Minnie Wu did not expect a hug.
Wandering through downtown Evanston on assignment, the Princeton, New Jersey native passed Peet’s Coffee and the Music Institute of Chicago before stumbling into Raymond Park. On the grassy field dotted with playgrounds and chatting parents, Wu found her first interviewee.
“After we talked she was like, ‘Oh Minnie I just want to tell you that you did a great job today,’ and she gave me a hug,” Wu said.
Whether in a housewares aisle or café patio, cherubs found the best places and times for interviews. Some, like Wu, arrived by accident. Others picked strategically.
Bani Chatha of Lancaster, Pennsylvania made multiple trips to Target.
“Everyone has to shop and get groceries and essentials,” she said.
“At Target, I was able to talk to professors, to teenagers, to old people.”
Emily Paschall of Los Angeles preferred the umbrella-covered tables outside Peet’s Coffee.
“It’s like jumping into a cold pool to go up and approach people you don’t know,” she said. “But I found that finding people in a relaxed state on a Wednesday afternoon was the best time to do so.”
Jason Wang of Shanghai and Toronto returned often to Colectivo Coffee’s patio. While the crowd was mostly seniors, “There’s also a lot of young people or [families] hanging out,” Wang said.
“One of them has basically no understanding towards TikTok, but has a lot of personal insights toward politics from the U.S.-China relationship … he has a lot of really insightful opinions as well.”
