I didn't know Devil's Night was a Detroit thang - did you?

I don't have much to say. Work is busy since I was out of the office last week. This weekend I have friends coming to stay with me, which will kick off a month of visitors. Yay! Luke and Rachel are driving down from Maine and we're also hoping to meet up with Nate, a friend from MSU. It'll be a mini-Ruberdus reunion. (Sorry, Chris.) They are both familiar with Boston, but I am excited to show them around JP. And we're planning on going to the aquarium on Sunday, and who doesn't enjoy penguins??

Sending my love!

Todos en espanol, por favor

Hola amigos! I had a great time in Philly. It was a very busy, very fast, very wonderful trip. I got in to Philadelphia around 10 a.m. and met up with the EE group at a cafe (they had already been in Philly for a few days). Then we (me, two other EE employees, the two Peruvians, and a Philly cafe owner) went to the zoo. It was so much fun! The zoo was quite large and it was so cool walking around with Eulalia and Beltran (the Peruvians). We didn't have a translator with us at the zoo, but between the four of us Americans, we were able to communicate...sorta. My favorite animals were the big cats (like the lions, tigers and pumas) and this orangutan. He was so cute - he was playing hide and seek with us under a blanket and then he stuck his head out at us and smiled, showing his teeth. Then he stuck his tongue out. It was like playing with a little kid. I wanted to take him home with me.

After the zoo, we went to another cafe, where the Peruvians did a presentation for the customers, and then we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and finally the last event was at another cafe. This was a wrap-up panel discussion with the Peruvians, one EE employee and a cafe owner. It was a Q&A format and it was very inspiring, emotional and a perfect way to end the trip to Philly. People (including me) were moved to tears when they heard Eulalia and Beltran's stories and about how much this trip in the U.S. has meant to them.

After that, I went to a dive bar with the other two EE employees and that was fun getting to know them. Then the three of us drove to our hotel, where I had my own room, yay! (The Peruvians stayed with cafe owners during their time in Philly.) We got up early the next morning and went to a big indoor market (Reading Market), met up with the Peruvians and cafe owners and had breakfast.

Then we got on the road for the seven hour drive home. On the drive, it was me, the two EE folks, and the two Peruvians. No translator. We actually did pretty well and by the end of the car ride, I was feeling better about my Spanish. I still have a long way to go, though. There was so much I wanted to tell and ask the Peruvians. They gave me a winter hat as a gift and I love it. It looks like something I would have bought and knowing it was made in a Peruvian village is very special. The whole experience made me appreciate my job even more. It was sad to say goodbye to the Peruvians (we left them in Providence, where they are staying this weekend before going back to Peru on Sunday). We were all teary-eyed and gave each other many hugs. I will try to add photos from the trip - they're on my work camera.

Philly seemed cool and was quite pretty. I loved all the old buildings and sculptures. I would like to go back.

Today I went to Brookline (a Boston neighborhood, like JP) and walked around a bit. It's a cute area but the weather was rainy so I didn't stay that long.

Now I'm watching scary movies with Tiff and her boyfriend.

I feel like a grown-up

Today was day one of the copywriter's conference I'm attending. The conference is being held right downtown at a fancy hotel, so I had to take the subway into town. It was kind of fun commuting that way, although I actually missed seeing my vanpool friends. I got there pretty early so I walked around for a while before going to the hotel. Downtown had quite a different feel on a Tuesday morning than it has had on the weekends when I'm usually exploring. Instead of confused tourists, there were suits everywhere, walking quickly to their destinations. Ann (my supervisor at EE, who is also attending the conference) and I had lunch in the Common (park), and that was nice, too. It was very windy today. I saw a cardboard house blow away in the park and it made me sad for the homeless person who had been inhabiting it.

After the conference (around 4 p.m.), since I was right there, I decided to go to a movie at the theater. I saw "Darjeeling Limited," which is Wes Anderson's latest. I didn't think it was as good as "The Life Aquatic" or "The Royal Tenenbaums," but it was decent. I left feeling warm and fuzzy, so I can't complain too much. I don't think twice about doing stuff like this by myself anymore. It is kind of empowering. But don't get me wrong - I would love to have some friends here, haha.

Tomorrow I have day two of the conference, then I have to get ready for Philly. The taxi is picking me up at 5 a.m. on Thursday morning. Eek! I probably won't write again until Saturday, so goodbye until then!

xox
a/k/s

Walk This Way

On Saturday, I headed downtown Boston for some more exploring. I walked around a Pumpkin Festival for a bit, but it was mostly kids' activities. Then I headed to Quincy Market, which was really bustling on a Saturday afternoon. I think it was especially busy because a lot of people are in town for the Red Sox games.




Then I walked to the harbor. I found this spot (see the photo to the right) that my dad had photographed a few years before on a work trip to Boston. The photo he took is framed in my parents' bathroom. It was weird to think that my dad had stood right where I was standing. It was kind of comforting.






I sat down right near the water and read, listened to music, and people watched. It was really beautiful weather - mid 70s and sunny. Then I headed back home, watched the start of the Sox game, and eventually went out with Vanessa and some of her friends for a drink.

Today I decided to go downtown again. It was another gorgeous day outside. I walked around a lot and between yesterday and today, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on getting around Boston by foot. The bad part about taking the subway places is that you lose a sense of context when you just come up from underground. So I'm still piecing together parts of the city, like a puzzle. Again, I read in a park for awhile today, this time by Copley Square.

There's another Sox game tonight. It's the big tie-breaker to determine who goes to the World Series. I can't believe I'm writing about sports. I don't really care about sports. But this city is Sox-crazy, so I figure I might as well join the mania.

I'm pretty exhausted from all the walking. So to sum up, Boston = pretty.

Habla espanol?

Today was quite the eventful day at work. We had two visitors from Peru. One is a rural coffee farmer/co-op member and the other is an employee at a larger co-op that we buy coffee beans from. They gave a presentation for us about their farms and co-ops and I took photos throughout the day. Then I got to interview them. Keep in mind that they speak Spanish (which is actually their second language, their first is a local Incan language). I took 4 years worth of Spanish in high school and one semester my freshman year in college, but most of that has escaped me. I could listen and pick up words better than I could speak it. Luckily, we have employees at EE who are fluent in Spanish (b/c we have so many Spanish-speaking partners), so I usually had a translator with me. Meeting them and hearing their stories made everything come together for me. Our fair trade prices are making a difference in the farmers' lives, but they still face many challenges, including poverty and a lack of health care. It was both sad and inspiring to hear their stories. These two folks are on a weeklong tour with EE people to bring consumers and producers together. I'll be meeting up with them in Philadelphia next Thursday and Friday to do more interviews and photos. It will be my first work trip. I get a hotel room!

On Tuesday, I went out with a co-worker for his birthday. It was at a place in JP and it was "Live Band Karaoke" night, which I had never seen before. Basically it's regular karaoke but instead of a DJ, there's a live band backing you up. Pretty cool.

This week has flown by. I'm looking forward to the weekend, and then next week I'm only in the office on Monday. I'm attending a conference in Boston Tuesday-Wednesday, and then I'm in Philly Thursday-Friday.

Adios amigos!
a/k/s

Dunkin' Donuts, anyone?

So I sort of have internet and I sort of don't - it comes and goes.

I've been thinking about how this is the first time in my life that I am living somewhere for an indefinite amount of time. It's a strange feeling and in some ways, quite surreal. It's also the only time in my life where I have my evenings and weekends almost entirely to myself. I feel like I need to take advantage of this by joining a club or taking a community class ... essentially, do all the things I want to do while I am young and unattached. I have been doing yoga about five times a week for the last three weeks, which has been great. I can already notice a difference in my body and it is a wonderful stress release. I want to keep it up.

I've now been in Boston for a month (yesterday was the official anniversary). It has gone by really fast and yet it feels like I've been here much longer, too. Some things I've learned in my first month:

1. Always carry an iPod and a book. They are necessary for walking to the T, riding the T, riding on the vanpool, etc. Commuting can get boring and it also decreases the chances of people asking you for money.
2. Bostonians LOVE the Red Sox.
3. People in New England think Michigan is in the West.
4. Parallel parking isn't that hard once you get the hang of it.
5. Dunkin' Donuts is the new Starbucks. They are everywhere (one on every block).
6. If you hesitate at all while driving, you will get honked at.
7. Buying alcohol on Sundays can be challenging, especially after 8pm. Until a few years ago, you couldn't buy alcohol at all on Sundays. Blame the Puritans.
8. Driving to another state is like going to another city in Michigan. I've heard people say they were going to New Hampshire for dinner.
9. Alleys are named with numbers, i.e. "Public Alley 324."
10. It isn't unusual to see people dressed in Colonial clothing walking around Boston.

Well, I better go. The Red Sox are on.

Lazy Weekend

Hola. I spent the weekend recovering from my cold, which meant I did not go out with my co-workers. I was disappointed but I think it helped me, as I'm feeling much better today. On Friday night, I watched the Red Sox championship game with Tiff and her boyfriend (we won). I spent all day Saturday on the couch. Watched the second Sox game (we lost). Today I had more energy so I went downtown and walked around for a bit before seeing "Across the Universe" at a theater. It cost $8 for a matinee. The weather was beautiful for walking around downtown: a sunny, brisk autumn day. I took these photos in Boston Common, the Central Park of Boston. The movie was quite magical - I enjoyed it very much. It's a Beatles musical (all the songs are Beatles' songs and the characters/plot are loosely based on Beatles' lyrics). I have a soft spot for musicals, and, well, obviously the Beatles are awesome. Plus, I met the lead actor, Jim Sturgess, in London last summer. Molly and I spent some time chatting with him and his friends at the bar across from the dorms we were staying in during our study abroad. He told us he had just made the movie and we thought he was lying. Turns out he wasn't.
Tomorrow is another work day... can't believe how fast the weekend went. Happy Birthday, Dad! Thanks for being born. -a/k/s
P.S. I added a few photos from my excursion last weekend to Cambridge/Harvard - scroll down a few entries back.

Hooray!

I have internet at my apartment!!!!!!!

Yet another plug for EE...Reverse Trick-or-Treating

This is a pretty cool idea and it just launched this week. It's called Reverse Trick-or-Treating, and the hope is that kids will hand out an informational card (with a free Equal Exchange chocolate mini attached) to the homes they visit on Halloween night. The goal is to educate the public on the child slave labor in the cocoa industry.

If you or your children are involved with any kids groups (like Brownies, Boy Scouts, Sunday school, etc.), it would be a great activity to participate in! Learn more here: http://www.equalexchange.com/reverse-sign-up/

Nothing else much to update on... I definitely have a cold. I am most likely hanging out with work people this weekend. There's a birthday get-together on Friday and a house warming party on Saturday.

Miss you!

Christmas Vay-cay

Greetings! I just purchased my flight home for the holidays. I will be in Michigan Sunday, Dec. 23 thru Saturday, Dec. 29. Plan accordingly. :)

So yesterday was quite eventful. It was a day of firsts. For example, it was the first time I:
-Drove to the food co-op. Really easy.
-Drove to Target. Not so easy. I got lost and ended up in downtown Boston. That realization was quite a shock. I had a momentary freak out when I realized I was in Chinatown with no map of Boston. But luckily I paid attention on a recent cab ride home from the same area, and I have a pretty good sense of direction, so I managed to get home. I was determined to get to Target, so I just started over going a different route. This one turned out to be much easier. In the end, it probably took me an hour and a half to get there.
-Went to the laundromat. It was not like the movies. I did not meet the love of my life there. My goal is to only do laundry once a month. I bought some new underwear so hopefully this will help me achieve that goal.

We got a hand-me-down big screen TV (well, compared to our other tiny one) and a hand-me-down table with chairs for our dining room. Our apartment is feeling more complete.

My throat feels a little scratchy. I hope this isn't the beginning of a cold... bring on the green tea and vitamins!

Cambridge and Harvard and Davis Square, Oh My!

Yesterday I took the subway into Cambridge. To get to Cambridge, the subway train comes above ground to go over a bridge and you can see the Boston skyline and harbor. It's a great view of the city. I walked around Harvard Yard (a grassy courtyard with trees and a lot of students laying around on blankets, studying and reading) and Harvard Square, which has street musicians and stores and is very lively. I was expecting more intellectuals sitting around playing chess and discussing philosophy or something. But really, everyone looked like they could go to MSU. Except they dress more trendy. I got a chai latte and just sat in Harvard Square and people-watched for a bit. Cities are so great for people watching, especially on the subway. Yesterday there was a man on the T who was yelling at his wife? girlfriend? on the phone but she obviously couldn't hear him because we were underground and cell phones don't work underground but he kept yelling anyway, while getting more and more upset, while doing leg crunches and other weird exercises from his seat. But I digress...in Cambridge, there were a couple stationery stores that I went into, which I was very excited about because I love stationery and note cards.

I was getting tired from walking around but felt like I should see more while I was out so I got back on the subway and took it to Davis Square. As soon as I got off the subway and saw mobs of people listening to live music, I knew I had stumbled upon a festival of some sort. Then I realized I had heard about the festival. It's called "HONK!" and it's an annual festival for street musician activists. Like the goal is to get people out in the streets playing instruments and singing and dancing and marching. It was basically eccentric people on horns and drums and more eccentric people watching them - all over town. Some people wore costumes. The whole thing was quite a sight and I will try to add a few photos soon so you can get a better idea of what I'm talking about. I got a burrito from a place where the workers were convinced that I spoke Spanish fluently (so apparently I look both Latina and Asian...I've been asked several times in the last few years if I'm at all Asian. Must be the almond eyes.) and even though they spoke English, we stumbled through an ordering in my broken Spanish. I took my burrito outside and observed everything for a bit while I ate. One of my favorite titled bands was the "Leftist Marching Band." I love this city!

The Story on The Magic Position

The last two days have been quite eventful! On Thursday, I went to see Patrick Wolf at Paradise Club in Boston. He was quite adorable! British. Humble. Glamorous. Definitely a great musician and entertainer. The show was general admission, and since I was by myself, it was easy for me to get right up front. I was standing in the second row and could see everything. When Patrick was playing piano, he was pretty much staring straight into my eyes. Or so I told myself.

Last night I went to see Brandi Carlile (pictured, right) and she was amazing! She put on a really good show with high energy and audience participation. The girl knows how to rock. I had a great seat, despite buying my ticket just a few days earlier. It was in the first section of seats, about 12 rows back. A Fine Frenzy (Alison Sudol - pictured, left) opened for her, and she was great as well. I met Alison after her set and she signed a CD for me. The show was at the Orpheum Theater, this really old place right downtown. It was a very beautiful theater.

I had never been to a concert by myself before, but I'm so glad I went to these shows. The experiences were confirmation that I can do pretty much anything alone and still enjoy myself. I clapped, I sang, I danced; and it was wonderful. Next I want to go see Neko Case - she's touring with her band, The New Pornographers. They're coming in a few weeks. So many shows, so little money.

Now it's the weekend - yay! It's about 80 degrees and sunny right now. So hot. I'm actually starting to crave sweater weather, especially since the leaves are turning. The commute to work has been really beautiful (about 20 minutes of the drive is through the Blue Hills, which is very scenic).

I think I'm going to take the subway into Cambridge today ... walk around there and see Harvard University. Cambridge is supposed to be pretty cool. There is so much to explore not only in downtown Boston, but also the neighborhoods just outside of Boston (like Cambridge or Brookline).

I'm starting to feel comfortable getting around town by foot, subway and bus. I'm learning valuable tricks, like if you get off one subway stop and walk a block, you can more easily get to another subway line. These things can save a lot of time.

Tomorrow is my productive day. I need to do laundry (which will require going to a laundromat for the first time in my life) grocery shop, and run some errands. We're also acquiring a dining room table and chairs from one of my co-workers.

Work is still going well. I like it a lot. Our new slogan is "Small Farmers. Big Change." I think I might be addicted to coffee now.

Overall, I'm feeling very adjusted and content. No, happy.


(Here are a couple of photos from things I wrote about previously.)






Tiffiney (my roommate)'s karaoke birthday event. Tiffiney is on the left, and Vanessa (other roommate) is on the right. I can't remember what they're singing but they look very concentrated.








Equal Exchange's booth at the Harvest Festival last weekend. The woman from EE talking to customers is the Marketing Director (A.K.A. my boss).









The Museum of Fine Arts.

Co-op Love

Here is a story published in the September issue of Boston Magazine. It profiles Equal Exchange and several other worker co-ops. It's pretty long, but interesting. You can skip to the parts on EE to learn more about my work environment (it is pretty different from the average workplace.)

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/meet_the_new_boss_es/page1

I am going to two concerts this week- yay! More updates to come.

I survived the Boston highways (barely)

I have a feeling this will be a long entry. I forgot to mention previously that last Sunday I walked around the Arnold Arboretum, which is a huge arboretum (I think the world’s largest or something), and is really close to my apartment. It’s nice to have something like that so close for when I need a bit of nature in my life. It will be great for walking or jogging and I anticipate it being quite beautiful once the leaves change (which they are starting to).

I love this time of year! This weekend was beautiful. High 60s/Low 70s and sunny – perfect for walking around Boston. I guess I spoke too soon about having my weekends to myself, because on Sunday I ended up working, haha. I offered to do it and it was actually pretty fun, although exhausting. I sold coffee at this fall arts/crafts/music festival near where I work. We were consistently busy selling coffee and a lot of people seemed to know about EE. I got to walk around the festival a bit, too. Oh, but it was my first driving experience in Boston. For anyone who knows my driving style (generally nervous and only about five over the speed limit), driving around here is SCARY to me. First of all, the roads don't make sense. They come at all angles and circles and half the time the street signs aren't visible in a way that I'm used to. Also, during rush hour you can drive in the "breakdown lane," a.k.a. the SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY. I had a string of problems on my way to the festival but somehow I made it. The way back went much smoother although I'm not really sure why, since I was half following Mapquest, half intuition. I almost cried when I pulled up to an intersection and realized it was my street. I made it! That being said, I don't plan on driving very much at all around here.

On Satuday, I walked to downtown JP and went to the bank (got my first paycheck on Friday, yay!). There was an "Open Studio" day where you could visit different art studios or something. I'm not really sure what it was actually. Then I got my week's groceries at the food co-op and took the bus back home. It was my first solo bus trip and I felt quite proud. But I didn't take it far enough and ending up walking a few blocks with my grocery bags. I'm telling you, my arms are getting strong from carrying groceries.

Saturday wasn't actually National Free Museum Day - somehow I made that up. Smithsonian Magazine was just sponsoring a free museum day but you had to acquire a pass (which I did) and it was only good for one museum visit. I decided to go to the Museum of Fine Arts. It was very big and really cool. I only spent about an hour and a half there, but I saw plenty. They had one room that was modeled after a Buddhist Temple, which was one of my favorite parts. I also enjoyed the 19th Century European paintings, which included some Van Gogh, Renoir and Monet. They had a Monet painting of the Rouen Cathedral, which Molly and I saw in France last year. (Some of you might remember me talking about seeing a special light show that projected Monet's paintings onto the actual cathedral.)

Then, I walked around downtown Boston for a bit. I went to Border's and got a few CDs. They had a great selection of music. I was exhausted by then and went back home for the evening. I watched a few episodes of the British version of "The Office." It's hilarious. It reminds me of Christopher Guest's humor, which I love.

So, here's the part most of you probably don't want to hear. Since I've lived in JP, there has been a shooting and a stabbing. I know the stabbing was fatal; I'm not sure about the shooting. I am going to start taking the bus more (now that I know how), especially at night. Quite a change from Richland, where the biggest crime was probably bored teenagers TPing their friends/enemies. But really, I do feel safe in JP, so mother, please don't worry too much. :)

And now I'm going to get preachy ... I just want to remind everyone of your power as consumers. How you choose to spend your money does make a difference. I encourage you to buy local and fair trade products as much as possible. In other words, Wal-Mart = Bad. Starbucks = Bad. OK, that's all.

Happy Monday!