It's not Starbucks its Weedbucks

This post isn't about Amsterdam or a new addiction to weed =)
I love coffee. Not in the addictive "Gilmore Girls"-esque way, that if I don't drink some I'll die. I can drink a cup then curl back up into bed. Its part of my morning routine: wake up early enough to make a cup but still manage to be running late to class. womp
Since London is really expensive I decided that instead of wasting my hard won dough on a cup from Starbucks I would make instant coffee, drink tea or buy from random corner cafes. And it worked for a while. I can hook up some Nestcafe, a little bit of nutmeg and cinnamon, and I got myself a bootleg latte creation. And the only thing I learned from my terrible homestay weekend was how to brew tea, so that I actually want to drink it and not just to settle my stomach. That weekend I also learned that people don't need permission to touch a black girl's hair. But then my birthday rolled around and my mother sent me the Starbucks card that I asked for. And its been downhill since...

I wish they would tell me why that stuff is so addictive? Is it the organic milk or are the baristas low level drug slingers? I've felt a special affinity for Starbucks for a while. There was one close to my high school next to 137th Street/City College train stop on the 1 line, its now closed. But back in its day it had a picture of Magic Johnson posing happily with a cup in his hand. Later that year the Magic Johnson Foundation gave me a college scholarship. Last year the Foundation sent me and other kids from the program to Brazil, sponsored by Starbucks and an organization called Earthwatch. They even gave us a Starbucks card, and instructions on coffee tasting (not as fun as wine tasting). See its all full circle.

And while the London Starbucks aren't like the ones at home, where Daddy Earv (hey Annie had her Daddy Warbucks) is smiling at me, encouraging me to get a molasses cookie with my latte, they put me ease.And yes, they do say take away instead of take out and the silly sizes - tall, grande, venti are the regular small, medium and large here. But I have learned that globalization,done right can be a wonderful thing.