Small World

Kirk having a cappuccino

at Small World Coffee

Another venerable Princeton "institution" is Small World Coffee on Witherspoon Street, half a block across from the main gates of Princeton University.  Many PU alumni cherish fond memories of countless hours spent there, though its reputation in the annals of Princeton lore is only half as old as that of PJ's.  Despite the ever-expanding presence of Starbucks all over the country to, as it were, monopolize American's love affair with specialty coffee drinks, similar Indie-style coffee houses have been cropping up around college towns--places like Volta in Gainesville, Pourhouse and Runcible Spoon in Bloomington.  From the point of view of a self-styled coffee aficionado, I'm afraid I'd have to give Volta a slight edge over Small World, though some of my readers may not agree with me.  However, there is an unfortunate downside to Volta - it is not only that it's not within walking distance from UF campus, but that it's located inside a downtown parking garage, though for some people, the last may constitute a part of its charm.  

In addition to hosting research seminars and workshops, Princeton University during the summer months is also a popular destination for summer camps, mostly sports-related, and international tourism, mostly from Asia.  Bus-loads of tourists, from China, Korea, and Taiwan, are dropped off on Nassau Street every morning.  The phenomenon can probably be explained by the fact that there is a kind of long-held mystique, a result of their worship of over-achievement (remembering Tiger Mothers), in the minds of Asian people about the Ivy League Schools in the U.S. and Princeton University, with its "monkey imitation of Cambridge," as uncharitably characterized by Bertrand Russell, is probably billed as the epitome of the Ivy League school. 

And, troupes of kids in gear for such East-coast, "elitist" sports as field hockey and lacrosse, as contrasted with football and basketball in SEC schools, are also common sights on Princeton campus, as well as groups of prospective students and their parents shopping for the best ROI (return on investment) college.  It has always puzzled me to hear that young people and their parents shop around the country for specific kinds of "college experience" when deciding which university to attend--witness the stories on the various college ranking categories on Huffington Post - the top 10 Hipster, Friendliest, Nerdiest, Trendiest Colleges, etc.  (By the way, Princeton University, whose graduates enjoy the highest mid-career earnings with an average salary of $130,000.00, ranks number one among the "best-paying colleges" in the country.)  In contrast, in most Asian countries, there is no "shopping" involved: the college one gets into is determined by one's test scores from the National College Entrance Examination held once a year; the same is true for the High School one attends.