Day 4: Another Day in Lancaster

Yesterday morning I had a cup of coffee and a bagel at Square One coffee shop a couple blocks away. It’s one of the best coffee shops I’ve been to mainly because the baristas know every person who walked in, except for me of course. The place also has some great artwork for sale. Not too expensive either. I liked one print of a tree and a white tiger in the night and someone bought it just minutes after I looked at it.

Square One Coffee

I spent most of the day in the apartment, or near it, due to the rain. I took Amelia’s advice of printing out my photographs as postcards at the local CVS so I can hand them out as gifts for the hosts. I gave Amelia digital copies of my photos as well, and I also shared my music with her. As it turns out, we have similar tastes in music.

Postcards

Later, I hand washed some clothes and reorganized my panniers a bit. Around dinner time, I invited Amelia and Carlos for dinner. We chose Pho Noodle House because it’s in walking distance. The food was alright but the wait was a bit long. Amelia informed me that our waiter may have suffered a stroke before. I hope he can recover quickly.

After dinner, Carlos invited me to his apartment to eat some desserts. His mom knows very little English and I know very little Spanish, but I feel she’s very kind by offering me a dessert called Tres Leches, which means three milk, since the dessert was made from three different kinds of milk. It was very good, on par with my favorite dessert of all time, tiramisu.

Amelia had to pack and catch the 9 PM train to Philadelphia so we left for the apartment around 8. We bid farewell but promised to be in touch.

I feel I have made two great friends, Amelia and Carlos, during the few days I’m in Lancaster. Amelia is going to do an MBA in Malaysia starting this summer and Carlos may go to Harvard Law School. Both of them will do great. I have a feeling that Carlos might go into politics so I asked him if he thought about running for office. He confirmed my suspicion and will be a great leader. A very charismatic guy with a great smile and a smart mind, he can do anything. Already at the age of 26, he has two master degrees, one from University of Cambridge and the other from Tsinghua University in Beijing. I really feel these friends will be lifelong.

I woke up around 7:30 this morning but my sleep wasn’t good. I think it was because of the hot tea I drank during dinner. I spend the night thinking about my life after this trip. Maybe I should run for office, too. I was told by a fortune teller that I will go into politics but I dislike lying politicians so much that I promised myself to never go into politics. But maybe I can serve the people better if I offer positive changes to the system. Well, it’s just a thought right now. I’ve planted a seed.

This morning, over a cup of coffee, Jacqueline and I talked for a long time. I haven’t had the chance to talk to her for long but we spent a good two hours chatting about her future of becoming a physical therapist and her life in Costa Rica. I can relate to her very well because I had a lot of indecisions when I was in my twenties. Jacqueline showed me a book that I will try to read, it’s called The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy.

I will leave Lancaster this afternoon for York, where I will be staying with my new Warmshowers hosts, Paul and Jane. I hope the rain won’t deter me too much.