Columns

GUEST ROOM | A Journey of Reconnection

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As you stroll down Thames St. toward the bus stop, your fingers instinctively reach for your trusty twenty-five-cent lighter to ignite your cigarette. The day’s toil has drawn to a close, and the sun has gracefully descended behind the familiar concrete jungle that is Buenos Aires. A gentle breeze playfully teases the smoke, nudging it back toward your face as you exhale, a subtle reminder of your journey to the bus stop.

Patience is your closest companion as you await the fifty-five, a bus whose punctuality is as unpredictable as the weather. Sometimes it arrives early, at other times fashionably late and, on rare occasions, it might not appear at all. In due time, you retrieve your Sube card, ready to hop aboard, standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers, just like sardines in a can. Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” serenades your senses through noise-canceling AirPods, its lyrics cocooning your thoughts as you gaze aimlessly out of the window.

Dining

Water all the people stopped on the road to Ithaca doing? The Lisle Spring water on NY-79 provides generations of clean water to passersby and locals alike.

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Those who frequently travel NY-79 may have passed a clearing on the side of the road on one of the final bends. If you just so happened to glance over at the right time, you may have even seen people pulled over at the clearing filling jugs, bottles, glasses, whatever they could find, with water. Having passed by this water spout dozens of times, it felt like a crime to continue to drive past this spring without trying it and learning a bit more about it.

Columns

DERY | Leaving Town on a Chili Day

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Though I have lived in Rochester for most of my life — and have subsequently attended school in Ithaca — this weekend marked my first local upstate New York Chili Bowl. Upon hearing the possibility of escaping our grimy collegetown house with a near-empty refrigerator for a sunny day in Oneonta sampling dozens of local chili recipes, my housemates and I packed ourselves into a compact sedan and hit the road.

Columns

CHOUNG | South Korea During Winter Break

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This winter break, I had the privilege to travel to South Korea for two weeks. It was my first time traveling internationally alone and my two weeks abroad has redefined education for me. I booked the tickets back in September and debated  over traveling for months. I was wondering if it was worth the time, money, and effort to travel to Korea, especially since I was traveling by myself. It has been six years since I last visited Korea and it was nerve racking to think about exploring a foreign country without the help of others. I worked throughout the summer before my freshman year and saved up enough money to book my tickets. I kept my eyes on ticket prices and snatched up the cheapest tickets possible. I spent weeks practicing Korean with my parents and went over how to travel by subway and bus routes. I also practiced simple Korean phrases that are useful in any situation, and gathered up gifts for my relatives. Before I knew it, it was time to leave.