Here are some pictures from the park:
On this day it was packed with different events. There were a lot of children and just people walking around. There were a few tents, one I think was the Friends of Israel. I tried to stay away from places like that because there were a lot of people handing out literature which is fine its just I didn't want any. There were also a ton of pigeons, which was fine. I though they looked rather majestic and their behavior at times was funny, along with the squirrels. Speaking of squirrels I actually watched a man pet one. It came up to him and he just reached down and it sniffed his finger and then he patted it on the head.... Now I definitely wasn't going to pet one, they can carry the plague...no joke google it, there are cases and I know what the black plague was all about (a nod at you Dr. List). I tried to get a picture of one but as I was getting close to taking it, it started to come up to me so I aborted the mission.
From the park I walked to China Town which was its own adventure. For being such an advanced society with great technology, like iPhones with GoogleMaps, I was certain that I would never get lost on this trip...and to some extent that is true. When I was lost I used GoogleMaps to find my way back, but it seems when the opposite is happening, when I am not lost but trying to find somewhere I don't know the maps do not help me. I walked, and walked, and walked, trying to find China Town. How could this be you ask?! Can't one tell when they are in China Town? Yes... but for some reason I was walking in the wrong direction, following the wrong highlighted route. Maybe it's not the maps, maybe I can't read them...but for the sake of argument lets just go with the saying about gambling, the house always wins- therefor it was the maps that were wrong...not me.
But enough about that because I finally did end up in China Town. One I started seeing a lot of people with grocery bags with writing that I couldn't understand I knew I was in the right place. One I was there I walked around for awhile and decided to look for some bubble tea (also known as boba tea). This is a Taiwanese tea-based drink that has tapioca pearls in it...large pearls as you will be able to tell from my picture. Like everything nothing is made equally, so like the Lobster Roll here I was again walking and googling trying to find the crème de la crème of bubble tea. The list seemed endless...some places used real fruit, some places powder, some places sucked, some places were cheap, some were expensive...blah blah blah. So I finally just decided pick a place close to you and call it a day. I ended up at the New Dong Khanh Restaurant. When I walked in there were a few people in front of me, which gave me some time to glance at the menu. What flavor would I choose? What size? Tapioca pearls? Or maybe this other weird looking jelly things in a jar? (no I declined that, I preferred to keep it traditional). Well it was finally my turn and I nervously spat out, "Large mango boba tea...please?" The young kid working behind the counter was very polite and wrote it down and handed to an older woman next to him who I guess was the master of the Bobas. She was quick...very quick. In no time my order was called up and I grabbed my prize.
Now before I go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and and on about how unbelievable delicious this tea was, let me give you some insight into my experience with boba tea back home. Prior to today I have had it at two places. The first was horrible, tasted kind of like soap (which apparently in some cases it is supposed to?!) and at the second place it was good, but for some reason it must not have been that good because it barely sticks in my memory. But today's boba...errmeerrgerd! It was amazing and by far the best beverage I have ever had. Some people are completely turned off by them because of the pearls, but I think they add a completely different element to the drink that gives it more dimension and complexity. (Maybe a food critic or something should be a part of my Plan B to life careers...)
Here's a picture of this amazing drink:
With drink in hand I walked around China Town and took some pictures. One of the coolest things I ran into was a McDonalds that had oriental look to it. The roof or overhang was styled in an oriental fashion and some of the advertisements were in Mandarin, maybe? So here are some pictures of the rest of China Town:
So by this point in my blog many of you are probably wondering, maybe, but Dave what is going on with your research? Are you just sight-seeing?
Rest assured good reader that I wish that this was just a sight-seeing tour, but it isn't and to a large extent I am grateful it isn't. I conduct research so read critical scholarly articles, or books, or works by my selected authors either everyday or every other. It usually depends on what area of research I am working on at the time. For instance maybe I will read an article or two at night after I get back from a trip to the city, or perhaps I will be in the Boston Public Library all day just reading books. Sometimes in the morning I will do work, then go out, and come back in the evening and finish it. But even when I am out and about my research isn't completely stopped. Boston is a city with an immense amount of history. Much of the time I am looking for places that connect to Wheatley or Occom, such as statues or churches or meeting houses. Even just the nature of the city connects to them, especially Wheatley. How does being an outsider feel? What is city life like? How did the city influence her? Who did she meet while she was here? How did she write with so much going on? Did she ever just look out over the harbor? All of these questions or ideas are things that can be asked when in the city or even when I am reading some of her work.
So as I said, rest assured good reader research is taking place and going very well. I have been able to do a lot of in these first few weeks so soon I will be able to start to go full swing into writing or at least drafting selections of the paper. At the end of the day, it may sound humorous depending on your appreciation of literature but, when you find yourself in the library laughing at a non-fiction book because you are having trouble understanding how the author is making his or her analysis (which I have seem some "stretches" as a few of my professors would call them) you know you're in the right place.
Lesson of the day: You don't have to go to different countries to experience their cultures, keep your eyes open for a peak into another world.
