Day 2- You Know You're Not from Boston When You...

Wear hoodies instead of a real coat to keep warm.
Get a kick out finding someone with a Bostonian accent.
Gawk at the amount of Dunkin' Donuts everywhere.
Still hesitate to walk diagonally through an intersection.
Wonder why ice hockey isn't a hit over on the West Coast. 
Pay to take a tour of Fenway park.
Have to stop and think about which branch of the Green Line you need to take.
Finally have a real reason to wear a scarf in public.

Despite all of the little idiosyncrasies mentioned above that the entire group seems to have been experiencing these past couple of days, the fact that we're in one of the most historic, charismatic, and breathtaking cities in the nation is finally starting to sink in through the excessive layering of our clothes.  The sheltered students from the land of 70 degree winters are finally getting their bearings!  As we ate our Trader Joe's smorgasbord in the Boston Common today, even the fluorescent, neon pink explosion of Cassie Pitkin's sweater couldn't counter the glow of falling willow leaves and the company of new friends...  something that I'm truly grateful for.

It's funny at least to me that regardless of the situation, the gratitude people show towards your service and work always comes off the same way- a smile that stretches the span of a person's face, the endless warmth of genuine hugs, the showering of "Thank You's", and the sincere connection that forms between two strangers.  Today our group volunteered at Room to Grow, an organization that enriches the lives of babies in poverty throughout their first three years.  As trivial as our assignment of folding and sorting baby clothes might have come off, the experience of "Learn By Doing Good", along with time spent with Jen, who patiently taught us how to identify a Onesie from a t-shirt couldn't have exemplified this idea anymore.  By the time I walked out today, Jen had just become yet another one of the people I have volunteered for that I can say I am truly thankful for.  You're surroundings and background are completely irrelevant... Go get off your butt, out of your heated house, and do something great with your Christmas Break, and I'm telling you that it doesn't take a trip across the nation for you to feel the same thing I felt today.

So the moral of this blog today is that you'd be surprised as to how enlightening folding clothes can get... Now I get to drift off to sleep, the ringing of the subway's screeching brakes still bouncing in my ears as I shudder at the 29 degree forecasted low for tomorrow.