According to the library calendar, the second Thursday of each month.

So the next one is April 13th, 7-8:45pm. (You can see all upcoming dates by clicking the "Also Occurs On" drop-down to the left.)

Looks like at this time they have ASL but not Japanese. It says they're seeking hosts to volunteer though! So if someone is interested in running a group, contact the event organizers in the link. :D

Besides East Columbia, there's another one at Miller Library in Ellicott City. Also a once per month event, but on a different day as the Columbia one.

In a similar vein, you can create Korean salad bowls at Bibibop at the mall, though a bibimbap is normally a rice bowl. You can choose a bed of salad greens instead of rice, and then choose your main protein and other toppings.

Did it close or something? I don't see that location listed on the Curves website anymore.

>Avoid the area around the mall.

???

What, like the Lakefront, Merriweather Post Pavilion and Symphony Woods? Am I missing something? That's where all the cultural events, festivals, and summer concerts are. That whole area by the lake with the playground, Whole Foods, yoga studio, and bike trail to Central Library is literally the most family friendly area in town.

The mall itself is pretty nice too. Just very crowded on weekends and traffic can be infuriating.

Ooh, I haven't tried Cozy Cafe yet! Thanks for the recommendation!

I do miss Rustiq. I really liked their oat bread and avocado sandwiches. I think the Savage Roggenart location still serves Rustiq's everything croissants and their Pain Suisse. I've generally had good experiences at Roggenart, so it's good to see they're doing well.

And yeah, Shilla is great too! My favorite thing from there is their nut tartlets. Good tea cookies and savory croquettes too. They also have an unexpectedly amazing sandwich, which is like a frybread with ham and pickled cabbage?? I have no idea what it's called, but that was a great unexpected lunch find.

Yeah, I actually have a pot of their French Toast blend brewing right now! It's making my whole kitchen smell soooo nice. :)

I do miss Bean Hollow. I had heard after the floods that the owner was considering opening up a coffee shop in Catonsville? I wonder if that ever happened.

Whaaa, all in Baltimore?

In Columbia itself, Mad City Coffee has been my go-to for some time. They roast their own coffee and have like a million flavors.

I used to go to Roggenart a lot, but how crowded it's gotten has tested my patience lately. It's the only place around here I can find a Schnecke, which is a type of Austrian sweet roll. Their new bacon gruyere roll is really good. In quieter moments I like to flip through all these lavish photography books they have about the history of Austria and fantasize about traveling.

Let's see, The 3rd just opened up at the Lakefront a few weeks ago. So far, I like their baked goods and the ambience. It's a very relaxing space. They have tasty little bundt cakes and cheesecake, and are very vegan and gluten-free friendly. No patisserie though. I can't help but miss Petit Louis a little. Also, the coffee is just drip coffee, but pretty good for what it is.

As a fan of patisserie, I'm a huge fan of all the Korean bakeries on Rt 40. Tous Le Jours, Shilla, and Bon Appetit are pretty good. Super good patisserie as well as more typical Korean desserts. (I'm not the biggest cupcake/cake and muffin lover, which seems to predominate a lot of American bakeries.) Also, they're open relatively late as far as bakeries go, so it's possible to get dessert after dinner.

Old Ellicott City is fun to check out. There are a bunch of cafes all along Main Street. Georgia Grace Cafe just reopened recently and has crepes and various Greek desserts. There's also Syriana for Middle Eastern baked goods and coffee, and I believe it's run by Syrian refugees. The decor is also incredible. I like Little Market Cafe for their outdoor evening concerts and comedy nights in the summer. They have such a beautiful courtyard garden and great sandwiches. However, they can be really slow and there's no indoor seating. If you go to Old Mill Cafe at the bottom of the hill, you can also take a walk along the Trolley Trail.

Is Savage Mill still in Howard County? I like Brewing Good Coffee, which is a coffee roastery that runs a vegan cafe there. It's very dog friendly and right by the Savage Mill Trail along the Little Patuxent River. Not necessarily related, but there's also a geeky board game shop right next to it with a huge game room, if you're into that.

There's a children's gym next to the mall you could check out, The Little Gym, that has gymnastics and fun dance activities for kindergarteners.

And the Columbia Ice Rink has a Learn to Skate program for kids.

Personally, I think this is a very good idea.

Hope you feel better! We're getting towards the end of my class, since it's a fall semester beginner German class at a local college. If you're ready to practice conversational German, you definitely know everything from the class already. :)

I do some meditation workshops at The Pearl at the Columbia Lakefront. I have a class pack so I don't go regularly, but there's a sound meditation class on Tuesdays at 6:45pm and 10:30am Saturdays.

I like floating meditation (you meditate suspended in a hammock), which is Sundays at 12:30. I prefer the floating meditation because hey, making time to lie in a hammock is cool, and also sometimes the sounds used in sound meditation can be too distracting for me. Though sometimes there's construction noises from the Whole Foods nearby so noise level can vary by day.

If you wanna try a one-time thing, there's a floating meditation workshop coming up on Sunday, November 13 at 3:00pm.

Yoga Center of Columbia has some too, but I haven't been there since before the pandemic. Nothing wrong with them, I just haven't made the time. It's worth checking their class schedule. I would say Pearl is more like a spa and Yoga Center of Columbia is more like a fitness studio, in terms of atmosphere.

No problem, good to hear back from you! I can't make HCLibrary tonight, since my German class meets on Tuesdays of all things, but I definitely look forward to the WLC meetup on Thursday, 11/10! I'm gonna see if I can get anyone else from my German class to show up too. :D

YAAAAAY, GERMAN! /u/penultimateNoob, I just saw on a flyer that here's now another monthly World Languages Cafe meetup at Miller Library in Ellicott City. It's one Thursday a month. The next meetup is tomorrow, 10/13 from 7-8:45pm. (After that, the next meetups at Miller are Nov. 10th and Dec. 8th.)

The East Columbia Library monthly meetups are still ongoing, one Tuesday per month. (Upcoming: 10/25, 11/22, 12/13, 7-9pm.) So you could alternate and get your German fix every other week.

I'm in a German class currently that ends in November, but I should have more time for meetups next month!