Getting Back to the "Hood"

Coming back to Boston has been great. I'm seeing the city with a new perspective. Some things are exactly the same and others have changed somewhat, but mainly I think I've changed a bit. I spent the day getting reacquainted with my old neighborhood of Brookline, Mass. I was able to find a room/bath (albeit at outrageous rent) on a month-to-month basis which is very unusual for this area. My roommate, Marc is from West Africa and is Lebanese. He went to school in England and speaks fluent French. 

The village hasn't changed all that much but some of the shops and restaurants I used to frequent are gone or in the case of my favorite little Sunday brunch place, have changed the menu.  In other cases, it is like walking into the past and seeing the same people behind the counter and finding the same types of shopping items I always purchased, giving me a "warm and fuzzy" feel to being home.

Boston has really been slammed with snow this winter as you can see by the pics I just took today. The streets are lined with piles of snow waiting for the bright sun to hit them and start the spring thaw. They will need to wait a while longer as we are to have snow the next few days.

House across the street from my flat

Brookline is the quintessential Bostonian village just about 3 miles from the center of Boston (5 Kilometers for my European friends). The population is just over 58,000 and it was first settled in 1638.

Probably its most famous resident was John Fitzgerald Kennedy our 35th president. He was born in the house below in the second floor bedroom in 1917. 

JFK's birthplace in Brookline, MA

The other famous part of the city is the "T" as we locals call it. The trolley runs above ground outside of Boston and as the subway in the city. It is fairly efficient but can be frustrating in the winter waiting for it in the cold. 

One of the best parts of this village is the diversity. The International makeup is really special; Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian, just about any nationality you can think of lives in Brookline. I suspect it is due to the fact the city is centrally located to four major universities and colleges; Boston University, Boston College, Harvard and MIT and not to far away is Tufts University and Northeastern University, all great educational centers for learning in the world.

Diverse influences are seen through architecture, food and religion throughout the city. On one block you will see a catholic church next to a Buddhist center across from a Korean church and down the block is a Synagogue.

Great detail on the church steeples.

Local artists put their stamp of diversity decorating a building on Harvard Street.

The thing I will love the most is being able to see the many documentaries, foreign films and independent films at the Coolidge Corner theatre.  As a matter of fact, I'm going to see the Oscar nominated live action shorts tonight. How ironic…while the Oscars are on TV I'll be watching films.

Now all that needs to happen is for me to get a job!  I have several interviews on Monday and Tuesday so keeping my fingers crossed, I'll be working soon.  Watch this space for more updates.