Monday, August 27, 2007

Boston: First Impressions

In our new apartment. Do we look any different now that we live in Boston?



Hello and welcome to our new blog. We figured this is the best way to keep people updated, so please pass this blog along to others who might be interested.

Here are some quick responses to FAQs:
-We are doing well.
-Ben starts school on September 7.
-Rachel has not found a job yet, but is on the prowl. (for a job, that is)

One thing is for sure: Boston/New England is a very different place from Texas. Here is our quick list of first impressions:

Things that are plentiful in the Boston area:
-THICK New England accents - e.g., woman scolding her son overheard in ladies' restroom (by Rachel) - "nevah, evah touch things that ahn't youahs, caleb!"
-Seafood. So far we've had the best clam chowder we've tasted and fried clams. Ben is looking forward to trying lobster rolls.
-Dunkin' Donuts. There is literally one Dunkin' Donuts on every street corner. We don't see that many Starbucks, but Dunkin' Donuts are EVERYWHERE, probably because they're based in Canton, MA.
-Red Sox apparel. Our approximation is that 1 in 10 people we see here are wearing some kind of Red Sox apparel.
-Cool weather. Last week it was in the 60s and we busted out the sweaters. Rachel felt like she needed to go Christmas shopping.
-Koreans. This is at the seminary. We think our on-campus apartment building is about 25% Korean families.

Things that are NOT plentiful in the Boston area:
-Hispanic and black people. At least in the places we've been so far. Or maybe that's just compared to Houston.
-Things within a 15-minute drive. We miss being able to drive to every kind of good food. Here, we have to take a train and the subway into the city to get good ethnic food. Though, the subway is pretty easy to use.
-Air conditioners. While it's still sticky at times, Rachel found it hard to believe she could actually be comfortable in an apartment without AC.
-Acceleration lanes. It can be a little scary to enter the highway up where we are.
-Redboxes. We really miss $1 movie rentals.

Thanks for reading. More later. We miss you all!