On Friday, for our seminar class we met with a man named Jamil, who used to be a gang member in Chicago. Before coming to Chicago I was under the impression that the South Side (where Hyde Park is located) was dangerous and full of gangs and murderers. Hyde Park is incredibly safe and I enjoyed my time very much there. Jamil spent time in jail for gang crimes and grew up in the projects, which is a fascinating topic to me... almost like a social experiment. Jamil has proven himself and no longer participates n gang violence, alcohol, and drugs. He runs a mosque now and is doing his best efforts to provide a place for young adults on the South Side to stay out of gang action. I truly admire him and his efforts and how much progress he has made over the course of his life to turn his life around for the positive!
Friday night was spent at the Ribfest in Uptown. I went with my two roommates Carolyn and Ally via redline (how great is the CTA!?). The ribfest was AWESOME! Not only were there ribs, corn, mac and cheese, corn bread, and many others, but there was also free music as well! Rod Tuffcurls and The Bench Press played, what a name right? They were awesome, played great covers of old classic rock and new music as well.
Saturday was spent with our friend Isabel, who came to visit from Grand Rapids! What does a group of college girls do on Fourth of July? We picked up Isabel from the Amtrak station and took her back to Hyde Park to show her around. We then went to Oak Street Beach that is located downtown, I have never seen so many red, white, and blue bathing suits in my life! There was a live band playing and the weather was spot on. Afterwards we went shopping on Mag Mile and then walked down to Navy Pier (Ohio Street Beach) to watch the fireworks. Fourth of July is a great holiday and was wonderful being able to spend it with my best friends along with some awesome Chicagoans. I am constantly surprised by the people I found wandering the streets and where they are from, etc. We even got to watch a street show and a performer jumped over four grown adults, that isn't something you see everyday. I have never seen so many people at Navy Pier, ever. There had to be at least 100,000 people there watching the fireworks and thousands around the pier and in their apartments that line the waterfront. It was amazing to see how many people came together for a holiday and event such as fireworks.
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