The flow of things.

I've been on panic mode for about a month now but whatever. Appropriately, I decided to travel to 5 cities in little over 10 days. I visited many people along the way, who graciously opened their homes to me.  I was on a whirlwind of bus rides, subway rides, plane rides, taxi rides, and car rides. I completely forgot to take any photos in Boston.

Chicago:

Many people say that they "love" Chicago after going there. I love Chicago. I had really good company while there, a chill time with folks, walking and wandering around Chinatown reading the grammatically incorrect or overzealous proclamations of greatness on the signs of Chinese Zodiac statues (apparently "dragons are awesome"). I learned that rent was super cheap there, there were cool coffee shops, and strangers talk to you in the most genuine way possible. My kind of city.

Here is something I wrote while I was there:

The other day while on the “L” with my friend Patricia I began talking about the expansiveness of the Universe with her. I interjected our earthly rickety subway conversation with random excitement as I remembered a fascinating fact that I read in a book by one of my favorite authors “A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson. I’m still in the midst of reading it, but in a nutshell the book breaks down science and explores the beauty of our existence with it. In order to have the reader understand the expansiveness of the universe, Bryson demonstrates the distance between Jupiter and Pluto from one another through this analogy. If Jupiter were approximately the size of a period on this page and Pluto the size of a molecule, then Jupiter and Pluto would still be 35 feet away from each other.

Later that night, we headed to a show called Radiolab at the Chicago Theatre. When you walk into the Chicago Theatre your attention is immediately called to the grandiose fixtures and architecture of the building. Walking up the well-worn burgundy stairs curving to the left and right, we found our seats. It’s one of those “Whoa, I just walked into the Coliseum” sort of feelings. It’s a surprise because the lobby is so tiny compared to this expansive space that lies deep within. Thao Nguyen was also the band to the show to my delight. We were trying to think of what to eat.

I sorta want wontons

Wan tan mi sounds good right now.

YES!

I love those moments where your palette feels immensely satisfied from food suggestions. We headed towards Chinatown. My mama did tell me to visit Chinatown. 

I LOVE THIS BEAN.

New York:

People say New York is "crazy." The crazy thing was New York was anything but that. This is probably what happens when you lived in a city or two, and the idea of "crazy" no longer stems from how a city functions different from the city you live in. I'm more interested in the culture of things and how people behave and interact with one another. With New York I took in the little things, the way people and the city seem to pulsate together without a second thought. Sorta like blood cells running through the veins. Doors open, people step in. Side walks crack, people walk over it. Subway is late, people wait. Things seem reliant on the city. The first thing I noticed though was people talked and interacted with each other. I guess this comes with being a guest to a city rather an inhabitant. My feet fucking hurt by the time I was done with New York, but I came out of it with some tough feet I tell you. I'm proud of my worn calluses (tmi I know). People are really nice in NY though - anytime I asked for directions I got a smile and maybe even a sentence or two. I sorta felt comfortable in New York after 4 days - something that I was uncomfortable with. 

Ed Cohen picks me up!

Pacific Links Foundation reunion

Sittin' on the steps of Brooklyn.

Hangin' out in ktown with NY kids.

IPPUDO in East Village with all friends

Waiting for the subway, across from Michelle and Tam.

Frantically running with my luggage to catch a bus, I notice that I am passing by the Empire State Building.

Across the water

Donna Choi

First times: in a convertible, in NY. 

Boston:

I literally spent half a day in Boston and took no pictures. I got off the bus at South Station took the subway to Harvard School of Public Health, spoke with admissions and got a great mini-tour, spoke with the Global Health and Population Department, sat in on a class, sat in the cafeteria trying to look like a student "studying" while waiting for my friend Tam, took the bus to her apartment, relaxed and chit chatted with her about public health, knocked out at 11 pm, then woke up hella early to catch the subway to the plane to D.C.

D.C. & Baltimore:

D.C./ Baltimore was crazy. I arrived in D.C. at 1:00 pm, hoped on the subway to get to Union Station and rushed unnecessarily to catch the 2:00 pm bus to Baltimore. Had 30 minutes to spare. D.C. subway stations all look the same and have this futuristic dimness to them. When you are on the subway people are just shadows with the lighted backdrop - my favorite part of D.C. Baltimore was pretty sweet though, but most of it was spent at a music festival and recovering from the music festival. I also had a productive day at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg of Public Health where I was able to get a tour, talk to admissions and MPH program and catch a faculty member that I've been trying to speak to.

My short time in D.C. I got to see the amazing subways. Beautiful and dim lighting.

Public Health (Anne Chiang and I) + Aline Xayasouk

Baltimore, MD

Eating Baltimore food.

This trip really reminds me how much I love moving around from one place to another learning things about others and their way of life while learning a thing or two about myself. I am tired though, I'm happy to be back at home. I don't get to travel as much as I used to and perhaps that it's okay. Life feels pretty good.