Homework has always been something I did at my desk in the corner of my room. The window overlooking the yard to my left and a wall full of photos to my right is my view for the tiring hours after school. So, as a newbie to this idea of leaving home to do homework, I thought I’d try out some quirky places around KC to study.
Hattie’s Fine Coffee is tucked away in the corner of Corinth Square, just a five-minute drive from my house. I had been there before for breakfast, but never to study. I went inside and looked to my left at the large leather couch I usually sit in. A man was already sitting there so instead I found myself a seat at the back of the cafe.
After buying an English Breakfast Tea for $2.51, I sat down, opened up my laptop and saw that the Wi-Fi needed a password. I subtly looked around for a sign with the password on it, hoping I wouldn’t have to awkwardly ask the barista for it. But luckily at that moment, a kid sitting at the table in front of me told his mom that the password was “coffee.”
Relieved that I had avoided that somewhat uncomfortable moment, I started working on my English argumentation outline. The Wi-Fi worked fairly consistently the whole way through. Apart from five minutes where it randomly stopped, it was sufficiently fast.
I really enjoyed studying in Hattie’s. The employees didn’t seem to have any problem at all with me sitting in there for over an hour working on my laptop. The 80’s music playing was quiet enough that it wasn’t distracting and although there were a few other people in the cafe, they weren’t loud.
Though the Hen House parking lot view isn’t so intriguing, the decor inside includes cute little signs. My favorite one said, “unattended children will be given a shot of espresso and a puppy.” Reading these served as a fun break from English homework. I would definitely recommend Hattie’s as a place to study, for its comfort, quietness and surprisingly good tea, for America at least.
The Plaza library is a little further away from my house; however, I know of many people who go there to study and have heard great things about its view over the plaza. Despite this, I was somewhat disappointed by the whole experience.
As you would expect, the library was completely silent and pretty busy with students working. Only a couple of the tables near the window were open. As I walked over to them I noticed a couple of signs on a bookcase. One said certain food drinks that are permitted in the library, and the other said that the Wi-Fi password was “historic.”
I opened my laptop, ready to do my Conjuguemos but found that the Wi-Fi wasn’t working. After trying it several times I looked up to see if I could see anyone else struggling with the Wi-Fi, but this only seemed to be an issue for me. I ended up going over to use one of the library’s computers, but I was disappointed as these did not look over the Plaza.
I wanted to get the full experience so once I had finished my Spanish work, I walked over to the comfy chairs that overlook the Plaza and pulled out my Chemistry notes. I studied periodic trends in the silence of the library, watching the cars drive through the plaza beneath me. The view was nice, the chair was comfortable and the library was quiet, but there was nothing else that made the library special. I would recommend the Plaza library to someone who has homework that doesn’t need Internet. The cool view and intense quiet could make the Plaza library a nice play study, if you’re willing to drive pretty far and risk not having Wi-Fi.
I love the look of Brookside. The streets are lined with red and blue awnings that hang from quirky cafes and shops, setting it apart from any other town I know. One of these places is Bella Napoli, which is a combined cafe, restaurant and deli. In the evenings, Bella Napoli is a fancy restaurant, but in the mornings, it is an Italian-style cafe that sells coffee and croissants.
At 10:30 on a Saturday morning, Bella Napoli is generally very busy. Looking around I saw only a few tables empty in the entire restaurant. I spotted a booth just outside the cafe, in the deli area and put my things down there.
When I ordered, the barista gave me a card with the Wi-Fi password and apologetically told me that it was slow. I sat back down and tried it out, and thankfully, found that it wasn’t that bad. It didn’t crash at all while I was there and the videos I had to watch streamed perfectly.
However, I didn’t get much more done than watching Chemistry videos, as the cafe didn’t provide the best working environment. It was noisy with large groups of elderly people enjoying their breakfast and bragging loudly about their grandchildren. On top of this, I was sitting right in the draft of the door that opened every few minutes.
As I got up to leave, feeling somewhat disappointed, I saw that on a shelf next to the door was a collection of Kinder chocolate. Kinder is European brand of chocolate that I didn’t think you could get anywhere in the U.S. As I bought the Kinder bueno, memories from several years ago of eating these with my German nanny flooded back to me. Though I got very little work done, this small surprise made me feel the trek out to Brookside wasn’t completely pointless. I know Bella Napoli is a highly recommended restaurant, but I would not recommend it as a place to study, due to its noisy atmosphere.
Thinglink by Robbie Veglahn:
