I’m trying to remember how to do this.
I’m sitting on a stool by the window in a busy cafe in Cambridge. There is a young woman two spots over to my left chatting with a young man to her left, a pad of paper open in front of her with the words “science chats with Luke” written in bubbly letters across the top of the page. There is a young Asian woman to my right reading a print-out of an article with the word “science” in the title, as I can casually observe anyway without being creepy. Behind me calculations are being conducted with oversized calculators on long tables that cover the small space within the cafe, crammed with students, and other meetings are occurring over coffee.
I’m in Area Four, a hip cafe in the heart of Kendall Square, Cambridge, Mass., right across from the main campus of MIT. I don’t belong to this crowd per se (in that their BS/MS was my BA/MA—a different sort of pursuit and ambition) but I don’t stand out either and I feel comfortable here. It’s a creative outlet. The Asian girl next to me got up and relocated to my immediate left, apparently tired of the entrance door draft that opens with frequency, letting the Boston chill ruin her concentration, something I’m immune to. I’m drinking black coffee from a glass and munching on a cookie. It tastes too buttery though, a very disappointing taste, if you know what I mean. I’m reading [whatever] magazine, issue zero, their pilot issue, and I am amazed there are others who love what I love. Who love to write about what I love to write about, in the same way. I met the editors when I bought this magazine, from them directly actually, at a stall in a summer night market in Brooklyn. The front cover totes the phrase: an out of place journal, and is filled with travel essays, from those who travel because they can, and investigate contemporary issues while they do it (a similar goal for this blog). Good luck, ladies, this magazine is fantastic.
This boxy, minimalist cafe is dotted with the occasional obscurity because this is, of course, an indie cafe requirement. Think little metallic clocks, an old manual egg beater, ceramic cows, etc. The menu is plastered on a large black poster board in large neon green, pink, orange, yellow helvetica lettering behind the bar. And TCM is streaming from a corner of the ceiling, high above the cashier. This place suits its MIT clientele, blending messy creativity with the clean precision of science. There is music streaming un-obnoxiously in the background, playing stuff I don’t recognize but like anyway. Despite the rest it is minimal and I find I can write here.
I’m meeting a friend here in a couple of hours for some pre-dinner drinks. I’m relaxing in the cafe with my laptop open but we’ll meet in the equally hip bar next door. I’m using this opportunity to think about my upcoming trip to Shanghai. My flight leaves this Tuesday. I’m excited. I’m back.
I’m moving to Shanghai to continue my graduate studies abroad for the next six months in the Chinese Politics and Diplomacy program at the School of International Relations at Fudan University. And I’ll be working part-time for City Weekend magazine, a local, city-culture magazine for expats. A nice set up. Can we sweeten the deal? Yes. I’ll be reporting to the Wine and Dine editor. 试一试一些小饭馆儿，可能？(Let’s not worry about the correctness of that grammar) shiyishi yixie xiao fanguanr, keneng? Critique some local hot spots, perhaps? I’m hopeful anyway.
And this is my great return to blogging. One thing I learned from The Great Eurasian Adventure is that I love writing and more importantly, I love exposing the obscure cultural nuances that become lost to the average traveler, things that go unnoticed because they are not obviously noticeable. I think there is real beauty in these subtleties however and I want to share them with you and the world. That sounds ambitious, as if the world was following my blog. But if you’re satisfied, I’m satisfied.
I think I’m back to Blogger but I haven’t really decided yet. If I suddenly shift sites it’s because Google isn’t working in China, Chinese firewalls have never been a friend of mine, and re-routing illegally through Russia isn’t working either. For now, this format will do. I’m still in Mass. after all.
9am Tues., Logan Airport, Boston, Mass. Layover in Toronto. Fourteen and a half hours to Shanghai and I arrive one day later. I’ll keep notes. Expect a blog entry every Sunday. You’ll know what I’m up to and you’ll learn a little about being an expatriate in Shanghai. I’m excited for this chapter of my life book.
Stay in touch. Let me know if you have a particular interest in a particular topic. I’ll do my best to accommodate.
在上海看到你, zai shanghai kandao ni. See you in Shanghai.
I’m sitting on a stool by the window in a busy cafe in Cambridge. There is a young woman two spots over to my left chatting with a young man to her left, a pad of paper open in front of her with the words “science chats with Luke” written in bubbly letters across the top of the page. There is a young Asian woman to my right reading a print-out of an article with the word “science” in the title, as I can casually observe anyway without being creepy. Behind me calculations are being conducted with oversized calculators on long tables that cover the small space within the cafe, crammed with students, and other meetings are occurring over coffee.
I’m in Area Four, a hip cafe in the heart of Kendall Square, Cambridge, Mass., right across from the main campus of MIT. I don’t belong to this crowd per se (in that their BS/MS was my BA/MA—a different sort of pursuit and ambition) but I don’t stand out either and I feel comfortable here. It’s a creative outlet. The Asian girl next to me got up and relocated to my immediate left, apparently tired of the entrance door draft that opens with frequency, letting the Boston chill ruin her concentration, something I’m immune to. I’m drinking black coffee from a glass and munching on a cookie. It tastes too buttery though, a very disappointing taste, if you know what I mean. I’m reading [whatever] magazine, issue zero, their pilot issue, and I am amazed there are others who love what I love. Who love to write about what I love to write about, in the same way. I met the editors when I bought this magazine, from them directly actually, at a stall in a summer night market in Brooklyn. The front cover totes the phrase: an out of place journal, and is filled with travel essays, from those who travel because they can, and investigate contemporary issues while they do it (a similar goal for this blog). Good luck, ladies, this magazine is fantastic.
This boxy, minimalist cafe is dotted with the occasional obscurity because this is, of course, an indie cafe requirement. Think little metallic clocks, an old manual egg beater, ceramic cows, etc. The menu is plastered on a large black poster board in large neon green, pink, orange, yellow helvetica lettering behind the bar. And TCM is streaming from a corner of the ceiling, high above the cashier. This place suits its MIT clientele, blending messy creativity with the clean precision of science. There is music streaming un-obnoxiously in the background, playing stuff I don’t recognize but like anyway. Despite the rest it is minimal and I find I can write here.
I’m meeting a friend here in a couple of hours for some pre-dinner drinks. I’m relaxing in the cafe with my laptop open but we’ll meet in the equally hip bar next door. I’m using this opportunity to think about my upcoming trip to Shanghai. My flight leaves this Tuesday. I’m excited. I’m back.
I’m moving to Shanghai to continue my graduate studies abroad for the next six months in the Chinese Politics and Diplomacy program at the School of International Relations at Fudan University. And I’ll be working part-time for City Weekend magazine, a local, city-culture magazine for expats. A nice set up. Can we sweeten the deal? Yes. I’ll be reporting to the Wine and Dine editor. 试一试一些小饭馆儿，可能？(Let’s not worry about the correctness of that grammar) shiyishi yixie xiao fanguanr, keneng? Critique some local hot spots, perhaps? I’m hopeful anyway.
And this is my great return to blogging. One thing I learned from The Great Eurasian Adventure is that I love writing and more importantly, I love exposing the obscure cultural nuances that become lost to the average traveler, things that go unnoticed because they are not obviously noticeable. I think there is real beauty in these subtleties however and I want to share them with you and the world. That sounds ambitious, as if the world was following my blog. But if you’re satisfied, I’m satisfied.
I think I’m back to Blogger but I haven’t really decided yet. If I suddenly shift sites it’s because Google isn’t working in China, Chinese firewalls have never been a friend of mine, and re-routing illegally through Russia isn’t working either. For now, this format will do. I’m still in Mass. after all.
9am Tues., Logan Airport, Boston, Mass. Layover in Toronto. Fourteen and a half hours to Shanghai and I arrive one day later. I’ll keep notes. Expect a blog entry every Sunday. You’ll know what I’m up to and you’ll learn a little about being an expatriate in Shanghai. I’m excited for this chapter of my life book.
Stay in touch. Let me know if you have a particular interest in a particular topic. I’ll do my best to accommodate.
在上海看到你, zai shanghai kandao ni. See you in Shanghai.
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