Not much new going on around town since we left. The day we came back, we had a noon flight out of Seattle on Delta. Woke up that morning and turned on CNN to the BREAKING STORY of the total computer meltdown and worldwide delays on the airline. Shit. We tried to turn our frown upside down as we all wanted to grab a Red Mill burger before we left and this was going to afford us time to do so, until we realized that it was Monday, their day off.
At this point, we were envisioning having a super bad day ahead, but Delta really came through. The delay that was reported on line for our flight was 3 hours and they got us out at that time. The delay meant that we were scheduled to miss our connector flight in Japan, which was still showing on time. Our fear now became that the fresh proteins (more on that later) we were smuggling into town would be stuck on a tarmac in the summer and not make it to the TW fridge in edible form. Delta held that flight for the Seattle transiting passengers and we arrived home only three hours later than planned with food in excellent condition. To top it off, about a week later, we got a message from Delta that they were giving each of us a $200 voucher to use within a year for our troubles. It is easy and popular to bitch about airlines, especially the US based carriers, but Delta stepped up on a crappy day with accurate info, confident and pleasant customer service throughout, and the little mea culpa gift was a pleasant surprise. Thumbs-up to you Delta.
Won't dwell on it too much as I have not only smelt it and dwelt it often,, but it is mind alteringly and energy drainingly hot here. I unfairly bitch about this place in this space a lot, but it isn't that bad and is in many ways a great place to be. It's just the heat pisses me off so much and I uncomfortable all the time...24/7.
In exciting news, we developed a new game that we think will be sweeping the Chinese speaking world...it's called Chopsticks, Chicken Feet, Dumpling and is played exactly like Rock, Paper, Scissors. You heard it here first.
And would comment on the Olympics, but our cable company doesn't carry them so only see some clips and stories. What I've learned so far?
- Lochte's a total dick.
- Taiwan one their first gold medal, in women's weightlifting.
- Weightlifting has the funniest events...the snatch, and the clean and jerk
That's about it. Oh yeah, and our cable company sucks. I've known this and was contemplating eliminating it altogether as we only collectively watch CNN on it and we stream most everything else, but we're in the process of changing over to the other company in town and will see how it goes.
We had a great summer. On paper, felt it was one of my best travel planning efforts and it went off with few hiccups and many pleasant surprises. So much to share so will just break it up into chunks with today's bite being Boston.
Boston wasn't on the original plan, but as the Boy is a rising Senior and is focusing his eyes on certain schools, there were a couple there that are near the top of his wish list so we took the opportunity to fly there first and knock them out. Being exactly 12 hours behind Taiwan, the East Coast is a long ass haul flight, but it does give one the chance to see some movies. I watched Creed, Hail Ceaser and The Martian. All fine airplane movies with only The Martian being one that should have been seen on the big screen.
We planned to spend 48 hours there and arrived about 6pm on a Sunday night, In a downpour, we immediately hit the North End area for some Italian food. The North End is my favorite neighborhood in the States and our meal hit the spot. Took 10 minutes to get there from the airport and found parking right in front of the restaurant we had chosen. I've told you that my super power is being able to park in front of any destination in any city/country/continent at any time of day. On the surface, seems like a meaningless ability to have, but in the moment...
Our college tour started the next AM at BU, which is on the Charles River and a block or so from Fenway. Good location but none of us got a great vibe from it. Wasn't on the Boy's list but thought we should check it out to maximize our visit and that we may be pleasantly surprised. Notes from the first few days are sketchy due to jet lag, but MLK went there and they have a Panda Express on campus.
The afternoon found us on the campus of Northeastern. Had never heard of this place until a couple years ago when a friend of the Boy's brother went there. Not as ideally centered as BU, but still in the heart of the city. It is an urban campus but didn't feel as disjointed of one as does an NYU or GW in DC. A nice touch we all liked was that in their outdoor common green spaces, they have put dozens, possibly hundreds, of Adirondak chairs for the student body to use to mingle, study, etc.
A well respected school, they have a curriculum that is unique to any other school we have investigated. It takes 5 years to get through there with the 3rd year being one where all students go to work for a company in their field of study. The school works with companies around the globe and works in conjunction with their students to find the right fit. And these aren't regular internships or study abroad programs, but paying gigs with real responsibilities. They say that about 65% of the graduates end up going to work for the companies they did these "Co-ops" with. The companies are all top shelf variety as well. Our friend's borther went to work for Apple for instance and we saw him here in TW last Spring as he was visiting the Foxconn factories on island. The school put up a graphic that listed a few of the companies they work with and all were recognizeable. One that stood out to me was the New England Patriots and I asked the presenter if they had any relationships with other teams that weren't total cheaters. I didn't, but thought about it.
This place seems like every parents dream...getting an education that gives you a real skill and leg up on the job market. All schools have career guidance programs and such, but nowhere close to the comprehensiveness of Northeastern. Every other school mentions that they encourage doing a semester abroad, and as a two time participant in such programs, have always touted the positive affect they had on my life and outlook on the world, but they are many times just excuses to go smoke weed and have sex with hot local chicks/dudes in some fabulous foreign town...not that's what I did that, but people have said that.
Speaking of having sex with hot foreigners, we had dinner that night with one of our oldest friends that lives in Boston. Monica was with Betty and I when we did our semester abroad in Argentina in 1986 (she was also the driver of the car we destroyed in Pennsylvania that I detailed last October 18th). At dinner, she related a story from Argentina I had not heard. She had an Argentine boyfriend (with the name of James Dean) whose family owned a farm (estancia) outside of Buenos Aires. In those pre-cellphone days there, having a land line was a big deal and having one in your home far outside of the big cities was very rare and they had just gotten one installed at their farm. Betty and Monica were invited out for a long weekend to their farm to ride horses and do well-to-do Argentine things. Apparently, they were learning how to shoot rifles and Monica shot out the phone connection, which horrified the family enough that they banished her into the pool house for the rest of the weekend while Betty was allowed to enjoy the farm. Good times. Monica is one of our favorite people and was great to see her. Hope that the Boy chooses a school there for many reasons, but being able to see her more often is one of them.
Next morning was our visit to Tufts, which is about a 15 minute drive from downtown in a well heeled suburb. It was the main one the Boy wanted to see and it did not disappoint. My only note that I have from the visit was that it was "good" The campus was the Goldilocks size, has excellent programs and reputations in ones he's interested in, is urban enough but also tranquil. We'll see how it evolves over the summer but get the feeling it is his # 1 choice. Will not be a gimme for him to get in to, but looking at the numbers, he has a chance.
In regards to schools, have a recommendation for you. Not sure how anyone takes these when I give them, but this one is ironclad and essential. Go find the podcast by Malcolm Gladwell called Revisionist History. If you don't know him, he is an author and will quote a sentence from Wikipedia, " that Gladwell's books and articles often deal with the unexpected implications of research in the social sciences and make frequent and extended use of academic work, particularly in the areas of sociology, psychology and social psychology." His first season of 10 podcasts just finished and they are uniformly interesting and thought provoking. About 45 minutes to an hour long, they are great for long commutes or walks. I know I suggest things on here from time to time that are not that great (Fast and Furious or Tremors come to mind), but this is absolutely fantastic and you're thoughts will be provoked in a good way. Reason I tought of it here was that he did a 3 episode arc on education that really resonated after visiting and thinking about schools and education so much the last couple of years.
We flew out that afternoon to our next destination, Washington DC. Will try to post soon.
not bad for first post in a few months...a couple zingers that I liked in there but when you get to DC I'm hoping for some more attitude. ms
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