it's time to work on those application essays (considering they're due in a week and a half!) and so i've come to a coffee shop that i think i've adopted (it's my second trip in this week). everywhere i live a certain coffee shop becomes my go to spot for productivity or relaxation.

philly phase 1 (highschool): starbucks, chestnut hill
delaware (college): Brew Haha
philly phase 2 (pre-ireland): Chestnut Hill Coffee Co.
dublin: starbucks, blackrock
philly phase 3 (post-ireland, pre-seattle): Chestnut Hill Coffee Co.
and now, seattle: green bean coffeehouse

i wandered in here a couple of weeks ago on a day off when the sun was shining and i was feeling adventurous. my friend jenn had recommended it as a cozy place, a church outreach, and not too far from where i live. i loved it instantly... with its mismatched furniture, ecclectic cups, big windows, and imaginative decor. the girl who took my order was a bit over-friendly for my liking (i am like a turtle with a big shell when in a new place) and so i kept my distance at first... but another outburst from her as she talked to the girl making my drink caught my attention. i received my vanilla latte (with half the vanilla), and gathered that this was the first time the girl at the bar had successfully poured a latte into the design of a leaf! being one that admires latte art (but sadly not able to learn in my standardized starbucks world of barista-ing), i was delighted to be a part of this momentous moment of creative achievement. i congratulated her, voiced my feeling of privilege at drinking her first latte art, and documented it with my camera phone! and then i couldn't help but get over myself and chat with the 2 of them for a few minutes. the one that made my drink also cuts hair! so now i have someone to call when it's time for my first seattle haircut!

this unexpected encounter was reminiscent of ireland-- being brand new in a place, guarded and hesitant to engage, but finding that stepping out of the comfortable isolation of my bedroom, outside of myself, being open to the potential of the unknown, of an exchange with the nameless person in a coffee shop... can be so enjoyable. i wonder at this world that we live in... at the beauty of being connected to humanity, and what a simultaneously universal and personal thing that is. it was profoundly delightful. and a reminder there is much to hope for in unformed moments of days like this one. another reason i am fond of change.

as i left, i picked up an information card about the 'green bean.' on it is a quote from henri nouwen:
'Hospitality is not to change people but to offer them space where change can take place. It is not to bring men and women over to our side, but to offer them freedom undisturbed by dividing lines. The paradox of hospitality is that it wants to create emptiness, not a fearful emptiness, but a friendly emptiness where strangers can enter and discover themselves as created free; free to sing their own songs, speak their own languages, dance their own dances, free also to leave and follow their own vocations. hospitality is not a subtle invitation to adopt the lifestyle of the host, but the gift of a chance for the guests to find their own.'

word.