricot Wheat or Yuengling in Africa?)
Efficiency
Tuna sandwiches (the one next to the deli at my work in Waltham is delish!)
Plough & Stars
The People's Republik
Davis Square
Movie festivals
ICA (those first Friday parties!)
Running along the Charles
Flour bakery
Cambridge streets
Coolidge Corner
Trader Joe’s (aaah, it has everything for care packages :))
Honk fest
Outdoor movie nights
Open mics and trivia nights
Boston Common
Air-conditioned trains and cars
Coffee
Jamaica Pond & Emerald Necklace
The fact that there are so many events every day that sometimes you don’t know what to pick
Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Oregon
I’m sure the list will continue to grow.
