We baristas have had many fun, innovative publishing experiences here at FC over the past four years. We thank each of you for becoming a member, and are grateful to everyone who has contributed their creativity. We can’t keep the FC going without you! I want to express my personal gratitude to Rachael and Simran for their pen pal exchange, published here in May and June. These two talented writers had never met one another, yet they both responded to our request to embark upon that old-fashioned notion of writing a pen pal – updated, of course, for the internet era. I loved reading their exchanges. They wrote from the heart, sharing many personal feelings amid their experiences – something we as a culture don’t do enough of anymore. Here is the last photo we…

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Editor’s Note: Since May, we’ve had the opportunity to read and share the fascinating and insightful correspondence between two American Study Abroad students: Rachael Allen, who attends Bowdoin College in Maine, studying in Bologna, Italy, and Simran P. Gupta, a student at Simmons College in Boston, studying in Paris, France. [Full disclosure: Simran is our poetry barista here at the Café.] Once our pen pals were both back Stateside and had a little time to recover and readjust, Mike Mavilia, our managing editor, and I invited them to dinner at Dumpling Daughter in Weston, Massachusetts. A lively conversation ensued about the three differing cultures, dining habits, driving, bicycling, the comparative pace of life…and the longing to return, to return soon, to stay longer. The photos taken at our dinner accompany this last exchange. We want…

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Editor’s note: This is the last exchange between Simran and Rachael as they end their Study Abroad semesters. You can find their previous pen pal exchanges here, here and here. The Sacre Coeur Basilica image above is courtesy Simran. The Basilica di San Domenico image is courtesy Rachael. Photo montage courtesy Grace Chu. But wait! There’s one last installment to follow, when they write each other about what it’s like to be back home. Coming soon. ** April 17 Hi Sim! Oh good luck with your papers and everything. I hope you enjoy the last few weeks! My program ends in the middle of May, so I’m not quite at that stage of thinking about the end yet. I love this question about being alone, actually because it’s definitely been a significant and changing part of my time…

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Although I’m sure they would secretly prefer the Fictional Cafe for a cup of java and creativity, Rachael and Simran have found local coffee hangouts in Paris and Bologna—and have found them interestingly different in several respects from their American counterparts. Here’s part three of their pen-palling. ** April 10 Hi Sim! Sorry for the delay—I was gone this weekend on a program trip to Venice. (If you end up visiting Italy, definitely see Venice! There are many tourists, of course, but there are also these beautiful hidden canals, one of which has this old bookstore overflowing with books—and sometimes with water.) I have similar feelings about the energy of the students in Bologna. And I too, especially since this is a university town, thought that café culture would be a big part of the city….

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Herewith, armchair travelers, for your reading pleasure is the next installment in the adventures of our European study abroad pen pals. Their discussion deepens as we see similar reactions to the large collegiate student environments of Bologna and Paris, as well as some musings on their writing [of course], art and architectures, all of which have deep, storied resonance in Europe. So, without further preluding, let’s read what Rachael and Simran wrote each other in their second exchange. ** April 3 Hi Simran, Thanks for your response! This exchange is cool—like modern pen pals. That sounds lovely writing by the Charles. Though I go to school in Maine, I’m from Boston and I’m especially missing it in the spring! I’m actually studying in Bologna, which is a university city a bit north of Florence in the…

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