Emerson Files: "Serving Coffee Around the World"

I don't know about you, but I know most people don't share too too much about their places of employment unless they really truly feel inclined to do so. That said, I have something positive to share about my time as a barista at a bookstore cafe. I get to meet people from all over the world, all because they mistake the big Starbucks sign as a legit Starbucks Coffee. But I digress. I wrote this piece for one of my classes, and the process was not the easiest.

I'm learning to become a better, more timely writer.

Without further ado, my piece. Enjoy!

“We’re actually not a Starbucks” is a line used a lot at my job. We’re a Barnes and Noble café serving some Starbucks products. Every day, however, we are mistaken for the internationally-known coffee shop, especially since we have a huge sign hanging on a wall. Some people are perplexed when they are informed that their Starbucks card is not an acceptable form of payment at the café, and others leave out of frustration or lack of other money. The variety of reactions from customers keeps my job as a café server interesting.

This particular café is located in the Pru, next to Cheesecake Factory and an office building. Thousands of businesspeople, shoppers, visitors, and tourists come through our café on a weekly basis. Before I moved to Boston, I honestly did not think much about Boston and its international appeal, but I have now seen people come from far and wide to visit. There are a few visitors that have stuck out in my mind.

I was making drinks on the bar, and I kept hearing some hints of French being spoken, and instantly my French minor kicked in. “J’écoute le français, oui?” I asked them. “Oui!” the Parisian family lit up when I spoke to them. I pulled out as much as I could remember on the spot. I mentioned that I studied French in college and that I missed Paris very much. I could see the relief on their faces because I could speak their mother tongue in a foreign country.

One of the more dreaded tasks is operating the cash registers, but I take advantage of the task and make a little small talk with people. I met two other visitors that way. There was a conference for the International Bar Association. I have never seen so many lawyers in my life. For a moment, I thought about the laws and justice systems that these defend and protect in their home countries day in and day out. One lawyer was from Australia. When I asked him what he thought of the conference so far, he said it was boring. One could only imagine.

Sometimes I go out on a limb and ask people where they are from based on their accents. Most of them have been from the South or Quebec. I asked a young lady because how she pronounced latte led me to believe that was from a western European country. Not quite. She was from Russia, and not the heavily populated area. She mentioned some small town in Siberia. Who do you know is from Siberia? I was amazed. She mentioned how Boston weather was a nice change from the below forty degree temperatures that she gets to feel at home.

If working at Barnes and Noble has taught me anything, it that people from all over the world find Boston to be an ideal destination to visit. There’s a great meeting of the minds here, exceptional shopping, and a small familiar brand of coffee being served at a bookstore.