June 25, 2002

Stranger in a Strange Land No More

My main personal purpose for staying in Philadelphia this summer had been to FINALLY get to know the lay of the land: figure out where things are (supermarkets, RiteAids, Ritas, restaurants, diners, friend's houses, etc.) Until May, I had no idea how large this city is.

I don't claim to have it all figured out just yet, but its becoming clearer. I can get from La Salle to a bunch of nifty (yes, nifty) places in a pretty direct route. Each weekend, it seems, I learn another street: tonight, another route to get on the Boulevard, yesterday how to get to a diner in the NorthEast, and so on... having people around with no cars has helped immensly - running errands with them, no matter how inane (bank, food/drug store, home) has at least provided me some local color to places they know. Whenever I can, I try and get the " 'So and So'" Reality Tour" - you know: home, elementary and high school, church, favorite restaurant, summer jobs, etc. Usually people are more than happy to be able to talk about themselves for ten to twenty minutes while I get lost in their memories - and I enjoy just hearing someone's story, on their home turf, where they're able to make appropriate illustrations:


  • "See that Rita's over there? I broke up with my boyfriend there in 9th grade."

  • "That's my best friend's house! We grew up from kindergarten to high school together!"

  • "That house over there is haunted! I swear!"

(a request: if this sounds cool, let me know and we'll do your reality tour sometime. Offer void where prohibited; one coupon per customer, your mileage may vary.)

So yeah. It really sucks that I've let some of this stuff wait until my junior year to get figured out, but you live and you learn.

Tomorrow marks the halfway point for Day One. At lunch, it will be official. Kind of sad, really - the kids have been great. (why I call them the kids is a mystery; they're barely 2 years younger than I am, if that!) Its been an interesting ride.

Posted by Matthew at June 25, 2002 10:44 PM
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