Joanne Lam

“This is the youngest we’ll ever be”

kayak charles river

Sometimes you just need a place to think. What better place is there than in the middle of the river on a kayak? Not to mention on a beautiful sunny summer day in Boston. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve already began to feel the cool air coming through as soon as the sunset hits. I’m not excited, but I am going to make sure I take advantage of the heat while it lasts.

I had a great summer day, kayaking, observing the amazing cliff divers from the Red Bull Cliff Diving competition at the ICA, and watched an incredible film in the theater. I’ve been meaning to watch this for a few weeks now and haven’t gotten the chance to with my work schedule. This film stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley as the main characters.

I’m not going to give any spoilers but I am going to encourage you to watch it. If you’re in high school and/or college, you’ll relate to it directly. If you’ve been an “adult” for quite a few years now, it’ll remind you of how young you use to be and all the thoughts you use to ponder about in secret.

The characters are beautiful and incredibly relatable. It was funny, loving, emotional and thought-provoking all at the same time. How many of us go through high school wanting to be in college? Or go through college wanting to be in the real world working so that we don’t have to go to classes nor do homework ever again?

I certainly had those feelings multiple times. The Spectacular Now certainly reminds me that “this is the youngest we’ll ever be”. It shows a great polarization of living in the now, but also not being afraid or in avoidance of the future. I’ve just purchased the book from amazon. I’m excited to read it to review the differences between the book and the movie, but also to dig into these thoughts once again.

Not to get cheesy or anything, but the relationship between Aimee and Sutter makes me want to fall in love and experience life with someone who will be vulnerable and allow me to be vulnerable, with someone who falls fast and loves hard with no regrets. I mean, who doesn’t want that?

“I think it’s good to have dreams, don’t you?”

A taste of home, Italy style

Four years of college in Boston and I’m finally experiencing a bit of the Boston summer. I wasn’t here for most of it unfortunately but I’m going to make the most of my time the next month or two before fall comes and winter creeps on. There is always something going on over the weekends, that’s the beauty of the summer season in this city. This past weekend was the Fisherman’s Feast in the North End.

Working at a hostel pays off when it comes to finding out about events, it’s our job to recommend unique activities to do aside from your typical tourist history tours. I worked all weekend (what weekend?) but thankfully, I did manage to get Sunday night off. After a few hours of rest, I ventured over to the North End where, I had been told, had lots of street food, live entertainment and beer tents. But even then, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

The Fisherman’s Feast is an annual event based on a tradition dating back to the 16th century. It began in Boston in 1910 and is based on the devotion of the fishermen from Sciacca to the Madonna Del Soccorso (Our Lady of Help) . The traditions represented in this “feast” were brought over when these fishermen immigrated to the US in the early 1900s. The feast is organized by the descendants of those original immigrants thus, the traditional atmosphere and environment lives on.

Walking down Hanover St in the North End, I noticed crowds of people carrying boxes of Mike’s Pastry, snake lines of people patiently waiting for a seat at various restaurants, and children squeezing their new-found love; balloon animals. “The feast must be just around the corner,” I told myself. For a few minutes, I thought I was in the wrong location but I finally reached North Street and my mind was blown. The street was packed with stalls of food; seafood and desserts; carnival games, free refills of pina coladas, and people trying to explore.

While waiting for my 6 raw clams for $5, a huge smile escaped my face. I had a sudden realization that I didn’t feel like I was in Boston, it was almost as if I was back in Asia in a street market trying to compete with others to order food or simply to walk a few steps to the side of the street.

As strange as it sounds, the hour I was struggling to walk through North Street without any personal space, I felt comfortable. It was a taste of home that I haven’t experienced since last Christmas in Hong Kong. The Raw clams, fried calamari and rice ball with meat sauce were all delicious, especially in that joyful celebratory atmosphere.

There are many more festivals and events happening in the weeks to come and I’ll be sure to join in on them when I get the chance to! If you’d like to make your way to one of them as well, click here for a list of when and where you should be.

A special food weekend

It’s been a weekend full of wonderful food and exploration. Family friends came to Boston from New Jersey to spend time with my parents and I. They have never visited me here before so it was my pleasure to host them and bring them to one of my favorite restaurants in town.

I love food but I’m not a huge food critic. I am quite easily pleased when it comes to good food, especially hole-in-the-wall food joints but being with family friends and my parents, we headed to some of the more well-known establishments. I had such delicious food the last two days that I felt the need to share with all of you for when you’re looking for something different to eat!

The Beehive Boston
Located in the South End, it’s by far one of my favorite places to go in town for any occasion. The energy all of the staff and customers have at all times create a very relaxing atmosphere. With live jazz or blues music every night of the week, it’s the perfect place to go with family, friends or even yourself to take a break from the craziness of life.

This weekend was the first time I’ve sat down and had a full dinner there, and it definitely did not disappoint. Below we’ve got Vegetarian Moroccan Cous Cous, Grilled Salmon with a side of Kale quinoa salad and lastly, Beef Brisket with a bed of potato salad. I’m drooling already again just thinking of it. Serve with a bottle of wine for the perfect night. They do also have a wonderful in-house Beehive Honey Brew for those beer lovers.

The Island Creek Oyster Bar
On Sunday, after a light breakfast at home, we headed over to Kenmore Square to the Island Creek Oyster Bar for brunch. As we arrived, I noticed everyone having a nice wine or mimosa with their brunch but after a late night the night before, I decided to just stick with water hydration. The part of the menu that I was most excited for was the raw bar, with a list of oysters from various parts of the East Coast, shrimp cocktail and even lobsters.

For our main course, we had lobster roll, fish and chips (on the top right of the photo) and fried clams. The fried food was little heavy for me personally, but I thoroughly enjoyed the lobster roll, not to mention their crisp home made chips. Island Creek is not somewhere I’d go on a regular basis, but it is worth going on a special occasion. I would love to try their dinners next time.

Delicious home cooked Kenyan food
Moving on here, we’ve got a very unique meal prepared by a wonderful friend of mine from Kenya. After we invited her for home-cooked Chinese food a few nights ago, she invited us to her house for a traditional Kenyan meal. I have had the same meal before but I was really excited to have my parents experience it; especially the part where they have to eat with their hands.

When they were children, they were always scolded for trying to eat with their hands. They were forced to learn to use chopsticks because that was the polite way of eating. Thus, eating with their hands is quite the strange phenomenon. I love it though! I wouldn’t do it all the time, but it was exciting to break the social norms of what I know and indulge into the Kenyan culture. One day when I make it to Kenya, I’ll be ready.

Here we’ve got Sukuma Wiki(collars greens), Mbuzi (goat stew), rice, Ugali (cornmeal cooked to water to a dough consistency) and pan fried tilapia. Also served with a bottle of wine. Starting to see a pattern?

East Chinatown Restaurant
Last but not least in my food adventures the last few days, fresh finger-licking Chinese food in North Quincy, about a 15 minute walk from the train station. My parents and I adventured to Quincy today after hearing about a good Chinese neighborhood there. I had no idea where I was bringing them but that alone excited me. I love getting lost, and I very much believe that the best explorers let themselves get lost wherever they are.

After a peaceful 30 minute stroll, and a stop into a Vietnamese- Chinese super market to buy a few things, we went to East Chinatown Restaurant as recommended from the market. “It is the most authentic canton food around here,” a lady told us.

We ordered fish, tofu, baby bak choy but most importantly, cha siu (barbecue pork). Again, looking at that picture is making me hungry again. It was by far the best I’ve had in Boston. A few years back, I use to go to china town just for it all the time but after a while, I got tired of it. After tonight though, I can’t promise I won’t be going back just for a plate of cha siu. It may be far, but it makes me feel like I’m traveling without really traveling and that’s the feeling I live for.

Oh food, what a wonderful creation.

Rainy day escapade

The one thing about travel is you can never predict the weather. Sometimes we plan a trip to the beach in hopes of tanning and drinking margaritas all day, then all of a sudden all we can do is sit inside watching the rain day dreaming about the sun. Rain just ruins everything eh?

Today was my day off work this week and I had plans to bring my parents to experience something aside from your typical downtown Boston experience of shopping, food and history. Thanks to Boston Tweet, I found out about Free Fun Fridays organized by the Highland Street Foundation. The activities offered that caught my attention were the free ferry rides to Georges or Spectacle Island.

I woke up this morning excited for the beautiful journey to Georges Island only to look out the window to a gloomy and rainy sky. (To be fair, I did look at the forecast but secretly hoped the weather channel was going to be wrong, which is the case a lot of the time.) I wasn’t too keen on walking around an island in the rain but in the end, we went anyway and I’m so glad we did!

I’ve been in Boston for almost four years now and I can admit that I was spoiled in the small Emerson college community. Located downtown, I never had to go anywhere far and I was never proactive enough to explore different areas of the city. Part of the reason why I wanted to stay in Boston after graduation is to do exactly that, explore and experience this wonderful city in ways I’ve never done before.

The 30 minute ferry ride to Georges Island was very peaceful. “Everyone’s happier today because they got to take this ferry ride for free!” my dad commented as we sat in admiration with our surroundings. The rain and gloominess brings a special atmosphere to our lives. Metaphorically, a rainy day is compared to an unhappy melancholy mood and a sunny day is filled with joy and excitement.

But this rainy day came at me in a timely manner. The weather the past few days have been gorgeous filled with blue skies but I constantly felt drained in between work and spending time with my parents. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been incredible being with mom and dad, but tiring nonetheless. By the time I got home the last few days, I could do nothing but to simply lay in bed and thank God for my bed. Today, on the other hand, despite the inconvenient weather, I have been able to relax and adventure to a part of Boston for the first time.

Georges Island isn’t the best place to go in the rain with only a few shelters in the island but getting out of the house was worth it just for the lovely hour-long ferry ride (round trip). Although I’ll have to pay for the ferry ride next time, I’ll be sure to make my way back on a sunny day for a getaway!

Where would I be without family?

This summer I was fortunate enough to spend over a month in Toronto, Canada with my extended family from both my mother and father’s side. It was the longest period of time I’ve ever spent with everyone. Most meals, whether it be casual, spontaneous or planned had over 15 people. I have an amazing family, it made me wonder what I would be like if I grew up in Toronto surrounded by everyone.

I am more than thankful that I had the opportunity to grow up in Hong Kong, one of the craziest cities in the world but it was really nice and reflective to spend this summer in Toronto. Despite the over indulgence of food every meal, being able to live life with my grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins makes me incredibly happy. I have cousins who have young children, work full time but still took the time to take my brother and I out every week.

Yes, being out with all my cousins this summer was most definitely one of the highlights of the month but more importantly, I was able to spend more time with my grandparents and my cousin’s children. Those moments spent were very important to me and here is why,

Picture 1: My grandpa from my mother’s side
Picture 2: My grandma from my father’s side

Both of my grandparents below currently live in the elderly home and we only got to see them every once a week or so when we went to visit and/or bring them out for a meal. I saw them as often as every other year as I grew up, but was never mature enough to really treasure my time with them. I have two grandparents who have been admitted to an elderly home the past few years and that have changed the family dynamic drastically. I don’t have a very open relationship with them, I don’t know their life story nor do I tell them about mine in detail but being with them humbles and grounds me.

I imagine the joy and hardships they endured, all of those questions we ask ourselves on a daily basis they went through as well. Their life experience exceeds what I could ever imagine. I wonder how they think of me, and my upbringing. Did I turn out the way they thought I would? The more time I spent with them, the more I began to think of the people around me growing older. Sounds pessimistic but it makes me understand the true meaning of treasure every moment.

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Picture 3: My aunt (dad’s eldest sister) with all her grand children

I’m proud to say I’m the aunt of these handsome young men and beautiful daughters. Knowing that they look up to me in everything I do makes me want to be a better person. I treasure every moment I get to spend with them because I want to be involved in their lives despite living in a different country, I want them to feel comfortable coming to me with anything they need whether it be help with school or simply ask questions about life. I can’t wait to see them follow their dreams and be everything they want to be. No matter where I am, I’m always going to be right by their side. I pray I continue to be the role model to their lives in whatever way they need me to be.

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future.

– Gail Lumet Buckley