Greater Boston Area

Back in the US!  Feels a bit odd.  For a few hours there I wasn’t sure if I’d be leaving Iceland.  The Hekla volcano did a little jitter and thought about blowing.  My pilots were on alert.  But we safely winged our way to Boston, arriving a half hour early.  I had a lovely chat with the Passport Control agent – which I suppose is what happens when you hand over the form with an asterisk and extra sheet of paper.  The “Countries Visited” box has only two lines.  I was in 16 countries.  Just couldn’t make it fit.  Even had I used EU, it wouldn’t have fit.

Delightfully, Joaquin was waiting outside the customs area for me!  It’s been ages since someone met me at the airport. 

Spent my first day in Boston (Somerville, Cambridge) visiting with Cousin Susan, then hitting museums with J.  Six museums.  Started with the Harvard Museum of Natural History, which has an astonishing number of stuffed species on display.  I counted at least five that have bit/stung me.  Then through to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography.  You’d think that would be the highlight, but it was pretty meh.  I think most of their value is in the research collections and their displayed items didn’t wow me.

We met a friend of J.’s across the street and viewed the one-room Harvard Semitic Museum.  I’ve always steered clear of biblical archaeology, because the scientific truth needs must always be obfuscated by the demands of faith.  But they had a pretty sweet little display going on.  K. recommended we check out a similarly one-roomed museum a few doors down – the Harvard Historical Scientific Instruments Museum (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~hsdept/chsi-collection.html ).  Pretty cool, and I managed to embarrass J. by setting off the alarm by leaning in too closely.

J. then indulged me and we headed south of the Charles (but still Harvard!) to the Warren Museum where we got a close look at this fella’s skull.  So cool.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage

Lastly, we hit the enormous Museum of Fine Arts.  We did a surgical strike – hitting the special exhibits, a brief dip into European Impressionists, then Asian Arts, and 20^th century American.  In the (dark, peaceful) Japanese Buddhist Art gallery, a certain someone took a brief nap.  No snoring.  No shame.  I’m sure people do it all the time.

Human interactions have been interesting all day.  I’ve rarely been particularly shy, and as an Alaskan I’ve had the autochat setting since birth.  Plus, I’ve been outside of any sort of social circle for months now.  My barriers – if they exist – are obviously low.  Joaquin is far more reserved by nature.  So, as we are walking all over the city we wind up talking to people.  Kicking a soccer ball with strangers.  Talking with his neighbors about putting out the trash bins.  He’s weirded out: he’s never talked with these neighbors.  He thinks it’s me.  I’m a talk magnet.  He may be right.  Opinions?