Au Bon Pain - Cambridge

If you want to experience different cultures visit different cafes. 

Starbucks - businessmen, large groups of students who swarm in and swarm out, students studying for SATs. I was the latter (two).

Au Bon Pain - students and tourists in the main seating of the cafe, quiety eating or studying. The inner regions, where the workers don't see, consist of chatty adolescents and the homeless. While I'm sitting here attempting to study for Chinese those sitting behind me are discussing boys who text them and they brush off but secretly enjoyed the attention from (discussing as in exchanging words about for all of five minutes before going off to the next topic of... hair dye), while those sitting in front of me are discussing whether food is more important or movies with one homeless claiming that some people do prefer movies to food but he gets into movies for free through the back entrance.  

"Hey, why are you guys yelling? Can't you see there are people trying to study?" The homeless man in the corner proclaims.  I look up in surprise. The homeless woman laughs. "What are you laughing at? People have their laptops out and... " the rest is unintelligible. I can't tell if some of these people have Boston accents or just have a speech impediment. These are some of the most interesting, though difficult to understand conversations I've listened in on in a while. 

Why am I in the homeless corner? Well, I didn't actually buy anything - I guess I'm more of a cheapskate than the homeless man who gets into ten dollar movies for free. At least he has an Au Bon Pain cup by his right hand.