It may come as no surprise that I love coffee.  One of the greatest smells in the world is the aroma that fills the room when a new bag of coffee beans is opened.  During my last year of college, I wrote reviews of coffee shops for our school newspaper.  One of my good friends had risen to the position of editor, and she needed some less-serious writing to fill a couple columns.  She loves coffee and the city, and during our last weeks of freshman year, she asked if I wanted to start going to coffee shops around the city when we got back after the summer.   And so, every week we would get on the el, a bus, or just walk to the new coffee shop we were ready and eager to experience.  I don't think I can actually name all of the coffee shops we went to in those three years, but nearly every week we would find a new one, and sometimes even dance and jump around on the el (if it was empty) on the way back.  No matter what assignments we had, frustrations with group projects, or any other challenge, we would always be in really good moods after our coffee adventures.  Now, this could be because we were super caffeinated, but I think that was only a part of it.  In the somewhat chaotic lifestyle that comes to all college students (or dare I say, Americans?) we would take time to just leave and spend an hour or two just enjoying life.  We often wouldn't bring homework or books, but if we found a place we really liked, we'd do back to do our assignments later in the week.

It is probably because of this that I found myself most productive in coffee shops.  They aren't like libraries where you can just sense how anxious and stressed out everyone is.  Coffee shops are calm, the people who stay aren't rushing around, they are just relaxing and hanging out.  During my junior year, I actually started to write all of my papers and take my take-home exams in coffee shops with the sweet sounds of N*SYNC pumping through my ears.  I can easily get lost in a book, a drawing, a journal, letters, and whatever else when I'm in a coffee shop with a latte or a mocha or even just a basic coffee in my hand.  I just love coffee shops!

When most Americans envision the French, they have this picture of people sitting at an outdoor cafe discussing philosophy while smoking and wearing berets.  That isn't exactly true.  The sitting in cafes part is completely true.  People here understand how to enjoy life and steal away moments- or hours- with a good coffee in the company of a friend or just a good book.  When I studied abroad here, I went to the same coffee shop every week, but when I returned, I was so sad to find that it had been closed!  Thanks to a friend of mine here, I discovered another one and I am pleased to tell you that I go there every week.  Hard wood floors, big windows, very friendly staff, and delicious coffee and pastries.  I just love going there.