This newsletter comes out every other Thursday and hopefully provides you with thought-provoking content about the mundane, wacky, and weird. I will be writing until the 75th edition. If you know someone who may enjoy the newsletter, you can share it here.
I heard a framework a couple of years ago that still rings in my head every time I plan for a vacation. What is your entry point to a new place? What is going to be your “in” to discover a city or town?
For me, it is coffee shops. I love good coffee, the vibes of coffee shops, but perhaps more importantly, I love the neighborhoods around good coffee shops. They tend to be highly walkable, not too commercial, and full of hip and interesting things going on.
My Dad’s entry point is urban parks. He loves the contrast between nature + city. He will decide on a place to stay that is near a park. In Vancouver, the first place he wanted to go and explore was Stanley Park. This is his initial way of exploring a new place and getting a feel for it. Urban parks are familiar to him and offer a reference point for how this new park compares to his previous experiences.
I stole this idea from Tyler Cowen, who often bribes the taxi driver from the airport to take him to his favorite local non-touristy restaurant. He is an adventurous eater and his entry point is experiencing the local cuisine. Through food, he learns about the way people interact, agriculture, supply chains, cuisines, and local history.
What is an entry point for you or a friend?
Going back to my entry point of coffee shops. I am in Mexico City (CDMX) this week, which has fantastic coffee. In the weeks leading up to our trip, I researched different coffee-growing regions in Mexico. Looking into how their beans are compared to other popular regions like Brazil, Ethiopia, and Colombia.
While here, I have chatted with local baristas about their coffee. It gives me an intro to understanding the economy, agriculture, trends, and local preferences. Plus, I now have CDMX coffee shops to add to my collection of coffee experiences.
Mexico City is the 6th largest city in the world. It is too big and complex for me to try to understand head-on. Approaching CDMX from the “side door” of coffee works for me because it gives me a little glimpse into broader topics. Mexican agriculture is too big of a topic to grapple with in a week long trip. However, when looking at it through the lens of coffee, I can learn more about it than I would approaching it head on. For example, Mexico has 500,000 small coffee farms, mostly in the poorest regions in the south. This goes against the grain of many countries like Brazil that have produced large-scale coffee farms.
Biking entry point
My Semester at Sea geography professor convinced me that biking was the best way to explore a new place. You can cover more ground than walking, which helps you get a broader scope of a city. It is better than driving because you experience the physical geography of a place. In a car you can simply zoom up the hill, but biking a hill gives you an appreciation for the undulations of a place.
When I first get to a city I often rent a bike and explore the neighborhoods. On our first day in CDMX, we went on a bike taco-tasting tour. Our guide Marco did a wonderful job not only taking us to delicious tacos, but also explaining the area nearby.
Here is Jenny biking in CDMX during our bike + taco tour.
When looking at the map before our trip, it was hard to get a sense of the scale of CDMX. Now that we have biked a few neighborhoods, I know more about the vibe.
Entry points for learning
When I was a kid I was obsessed with baseball and baseball stats. I would lay all of my baseball cards out in my room and study the stats on the back of the baseball card. Unbeknownst to me, intensely studying the stats of baseball players helped in my elementary math. It gave me a familiarity with numbers, a knowledge of relationships with numbers, and it fed my interest in math. Suddenly, I was learning more in math at school that could even further develop a deeper understanding of baseball stats, how cool!
Entry points for fun
Entry points do not have to be about learning something. They can be a framework for simply enjoying life.
My friend Sam’s entry point while traveling is access to private nature. This typically is an Airbnb with a private backyard. In the morning, he can drink his coffee, journal, and listen to the birds. In the evening, he can have a glass of wine with his wife. These are simple pleasures that allow him to enjoy and relax during his travels.
I would love to hear from you. What are your entry points when you travel? Email me back with your entry points.
Podcast I am listening to
Andrew Huberman on the Knowledge Project. The science of small habits.
Andrew Huberman is a Stanford neuroscientist by trade but is a fascinating communicator on many topics.
Song I am bobbing my head to
Nothing to Lose by The Floozies. Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist delivered this jam.
What I’m reading
Garbage time by Ryan Holiday. Garbage time makes up most of our lives. Being stuck in traffic with a spouse, eating Cheerios with the kids before work or watching TV with a friend. People often talk about wanting quality time with their loved ones. However, Ryan points out that garbage time with our loved ones makes up the quantity of our lives and should be cherished.
Pic of the Week
Jenny and I have been in Mexico City since last Friday and head out today for our friend's wedding in Hawaii. With its tacos, parks, world-class museums, and dynamic street life, Ciudad de Mexico is an underrated city. Plus, we had lucky timing to see Mexico City’s Jacarandas (purple tree behind us) in full bloom.