“OK, where do we want to go?”
Over Christmas break, Gail Lange-Smith, a junior dietetics and nutrition major from Zimbabwe and AJ Stambolie, a junior mass communications and psychology major, also from Zimbabwe, explored the historic northeastern city of Boston, Mass.
Thanks to the “buddy pass” tickets Gail received from her uncle, who works for Southwest, the pair of friends flew for free.
Although they had originally planned to go to New York, they had mutual friends in Boston with whom they wanted to catch up, and AJ had family there he wished to see as well.
Instead of arriving prepared with a rigidly set itinerary, Gail and AJ, both rather free spirited, made plans on-the-go.
“…we would have a vague list, we would make a list while we were on the run and be like ‘OK, where do we want to go?’” AJ said.
Their routine then became deciding each morning what they wanted do for the day.
“[We’d] sit around the breakfast table and write down the things…so we kind of had an idea of what we wanted to do, and then as we went we would just be like, ‘Oh, that looks cool!’ and we’d walk down that road and look at that,” Gail said.
One destination on their list was symbolically significant to their childhood: the grave of Beatrix Potter, well-known author of “The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck” and “The Tale of Peter Rabbit.”
“We’d both grown up on her books, and her grave is in Boston, and it has all ducks and stuff. So that was one of our things that we went to go find. We didn’t actually end up finding it,” Gail said. “Well, we didn’t look that hard.”
A favorite spot for AJ was the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum. Born in New York City, Mrs. Gardener married her schoolmate’s brother, and the couple moved to Boston, his home town. After the death of their two-year-old son, Gardener struggled with depression.
“…the doctor recommended that she travel to cure her depression, and so she travelled all over the world and collected art and built this giant house and made [it] into a museum [with] art from all corners of the globe, and she made specific orders not to change it, so it’s still decorated in the way in which she decorated it back [then], and so that was really cool to see,” AJ said.
In addition to visiting iconic and uncommon sights, Gail and AJ experienced a kind of precipitation that, unfortunately, many Arkansans often do not: snow.
“…we were like, ‘It’s snowing, we never see this much snow, we have to go out and play in it!’” Gail said. “So we—AJ didn’t even have a coat—he just had this sweater on—”
“Survived Boston Without a Coat 2k17,” AJ interjected.
The two laughed about the stark contrast between the amount of snow they received in Boston versus the amount received in Arkadelphia.
Boston: “the rest of the town was shut down that day just ‘cause it was so snowy,” Gail said.
Arkadelphia: “You could still see the grass,” AJ teased.
To warm up—and throughout the whole trip, actually—AJ and Gail depended heavily on the many Dunkin’ Donuts sprinkled throughout the city.
“Boston [is] the home of Dunkin’ Donuts,” AJ said.
Not only did they get their daily coffee there, they also gained access to a resource arguably more necessary—Wi-Fi.
In addition to the ubiquitous Dunkin’ Donuts, Gail and AJ appreciated the international atmosphere of Boston. Since the people of Boston are so accustomed to meeting folks from around the globe on a daily basis, Gail believes she didn’t stand out as much.
“I think that was the first time in America that I felt like I blended in,” Gail said.
Having lived in a small town like Arkadelphia for three years, Gail felt that she hadn’t yet experienced all the diversity that there is in America.
“…And then you go to places like New York or Boston or even in California and you’re just like, it truly, truly is the melting pot of the world, because there are so many different cultures and nationalities,” Gail said.
AJ spoke to another dissimilarity between Boston and Arkadelphia: the distinct accent.
“I noticed it immediately, especially some people; I remember I got an Uber, and the Uber driver’s accent was really strong, and I was like, ‘this is so strange.’ But then, it was cool. It just made it feel further away…and it made me realize how big America is,” AJ said.
In such a big city, the two Ouachitonians were thankful for each other (and their other friend from Zimbabwe with whom they spent time exploring), because while they always enjoy travelling with their American friends, it was nice to experience a new part of America with people from back home.
“…we truly have a similar background, as in we are both from Zimbabwe…and then being in America and being in Boston, experiencing all the new things together. And we both know what we get excited about, or we both know that we’re looking for Wi-Fi, so it’s just really nice, ‘cause you can be totally open and then just really relaxed and excited about all the small things…” AJ said.
No matter who they travel with, though, Gail and AJ recognize the overall importance of travel and how it affects them personally.
“I think it’s very educational. To me, that’s where I learn the most is when I travel. …there’s so much to learn about other people, and I think you learn so much about yourself when you travel,” Gail said. “‘Cause there’s so many challenges: ‘how am I going to deal with this in a different place that I know nothing about?’ …‘Cause really, traveling is hard. It’s not easy, I think. So you learn to enjoy it while you’re doing it and take pleasure in the beauties of other people living. It’s just nice to see the way other people do life.”
AJ says that each time he visits a new place, he learns to appreciate aspects of where he had been that he had previously taken for granted.
“…it gives you new eyes on places that you’ve been,” AJ said. “It sounds cliché to say ‘open minded’ or ‘open your worldview,’ but it really does, because…it’s like putting on different glasses that make you see stuff differently. …[it’s] like a new look, a new perspective.”
These two have already seen a lot of the world, but since there is still much left to explore, the question they’re probably asking each other now is: “OK, where do we want to go next?”
By: Barrett Gay, editor-in-chief
