People (Part III)

Continuing my Boston adventures:

Hong Kongers (!)

On my first day, after I settled in at the house, I went to get some groceries for the week. While also enjoying a nice evening walk on my way to the store, I spotted a small Chinese (take-out) restaurant! It should be no surprise, but I told myself that I could get dinner there at the end of the week if I worked hard during the week. After a productive week, I went to the restaurant on Friday (the same day I met the senior adult at Dunkin' Donut and the Christian at Harvard from my previous post) and got one of my favorite dishes.  As a great bonus, the two guys I chatted with there spoke Cantonese (my native language)! They asked me if I was a student there, as if saying they would take care of my nutritional needs (or occasional Chinese food cravings) if I were. It was the type of conversation that one could only have if you were originally from the same place but were living far away from home in a different culture for one reason or another. I told them I was only there short-term so it was my first and last visit in quite some time. My take-out box was packed solidly, and my food was made to order with no MSG. It was easily some of the best Chinese food I had had in the country.

A grandmother

On my last day, I arrived at the airport early and had a chance to eat lunch (more like brunch) before my flight. While eating, I noticed a lady ordering food with presumably her husband and young granddaughter. Just as I thought it was nice for the grandparents to be spending quality time with their grandchild, the lady turned around and I saw her face. It was not a happy grandmother face. It was not because she was sad, but because her face has been so surgically changed that she could not smile. The plastic and stern look on her face was simply too obvious. I kept imagining how beautiful she had to be before the procedure(s).

I also met some wonderful people at Harvard who helped me with my research. It was great to spend time on this beautiful campus and to visit Boston a bit.

People (Part II)

Continuing from the previous post, my adventures and observations of people in Boston: 

A musician

From the house, I would take the bus and subway (the T) to campus. On one subway ride, as the platform was packed with people waiting for the next train, I heard music (not unusual) before spotting a gentleman sitting in a wheelchair. Without a leg, but with a guitar in his hands, he sang the words "you can't always get what you want." As he repeated the lyrics and I looked at his face and his wheelchair, I wondered if he was singing and crying his heart out to strangers, hoping someone would stop and listen. 

A senior adult

On my last day of research, I stopped by Dunkin' Donuts to get an iced tea and to sit down for a bit to go over my notes before going back to the library. I noticed at the next table sat a group of senior adults. Little did I expect that after the group dismissed, one of them would come to my table to introduce himself. He asked if I was following the Boston Celtics during the NBA Playoffs. When I told him I was following the French Open much more closely, he told me he used to coach tennis! As the conversation continued, he told me about his meeting group that gathered every day at Dunkin' Donuts after mass at the church down the street. He also told me he went to Boston College and shared with me about his career as an accountant. He even told me his name, and offered to drive me to visit his alma mater because it was loosely connected to my research. Since I needed to go back to the library and I did not want to make a senior adult in his 80s drive me around, I had to decline the offer and we parted ways. I was amazed, though, at how people could connect and how they could be so generous towards strangers they had just met.

A Harvard student

After leaving the library on my last day on campus, I was walking along Harvard Yard when someone approached me from behind. It was a Korean student inviting me to her Bible study group on campus. It was quite funny that she asked me if I was Korean (I didn't think I looked Korean :). I told her I would love to join her but couldn't, because I was only visiting and was leaving the following day. We talked for a bit and exchanged names. She asked me to pray for her Bible study group. Of course, I said yes! Even though we lived in different places and were culturally different, we had the most important thing in common - our faith. I was very glad she sought me out, on a rainy day, no less. Such boldness and such a heart for God was wonderful to see. She had no idea, but she already ministered to me with this act of kindness and through our brief conversation.

The last segment to be continued.

People (Part I)

It might be a stereotype, but as a firstborn child, I am definitely introverted. However, I am also indefinitely fascinated by people (it is a paradox?). For me, one of the best occasions to meet and to observe people is during travel. When I am away from home, I become more aware of my surroundings, and my trip to Boston was no exception.

I had many interesting encounters with different people. Below is a highlight of some of the people I met or observed during the trip:

A graduate student

After an initial shock of the long security line at 7.15am at the airport on my way to Boston, I got in line behind a young gentleman. He was quite chatty (and awake) and struck a conversation which extended to a pleasant 45-minute conversation, as we tried to get through the line. Since he had been to Boston and Harvard (where I was headed), he talked about his experiences there which was quite helpful. He was also a fellow graduate student so we talked about what he studied (aerospace engineering) and what I studied. It was a pleasant conversation and he even let me get in front of him because my flight would be taking off sooner than his (As it turned out, quite a few fellow passengers on my flight were delayed by the long lines and they boarded after I did, so I felt a bit better.) It was a completely random encounter but it fascinated me that you can meet someone and, knowing you will probably never meet again, still have a meaningful conversation.

A pastor

For the following day, I had planned to go to Sunday service at one of the oldest churches in Boston. But the logistics of my accommodation cut my travel time short and I eventually went to a church in town. It was only a brisk 20-minute walk from where I was staying; and the service was good and the sermon convicting. Because it was a small church, the Pastor actually spotted me, a first-time visitor. He came by after the service to shake my hand, talked with me and introduced me to the couple to whom I was sitting next during the service. The couple was joyfully expecting their third child (the baby should be here anytime now, if s/he is not here already!) I will remember the Pastor as a man of God who spoke the Truth boldly in a town where what he preached were not the most popular ideas.

A housemate

I stayed in a house which the landlady rented to travelers...or so I thought. It turned out the landlady did not live in that house and the house was much larger than what the pictures showed online. Besides the two rooms advertised to travelers, a few other rooms were rented to long-term residents. As it turned out, one of the residents (very friendly!) there was originally from the town that was only a few hours away from where Hubby and I lived and we had similar professions. What a small world!


To be continued