Day 1.
Julien arrives at O'Hare at around 9 am. At home, I find out my financial aid counselor made a mistake in calculating my EFC. I can breathe again. I take a bus to the Museum of Science and Industry. Julien is sitting at the top of the steps. Breathless.
We get tickets to see "Hubble" at the Omnimax theater. Everything is put into perspective. Leonardo DiCaprio repeatedly assures me that we live on a utopia, and have yet to find our equal. I am tiny. This is the best there is. We are sheltered on Earth and my biggest concern is student loans. I look at Julien as DiCaprio guides us to the Andromeda Galaxy. This is the best there is.
Day 2.
We watch "A-Team". Hilarity ensues.
Day 3.
Julien accompanies me to the post office to ship a box. As the post office lady tapes the box up, Julien says, "If it fits, it ships". The post office lady pauses, stares at him and then looks away. Julien and I discuss proper post office etiquette while we wait for the bus to the movie theater. We watch "Toy Story 3" in 3D. I cry and feel very old. We walk outside and it is drizzling. I get home and realize a tornado has just taken place.
Day 4.
Julien and I go swimming at his hotel pool. Joining us are an older couple, a lady and her hot pink noodle and a 10 yr old boy. Julien practices floating and I practice sinking. After, we inhale a small deep dish spinach pizza and run to catch the bus back to my house.
Day 5.
A carefully orchestrated plan to smuggle veggie dogs into a movie theater takes place. We find America's Dog by Randolph and Wabash and order two veggies dogs with mustard, tomatoes, relish, sports peppers and a pickle and fries. We stuff the goods into my bag and we rush to the subway. We are an hour earlier than planned, when we arrive at the movie theater. Julien starts singing about smuggled goods, clearly misunderstanding the word inconspicuous. Luckily there is an earlier showing of "The Karate Kid" and we are still 20 mins early. We buy a drink and chocolate dipped cookie dough (our decoy snack). As soon as the lights go off and the previews begin, I sneak out the veggie dogs. The movie starts off slow, but two hours later, I have a stomach full of veggie dog and a renewed admiration for Jackie Chan.
After the movie we head to the Taste of Chicago. The sun seems to hover above Grant Park. I am breathing in more people particles than air particles. We walk around a couple of times, spend our tickets quickly and then trudge out of there.
Day 6.
Last day with Julien.
I meet him at the bus stop. He starts crying. I had left my swimsuit and tupperware with him a couple of days ago and he was bringing them back to me. He had them in a plastic bag and he had forgotten the bag on the bus. He had lost my swimsuit. I am mildly annoyed but mostly I am moved. I can't believe that it would upset him this much to disappoint me. We wait for the bus we will be taking to the train station. It arrives and we are listening to Gorillaz. I have completely forgotten about my swimsuit when Julien says he thinks he sees the swimsuit on the bus. He walks over to a girl sitting on the bus and reaches under her seat to pick up a plastic bag as she stares at him, confused. He comes back and sits next to me. "This was the bus I was just on," he says. Inside the bag there is my tupperware and swimsuit. "How do you feel?" I say and he says, "Better".
We are in Chinatown. We end going to a restaurant we used to go to regularly. We get seaweed salad and eggplant with mushrooms and egg fried tofu with peppers. I struggle with the chopsticks and the waiter feels sorry for me and brings us two forks. We leave the restaurant and go to a small grocery store. We buy ramune and dried seaweed. We get back on the train and get off at Jackson. I will transfer to the Orange Line back home and Julien will transfer to the Blue Line to O'Hare. At around 5 pm, Julien arrives at O'Hare. Meanwhile, I am home, munching on some seaweed and putting my swimsuit away.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Of Moose and Men
1. My Neighborhood
Yesterday, I walked through my neighborhood. I walked first to the library and then post office with my mother. I then walked to the bus stop on my way to a sleepover. Not having walked that much through my neighborhood in a little less than year, I realized everything that I had taken for granted.
a)Summerness- It seemed like everyone was grilling and the smell of burning was everywhere, part of the concrete and tree bark. There were popsicle sticks on the ground, and incriminating popsicle stains on toddler tshirts. Paleteros and Eloteros jingling and honking, moving, and enticing. There was an old man, standing with a bucket of white paint in front of his staircase, ready to repair the winter damage. He was a stout man, round and sturdy but he held the paintbrush so delicately, seemingly enjoying the feel of the bristles sliding against the wooden steps. It had been raining the day before, but today there was only sunshine and easy.
b) The Spanish Language- Mexican families, sitting on their front porch, complaining, story-telling, lying, cursing, exclaiming, shouting, muttering, whispering, the sounds are comforting, and refreshing. The melodies sound so natural, unrestrained and honest. So much is said with intonation, pitch and volume. These are sounds I had heard so rarely all school year long in Rochester, now coming at me, full force, amplified. It was a melody of questions, gossip, evening conversations.
2. The Bus
The bus was mostly empty when I got on, but started filling up quickly. It would have been a regular bus ride, frankly one where I might have regretted not bringing my iPod, but for the running commentary coming from the woman sitting behind me. She was talking on the phone to someone, but she was quiet for the most part and would only speak when something happened on the bus that she disapproved of. To be honest, I'm not even sure if she was talking to anyone on the phone. She was probably just holding that phone to her ear so as not to seem crazy. She was definitely speaking loud enough so that most of the bus could hear her.
Some Things She Said:
"Shi- get that baby a pacifier or somethin'!"
-after a baby started crying
"What is he doing with a dolly and suitcase? Where he gotta go? Holding the bus up and shit? Why? A dolly and a suitcase!"
-after a man with a dolly and suitcase got on the bus (to be fair, it was weird)
"Shut up! Oh mah gah! This girl's on the bus talking on her cellphone all loud! Shut up with your bird looking ass! Peacock!"
-after another woman got on the phone and started speaking at a volume that still did not surpass this woman
3. Bec's House
After arriving at Bec's house we started off the visit with smoothie making (I had banana duty). We then proceeded to discuss Bec's deteriorating health, and the untrustworthiness of doctors. Once Bobber arrived, we were able to head to the park. At the park, we discovered that Bobber and I, unlike Bec, were perhaps not suited for ultimate frisbee. I discovered that Michael Jordan coming at my head at 30 mph was very scary. We then proceeded to the swingset, where we noticed a two dimensional labyrinth (not be confused with a maze of any number of dimensions) just adjacent to us. Bec bravely walked us through the labyrinth and I lead our journey back out. After that we realized we were alone in the dark, and Bobber kept warning me about curly haired creepers that appear in parks late at night. Of course, I am not so gullible. There are no such thing as curly haired creepers. We headed back to Bec's house and began to film a video on a small island country named Nauru. In Nauru, we met many lonely, friendly indigenous people. They were quite hospitable, and eager to meet us, as this country gets so few visitors. Shout-out to Fred, Fredericka and Winifred! Perhaps the only downside were the pesky dragons and dragon slayers. I sure will miss Nauru.
For more information on Nauru visit:
http://www.discovernauru.com/
PS- If you look through the many Nauruan activities listed on the website, you will notice that "walking" is listed as one of them.
Yesterday, I walked through my neighborhood. I walked first to the library and then post office with my mother. I then walked to the bus stop on my way to a sleepover. Not having walked that much through my neighborhood in a little less than year, I realized everything that I had taken for granted.
a)Summerness- It seemed like everyone was grilling and the smell of burning was everywhere, part of the concrete and tree bark. There were popsicle sticks on the ground, and incriminating popsicle stains on toddler tshirts. Paleteros and Eloteros jingling and honking, moving, and enticing. There was an old man, standing with a bucket of white paint in front of his staircase, ready to repair the winter damage. He was a stout man, round and sturdy but he held the paintbrush so delicately, seemingly enjoying the feel of the bristles sliding against the wooden steps. It had been raining the day before, but today there was only sunshine and easy.
b) The Spanish Language- Mexican families, sitting on their front porch, complaining, story-telling, lying, cursing, exclaiming, shouting, muttering, whispering, the sounds are comforting, and refreshing. The melodies sound so natural, unrestrained and honest. So much is said with intonation, pitch and volume. These are sounds I had heard so rarely all school year long in Rochester, now coming at me, full force, amplified. It was a melody of questions, gossip, evening conversations.
2. The Bus
The bus was mostly empty when I got on, but started filling up quickly. It would have been a regular bus ride, frankly one where I might have regretted not bringing my iPod, but for the running commentary coming from the woman sitting behind me. She was talking on the phone to someone, but she was quiet for the most part and would only speak when something happened on the bus that she disapproved of. To be honest, I'm not even sure if she was talking to anyone on the phone. She was probably just holding that phone to her ear so as not to seem crazy. She was definitely speaking loud enough so that most of the bus could hear her.
Some Things She Said:
"Shi- get that baby a pacifier or somethin'!"
-after a baby started crying
"What is he doing with a dolly and suitcase? Where he gotta go? Holding the bus up and shit? Why? A dolly and a suitcase!"
-after a man with a dolly and suitcase got on the bus (to be fair, it was weird)
"Shut up! Oh mah gah! This girl's on the bus talking on her cellphone all loud! Shut up with your bird looking ass! Peacock!"
-after another woman got on the phone and started speaking at a volume that still did not surpass this woman
3. Bec's House
After arriving at Bec's house we started off the visit with smoothie making (I had banana duty). We then proceeded to discuss Bec's deteriorating health, and the untrustworthiness of doctors. Once Bobber arrived, we were able to head to the park. At the park, we discovered that Bobber and I, unlike Bec, were perhaps not suited for ultimate frisbee. I discovered that Michael Jordan coming at my head at 30 mph was very scary. We then proceeded to the swingset, where we noticed a two dimensional labyrinth (not be confused with a maze of any number of dimensions) just adjacent to us. Bec bravely walked us through the labyrinth and I lead our journey back out. After that we realized we were alone in the dark, and Bobber kept warning me about curly haired creepers that appear in parks late at night. Of course, I am not so gullible. There are no such thing as curly haired creepers. We headed back to Bec's house and began to film a video on a small island country named Nauru. In Nauru, we met many lonely, friendly indigenous people. They were quite hospitable, and eager to meet us, as this country gets so few visitors. Shout-out to Fred, Fredericka and Winifred! Perhaps the only downside were the pesky dragons and dragon slayers. I sure will miss Nauru.
For more information on Nauru visit:
http://www.discovernauru.com/
PS- If you look through the many Nauruan activities listed on the website, you will notice that "walking" is listed as one of them.
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