Letter from Boston

Spring Break

By MASAKO YAMADA

When I was an undergrad spring break wasn't a very important break for me. I usually spent it on campus, doing whatever struck my fancy at the moment. However, ever since I've become a graduate student, I've become more interested in getting away ― or pretending to get away ― from the routines of my daily life. I get tired of seeing the same 20 people and studying the same subject all the time. I don't need to go on a grand trip to Paris, but I like going out and doing new things even if it only means taking a train ride to a suburb of Boston.

At the beginning of break, I decided to take a mini vacation to Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is only 30 minutes from downtown Boston, but in order to enjoy the full effect of the vacation, I spent a couple of nights at a bed-and-breakfast. A B&B is a small inn that is usually run by a married couple, who rent out the extra rooms in their home. It's easy to figure out that breakfast is included, but what makes the experience special is the accompanying conversation with the proprietors and other guests.

The rooms are also special. The one I stayed in was furnished with pretty white curtains and bedspreads, patchwork chair covers and fine china from England. The bathroom fixtures were made of brass, and the towel rack had plenty of fluffy pink towels. Unsurprisingly, B&Bs are often used for romantic rendevous but since they tend to be less expensive and more homey than hotels, single travelers make use of them too.

Salem is a tourist trap, being the setting of the infamous witch trials, but it's also a sleepy New England town in which real people live. I have no interest in the witch trials, so I simply spent my time there walking around the town. Since I was traveling by myself, I didn't want to go to a place that was too isolated and I didn't want to go anywhere that I, a stranger, would look out of place.

After spending two nights in Salem, I took a 30-minute train ride to Ipswich. I had heard that Ipswich is the home of the fried clam. When I got there, however, I was let down. Ipswich was truly a olocal" town, and there were no restaurants geared toward tourists. I walked down an interstate highway for about three miles before I found a seafood restaurant and when I got there, I realized that it was closed. I trudged back to the train station, rode back to Boston, and walked a couple more miles before I finally got the fried clams that I had been craving. They were the best fried clams I've ever had, but by then, I realized that I prefer clams raw.

I went straight to the bus station after this to pick up my friend Teiko. I had just seen her in New York, but we couldn't spend much time together, so she decided to come up to Boston. Although Teiko goes to college in Japan, it seems that when we're together, things haven't changed much from the time we were in high school. As usual, we didn't plan on doing anything special, but we had a lot of fun talking and eating and just hanging out.

We did go on a train trip to Concord, Ma. We went there once, years ago, on a high school trip, but we didn't do much back then. We didn't do much there this time around, either.

After I saw Teiko off, I met Dai and six of his friends for a Vietnamese dinner. I couldn't help thinking, "They are so young." They're all seniors, who are about to face graduation. It seems like ages ago that I was in their position. After dinner, I went with Dai and Kichi, a tourist from Kyoto University, to see an avant-garde play, "Woyseck." Dai's acting instructor had the lead part. The visual images were striking, but even I, a former English major, found it difficult to follow. Kichi said the English was difficult for him. Dai told me his bothersome glasses made him fall asleep.

Now that I'm reflecting upon all of the things that I've done this week, I'm starting to get tired myself. School starts tomorrow!! Maybe my days of lazy break will come back to me in the future.

Shukan ST: March 28, 1997

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