4th of July Weekend

Fourth of July weekend--America's favorite holiday! 

Now I was fortunate enough to spend this weekend in one of the greatest cities in American with my two best friends and my roommates!!

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.

Sunday: We ended our weekend and the wonderful restaurant of Valoi's in Hyde Park :)

Communities and Cultures Seminar

Besides an internship, the Communities and Culture Seminar is a large portion of your experience in Chicago. As I am typing this reflecting on my experience, it may be September, but lets take a trip to the end of June. We are now two weeks into our seminar and have attended class in Paseo Boricua and in Andersonville. We have met numerous people who are significant figures in their communities and in Chicago. We have taken tours of the largest LBGTQ center in the country, sat through a news conference with city political figures, and toured communities I never would have ventured out alone to find.

Paseo Boricua: 
Paseo Boricua is a Puerto Rican community in Chicago that has been facing a large issue lately: gentrification. We were lucky enough to be able to sit through a news conference that brought in important figures from Puerto Rican countries as well as Chicagoans. We also got to try Puerto Rican breakfast food, which is delicious! It was similiar to American breakfast food: eggs and sausage were served but we also had chicken and pudding. A large part of the seminar is experiencing the foods of other cultures and I am glad we ad the chance to experience that in Paseo Boricua. We then had the opportunity to tour the neighborhood and learn about the history and culture of it. Paseo Boricua is facing gentrification and are trying to defy it by promoting the culture of all South American countries, not just Puerto Rico! We learned how much adversity Puerto Ricans have faced over the years in America and on their island as being apart of the United States. Within the next few months, the downtown will be featuring flags of all South American countries and a museum will be built to show the history of Paseo Boricua and those who have lived there. There are murals throughout the neighborhood showing the annual parade that takes place that celebrates the culture of Puerto Rico. We also visited a park that had a very unique design, the Puerto Rican flag was on the cement, how cool! This park also had a fresh garden with fresh strawberries, how delicious is that!

Andersonville/Boystown:

Another seminar class we completed was in Boystown and Andersonville, also known as the gay and LBGTQ neighborhoods of Chicago, We were lucky enough to attend our seminar here the same day that same-sex marriage became legalized! This was especially touching because our tour guide has placed a very significant role in this community and was receiving congratulations by almost everybody we passed by on the street.  This experience was one of my favorites while we were in Chicago because we saw so many happy, enthusiastic people out walking around and celebrating the good news. We participated in a Legacy Walk along Halsted Street which was about a two hour walk and we learned about all the influential LBGTQ community members that have made a difference and have now been put up on this walk so others can learn about their significant accomplishments! We also met with a good friend of Scott's, who taught us how intiate conversation about issues surrounding the LBGTQ community and how to talk about it. This meeting took place in the Center on Halsted, which is the largest LBGTQ community center in the midwest. It is a safe haven for those of the LBGTQ community, it is quite beautiful if you ask me! 

The seminar has been a great experience so far and I am only looking forward to learning more as the summer semester continues on!

So, what to do on your first free weekend?

Well our group has successfully made it through our first week and a half of internship searches and orientation events. We have finally gotten a grasp of the city life and CTA which left our opportunities seemingly endless for our first free weekend. So, how did I decide to spend my first free weekend in Chicago? I conquered all the touristy places on my list to get them out of the way while I was still learning the city!

Friday:

I decided to take my friend Emma's advice and walk through the whole Millennium Park area, which is actually three separate parks. Millennium Park, Maggie Daley Park, and Grant Park. The area is truly a gem of Chicago. From The Bean, rock climbing in Maggie Daley Park, walking across from the lake in Grant Park, and of course the Buckingham Fountain, the possibility of spending a whole day there is a real possibility. Grant Park is home to many festivals over the summer and Art Institute of Chicago is also in the area. Did I mention the gardens? There are gardens everywhere and they are BEAUTIFUL. Go out and enjoy them.

Also: DO NOT FORGET TO GO TO THE CULTURAL CENTER! I will leave this to you to learn more about yourself, because it is truly beautiful!

Buckingham Fountain

The Bean (Photo taken by tourist from Amsterdam)

Cultural Center (photo does not do this place justice!) 

Saturday:
Chicago is right on Lake Michigan, GO to the beach, any beach. My roommates and I went to Oak Street Beach, one of Chicago's more well known beaches. We enjoyed a day in the sun while looking out onto Lake Michigan and then turning around to see the Hancock Tower and the rest of the Chicago skyline on the other side. There are tons of volleyball courts and there is even a bar and restaurant!

Do not forget that this beach is also located right at the northern end of Mag Mile, so it is easy to reach and you can do some shopping when you head back home if you'd like! That is what I did!

Roommate Iman and I at Oak Street Beach

Go Scots!

Water Tower, Mag Mile 

Sunday: 

Shedd Aquarium! I love this place! Not only is the location just gorgeous, but there is so much to see. My personal favorite is the Beluga Whale area and the seahorses. I also love the amphibian area, considering frogs are my favorite animals. Grab a group of friends and go out and hit this spot at least once. Do not forget to order tickets online the night before, you save SO much time, we walked right in! Also, they do have a food court in case you get hungry. Do not forget to go to the marine show, awesome tricks and awesome views of Lake Michigan. 

This frog looks almost exactly like the frogs I had when I was young :) 

Patrick, is that you?

Go watch this show! 

Ahhhh and the perfect way to end another weekend, bike to the waterfront from your apartment. It takes about 5 minutes and the view is very much worth it. It reminds you how wonderful this city is no matter how overwhelmed or homesick or even how happy you are! Just go, go out and see, the city is yours to discover. 

Let the internship search begin!

As part of any program you complete with Chicago Center, you will complete an internship placement. The summer session has the following requirements: 

• Four days/week
• 32 hours/week
• Six weeks of placement 

Our internship search began at the Chicago Center classroom when meeting with Lane, Scott, and Whitney. We were all given sheets of paper that gave us each a list of potential internship placements based off of our interest that we gave when we applied to the program. We were then given multiple sheets that gave us helpful tips on how to search for internship, call potential employers, schedule interviews, completing interviews, and then accepting positions. These papers were fantastic! The Chicago Center did a great job on how to complete this search and choosing an internship that is a great fit for each person individually. Before hand, we were all incredibly nervous to see how the search would be conducted, all of our nerves were calmed immensely after this. 

My internship search went a little bit like this... 

I was given my sheet of potential employees and to be honest, I was not expecting my list at all. My views and goals changed since I have applied for Chicago Center. I came in thinking I wanted to intern in a social organization such as UNICEF, environmental organizations such as PERRO, or a financial organization that provides financial planning services to those who cannot plan them themselves. My list did not consist of the organizations listed above and consisted of mainly environmental and park organizations. The first day of my search was mostly researching and calling companies and organizations--got two interviews! The next day I also called more organizations and landed two interviews! We were given a "script" by Chicago Center on how to call and say what needed to be said without saying too much, it must have worked because I landed interviews. The interviews themselves were not what I was expecting. They mainly all consisted of conversation asking about Chicago Center, my college and activities I complete in and what I am hoping to gain from this internship. I completed four of these interviews and making a decision was much harder than I ever expected. It was difficult because I am still struggling with what I want to pursue when I graduate. 

Internship Choice: 

My internship that I chose is Friends of the Parks. Friends of the Parks is an advocacy organization non-profit whose job it is to protect the parks. I am looking forward to see what this internship has in store for me for the next six weeks!

Orientation Week: Chicago is more than the skyscrapers

Orientation Week was the perfect way to immerse ourselves and quickly learn about the culture and the numerous neighborhoods of Chicago! Orientation Week began with our trip to Old Town School of Folk Music Italian concert. The next day we dove head first into orientation week! While attending the Chicago Center in the summer or even the fall or winter semester, you will have the opportunity to attend some, if not all, of the following events!

• Old Town School of Folk Music 
• Hyde Park Introductions 
• Broke up into groups and got assigned to tour the Kenwood neighborhood (Lakeshore Drive Bike Path, the Black Pearl School, African goods and sandwich shops, President Obama's house, Muhammad's mansion, etc.)
• Grocery Shopping 
• The Project(s) 
• Documentary about the history of public housing projects in Chicago 
• CTA Orientation
• Lesson on the Chicago's CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) and then given an excursion to go on. My group went to Uptown (Vietnamese neighborhood) and went to Bali sandwich shop and a bakery where we ate snowballs. 
• Thousand Waves Safety Workshop
• RainbowPUSH Coalition 
• Reverend Jesse Jackson runs this weekly forum every Saturday to speak about how to stop violence and crime on the South Side of Chicago 
• Printers Row Lit Fest
• Festival with various authors and literature shows 
• Downtown Loop Tour
• Architectural Boat Tour

• • Introduction to Seminar and Placement Search 
  • Center on Halsted 
  • The largest community center for LBGTQ in the Midwest 
  • Hamburger Mary's 
  • Well known restaurant in Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago
  • Barrel of Monkeys
  • Play with scripts written by young students performed by actors in their 20's-30's
  • LYRIC 
  • Open mic night on the South Side that was focused around supportive and encouraging lyrics 
  • Art Institute of Chicago 
  • National Museum of Mexican Art 
  • Pilsen Mural Tour
  • Tour of Pilsen neighborhood of large murals in neighborhood of Pilsen 
  • Blues Festival- Grant Park 
  • South Side Tour 
  • Chinatown, Bronzeville, Bridgeport, Pilsen neighborhoods 
  • DuSable Museum of African Art and History 
  • PRIDE Parade 
  
  

This has truly been an amazing experience so far, Chicago Center gives us a great introduction to the wonderful city we can call home! It has changed my perspective so much about what Chicago is, it is more than the skyscrapers and the corporations. It is a wonderful city made up of great neighborhoods that weave together this great city.

"Welcome to Chicago!"

"Welcome to Chicago!" is the first thing I read on my orientation packet given to me by the Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture about 12 days ago. For those of you who do not know, Chicago Center is a program out of Hyde Park that "equips college students and other participants to learn from diverse urban communities through innovative programs, seminars, and internships" (chicagocenter.org). Long story short, I am a student from Alma College, Michigan. I will be a junior this fall and I am a Communications major and Environmental Studies minor. Because of Chicago Center I am living in Chicago for the next eight weeks and will gain internship experience and knowledge of the city through the summer program at Chicago Center. 

Upon arrival to Chicago I had mixed emotions about coming here. Eight weeks is the longest time I have been away from home besides when I am at school at Alma College. However, I was mostly incredibly excited to come to a city with such amazing opportunities. I was nervous to see the apartment, neighborhood, and meet me new roommates! Luckily, my mom and my roommate came with me the day before move-in day (June 2nd) to explore the neighborhood and downtown. We visited the American Girl store, Navy Pier, Lakeshore Drive waterfront, architect boat tour, and many other stores on Magnificent Mile! Excitement and nerves were high while awaiting move in day. 

Lakeshore Drive walking/bikng bath (mom, myself, Bre)

Chicago skyline from Navy Pier

June 2, 2015

Move in day is finally here! My roommate that is also from Alma College, Ally, and I showed up to our apartment first and picked out a room and unpacked--good thing for strong friends and dads! We met all of our roommates, it is safe to say we all get along very well and are going to have a wonderful time together this summer! They are all wonderful people from different colleges around the mid-west—Defiance, Adrian, Albion, Anderson, Ohio Wesleyan, and Millikin. The apartment is fantastic! A huge kitchen, living room, sunroom, and numerous bedrooms and bathrooms make it up. After move in, we walked over to the CCULC office and classroom and met the staff and filled out some paperwork. After that, we had our first housing meeting (and I tried Chicago Style pizza for the first time!) We were thrown right into a schedule once our parents left; we attended a show at the Old Town School of Folk Music and saw the Italian band Newpoli preform! They were a mixture of native Italians and Americans, but boy, they were fantastic! The music really stood out to me because you could truly tell how dedicated the band is to their music and their performance. 

Bedroom of apartment

Bedroom/bathroom of apartment 

Apartment living room and dining room 

 Judging by just the past 24 hours, I can tell it is going to be a fantastic whirlwind adventure in the Windy City this summer.