today, or, by the time i upload this it will be yesterday, i did not:
- go up on the sears tower and take a pic on that glass floor thingy
- go to the planetarium, the institute of arts or the museum of contemporary photography
- go to the millennium park
- buy shoes
- recharge my camera battery before hopping on – i mean: boarding – the train
- have coffee at intelligencia or whatever that coffee bar was called that trevor had recommended me
- have real chicago style lunch as everyone i ever spoke to in the us urged me to have. well, maybe not every single one. but pretty much everyone.
all things that i more (photography) or less (willis formerly known and by me still referred to as sears tower) wanted to do. wow. i think i’ve missed the whole touristy program.
and here’s why:
i got up early after staying up late. i did not make myself coffee, which would have been a smart idea because it keeps me from being grumpy on such days. i had a nice plan, such a nice plan… i had googled where i had to get off the bus which made me feel really local and not touristy at all, apart from the fact, that i had trouble with the complicated money-in-the-machine-putting ceremony. i had drawn a map into my notebook that was supposed to keep me from getting lost. i had a vague idea of the geographical logic of the area. i wanted to get out near union station, take a couple of pics of that because i hadn’t gotten a chance to do so when i arrived as i’ve mentioned before, go to the sears tower, then to the millennium park, downtown, to the aquarium, planetarium and if i then still had time to the photography thing. bunny would get out of work round 5:30, so there was plenty of time, i thought. weather was supposed to be nice and sunny and ideal for taking pics. well, it was, for about the first half hour i was walking around, and then again from time to time – most of the time the light sucked.
anyway: here’s what happened: i got out at the right stop, and i felt pretty much touristy because i did not see how to open the door at first. no embarrassing moments there, but nonetheless: touristy, especially when going downtown from the chicago ghetto area (that’s what the people who live there call it), is not how i wanted to feel. i wanted to be all cool and local and stuff, damn it!
when i got out i realized i needed to do something about my grumpiness. since i was right at the station i went through with the first point on my masterplan: union station
but decided to skip on going up the sears tower – was not my highest priority anyway, and i thought, i might still do that later or never or whenever – and to go straight on to the aquarium, because i love going to the aquarium or, well, at least that’s what i thought at that moment. to make a long story short: i took a wrong turn, did not realize that and walked into the exact opposite direction of where everything of the above was located.
i would not call it “i got lost”, because most of the time i had the feeling to kind of know or be able to guess where i was – but, in the end, maybe let’s just say: i got lost. i was greatly surprised when i came out on canal street – wow. how on earth did i end up there?!? – but then again i didn’t mind at least knowing where i was: about another 2 miles away from where i wanted to be.
canal
street
normal ave
selbstauslöser
anybody tell me please - why no confetti?!?
lake michigan
when i had finally made it to the aquarium it was already round two o’clock – remember, bunnie wanted to pick me up round 5:30…. nice. i went in, it was community something something day which basically means free admission to some parts and discount on the fancy stuff of the exhibition (sharks, dolphins, whales, penguins, sea lions, otters and the like).
lunch
i walked around there and realized i’m not so interested in aquariums anymore, except for the fancy stuff and the giant turtles, cause giant turtles are awesome.
fancy stuff
well hello, handsome fellow - look at how green you are and all...
but what i’m even less interested in is having limited time to try and figure out a way to make my camera take good pictures in the dark with reflecting windows between me and the fishies while the latter ones constantly keep moving. not so much fun. i’ve never spent so much time on editing my pics afterwards to make them look halfway decent.
on the other hand – some of them turned out real fancy and somewhere between artistic and otherworldly:
so, hey, the glass is always three quarters full, right?
okay, so i walked through the aquarium for about two hours, then i had some coffee at the café there – sorry trev, i really had to sit down for a while (i do realize that sounds like i’m sixty-seven) after walking for 6 straight hours and also, to some of the folks who have known me for a while: remember my evil nasty no good knee? it’s returned today. welcome back.
yay, next crisis on – after losing my purse, cancelling my credit card, then having the purse found by daniel, then not being able to undo the cancelation and not having a chance of getting a solid new one around here, having the new card sent to my home, leo had to sent me the number but was on vacation at the time when it arrived – after getting that nice kidney stuff (which is over and all back to good now, as it seems) with my insurance bouncing back – running out of minutes on my phone right at the time when i needed it the most to organize chicago – after the death of my bank card and thus no access to cash – no kidding: i must have really spoiled my karma somehow. of course quite a few of these events – as not to say: almost all of them - were my own, well if not stupidity, then at least disorganization and maybe carelessness: i just somehow don’t really care for any of it, i keep my spirits up and laugh about it all and just hope to find a way of dealing with it and finding some sort of solution, but why is it that i can do that? only because there are so many people around here who constantly take care of me – literally like a net that saves me from falling while i seem to be nagging on it from all sides – without masha and brett and daniel and kalan and bunnie and brian and steve and bliss and leo i would probably be long sitting rolled up under some table or bed, crying. instead i keep having the best time thanks to you – at least now i really don’t see what else there is that could possibly go wrong anymore that does not involve… well, let’s not jinx it. oh my, maybe all that’s how i spoil my karma…. anyway, what i’m trying to say is: i think i’m good now and it’s only another week of anna collecting trouble in the us, so you’re probably off the hook :) just to let you know folks: i really do appreciate all your help, hospitality and generosity as well as your just being there and my friends. i really hope i can give something back at some point, no need to say that you are all welcome to come hang out with me in bremen anytime you like (or berlin from next year on, hooray! and - well. maybe not exactly aaaany time. if i have a major piano exam coming up i can be somewhat awkward ;) ).
but back to topic:
after having that coffee at the aquarium, i went downtown, just checking out the area, seeing what’s there – bunnie had driven me and us around on sunday already, and again on monday when we went to the zoo, to the Italian beef/sausage place, to get some cheddar and caramel popcorn – sounds disgusting/is fantastic – and cruised around the lake shore for a while – but i prefer walking places when i travel: i have the feeling i make the place part of me and myself part of the place, and i only feel like i really have seen it when i walk somewhere (bike might work, too, though): acquirement of area through pedestrian activity (footnote: maybe i should sign up for the army, i hear there are troops who walk a lot and it seems to be a talent of mine. i could get paid for that there).
so, anyway, when i actually knew where i was and there was some life around me (you see, while i was lost i was walking around in an area where almost no people were out in the streets) i felt like i kind of got chicago for the first time.
it is a place with a lively nightlife, famous for its shows and restaurants. i guess if you want to have a fun time with some good people or if you want to go shopping and spend a lot of money, this is a place to go – and it might also have an interesting subculture, but this i only guess from a couple of indications.
i did not get to know any subculture, i would say i had a rather family-like experience, i felt somewhat like a high school exchange student on a two week trip to some place – in a good way, though, i really had a great time in chicago thanks to bunnie and jasmine.
also it was quite fancy riding our bikes through the night time chicago ghetto, i felt all adventurous and such :)
the food is definitely very interesting there – the weird popcorn has been mentioned, but what about eating pizza with mushrooms, spinach and pepperoni (salami for germans) on it dressed up with extra parmesan cheese and shredded red pepper? that’s a whole new definition of extra cheese, and of pizza, for that matter: it might well be that i’ve had the best pizza of my life – or at least for a very long time – tonight.
i am under the impression that chicago has a lot of de facto racial segregation – you know, hispanics in certain parts, blacks in other ones though those two are probably more mixed among each other than any of them with the whites and so on, and that the shiny glass façade the city keeps up downtown is not what it really is about – downtown is a nice but expensive area, as in so many places in the world – but it does really not take a long ride to get out of the perfect picture. maybe that’s why there used to be (or maybe even still is? i don’t really know i must admit) a grand jazz scene there – we actually passed by a duke ellington elementary school, how cool is that! i suppose that today they might have a notable hip hop scene, cause there are a lot of young people there, they’ve got a variety of colleges, too. however i suspect that this is not where the genuine hiphoppers derive from – i’ve met those two friends of jasmine’s who are latinas and from what i’ve seen and heard around the garfield area and from what their perception of life is i take it chicago is not a shiny happy no worries man place.
interesting, because it is a very different part of the us culture i got to know there, i really appreciate that. not that i had never been to a ghettolike place before – come on, i grew up in gröpelingen and such – so i had been acquainted with the general way of expression, like speaking in a different manner, a different register as we linguists call it, than middle or upper class people, getting your cheeks pierced and your ears tattooed, having other expectations from life, hanging out at the gas station at night etc., if not in the exact same way so at least in some other.
still chicago is a whole lot bigger then bremen, but what struck me the most is that racial question, a thing that had never played a role in my life or where i grew up – i used to live in an area with a high turkish immigrant population, but i never felt out of place when i walked around there. interesting.
chicago for the rich
and the not so rich
the pool table at which i sucked playing big time
as of now i’m back on the road, heading to boston. i think i have forgotten to mention: wisconsin looks like podmoskovye (moscow suburbian and surrounding areas) with the exact same vegetation and landscape. look how small the world is, when you come to think of it.
oh yeah, wisconsin by the way connects minnosota and illnois – minnesota being northwest of it, illionis east, i guess. i’m particularly impressed with my newly acquired geography of the us-skills – is there any song or rhyme or whatever they make you learn in grade school to learn all the states by heart? cause there is none for the capitals of the german bundesländer (states) and obviously i cannot learn 16 cities by heart without a song, right, even if three of them are one-city-states and some other ones are pretty obvious. never.
and also i have forgotten to mention: anyone who wants to visit the states and plans on going by train there, do it, it definitely is worth a shot because those trains are extremely comfortable, you almost for certain get a double seat for yourself, they’ve got plugs at some seats (that’s why i had a chance to write this entry and to recharge my camera battery) and they’ve just handed out pillows to everyone, and with the isic (that international student id you get for 12 euros at the asta bremen for instance) you get a 15% discount on the tickets – it’s definitely worth it.
some more chicago for you - i like that one:
or marge, you never know...
scary
lol. yeah, sure thing.
thanks a lot to bunnie and jasmine and toni again, take care and send me your kid at some point – remember: we socialists gotta look out for each other :)
i would not call it “i got lost”, because most of the time i had the feeling to kind of know or be able to guess where i was – but, in the end, maybe let’s just say: i got lost. i was greatly surprised when i came out on canal street – wow. how on earth did i end up there?!? – but then again i didn’t mind at least knowing where i was: about another 2 miles away from where i wanted to be.
canal
street
normal ave
selbstauslöser
anybody tell me please - why no confetti?!?
lake michigan
when i had finally made it to the aquarium it was already round two o’clock – remember, bunnie wanted to pick me up round 5:30…. nice. i went in, it was community something something day which basically means free admission to some parts and discount on the fancy stuff of the exhibition (sharks, dolphins, whales, penguins, sea lions, otters and the like).
lunch
i walked around there and realized i’m not so interested in aquariums anymore, except for the fancy stuff and the giant turtles, cause giant turtles are awesome.
fancy stuff
well hello, handsome fellow - look at how green you are and all...
but what i’m even less interested in is having limited time to try and figure out a way to make my camera take good pictures in the dark with reflecting windows between me and the fishies while the latter ones constantly keep moving. not so much fun. i’ve never spent so much time on editing my pics afterwards to make them look halfway decent.
on the other hand – some of them turned out real fancy and somewhere between artistic and otherworldly:
so, hey, the glass is always three quarters full, right?
okay, so i walked through the aquarium for about two hours, then i had some coffee at the café there – sorry trev, i really had to sit down for a while (i do realize that sounds like i’m sixty-seven) after walking for 6 straight hours and also, to some of the folks who have known me for a while: remember my evil nasty no good knee? it’s returned today. welcome back.
yay, next crisis on – after losing my purse, cancelling my credit card, then having the purse found by daniel, then not being able to undo the cancelation and not having a chance of getting a solid new one around here, having the new card sent to my home, leo had to sent me the number but was on vacation at the time when it arrived – after getting that nice kidney stuff (which is over and all back to good now, as it seems) with my insurance bouncing back – running out of minutes on my phone right at the time when i needed it the most to organize chicago – after the death of my bank card and thus no access to cash – no kidding: i must have really spoiled my karma somehow. of course quite a few of these events – as not to say: almost all of them - were my own, well if not stupidity, then at least disorganization and maybe carelessness: i just somehow don’t really care for any of it, i keep my spirits up and laugh about it all and just hope to find a way of dealing with it and finding some sort of solution, but why is it that i can do that? only because there are so many people around here who constantly take care of me – literally like a net that saves me from falling while i seem to be nagging on it from all sides – without masha and brett and daniel and kalan and bunnie and brian and steve and bliss and leo i would probably be long sitting rolled up under some table or bed, crying. instead i keep having the best time thanks to you – at least now i really don’t see what else there is that could possibly go wrong anymore that does not involve… well, let’s not jinx it. oh my, maybe all that’s how i spoil my karma…. anyway, what i’m trying to say is: i think i’m good now and it’s only another week of anna collecting trouble in the us, so you’re probably off the hook :) just to let you know folks: i really do appreciate all your help, hospitality and generosity as well as your just being there and my friends. i really hope i can give something back at some point, no need to say that you are all welcome to come hang out with me in bremen anytime you like (or berlin from next year on, hooray! and - well. maybe not exactly aaaany time. if i have a major piano exam coming up i can be somewhat awkward ;) ).
but back to topic:
after having that coffee at the aquarium, i went downtown, just checking out the area, seeing what’s there – bunnie had driven me and us around on sunday already, and again on monday when we went to the zoo, to the Italian beef/sausage place, to get some cheddar and caramel popcorn – sounds disgusting/is fantastic – and cruised around the lake shore for a while – but i prefer walking places when i travel: i have the feeling i make the place part of me and myself part of the place, and i only feel like i really have seen it when i walk somewhere (bike might work, too, though): acquirement of area through pedestrian activity (footnote: maybe i should sign up for the army, i hear there are troops who walk a lot and it seems to be a talent of mine. i could get paid for that there).
so, anyway, when i actually knew where i was and there was some life around me (you see, while i was lost i was walking around in an area where almost no people were out in the streets) i felt like i kind of got chicago for the first time.
it is a place with a lively nightlife, famous for its shows and restaurants. i guess if you want to have a fun time with some good people or if you want to go shopping and spend a lot of money, this is a place to go – and it might also have an interesting subculture, but this i only guess from a couple of indications.i did not get to know any subculture, i would say i had a rather family-like experience, i felt somewhat like a high school exchange student on a two week trip to some place – in a good way, though, i really had a great time in chicago thanks to bunnie and jasmine.
also it was quite fancy riding our bikes through the night time chicago ghetto, i felt all adventurous and such :)
the food is definitely very interesting there – the weird popcorn has been mentioned, but what about eating pizza with mushrooms, spinach and pepperoni (salami for germans) on it dressed up with extra parmesan cheese and shredded red pepper? that’s a whole new definition of extra cheese, and of pizza, for that matter: it might well be that i’ve had the best pizza of my life – or at least for a very long time – tonight.
i am under the impression that chicago has a lot of de facto racial segregation – you know, hispanics in certain parts, blacks in other ones though those two are probably more mixed among each other than any of them with the whites and so on, and that the shiny glass façade the city keeps up downtown is not what it really is about – downtown is a nice but expensive area, as in so many places in the world – but it does really not take a long ride to get out of the perfect picture. maybe that’s why there used to be (or maybe even still is? i don’t really know i must admit) a grand jazz scene there – we actually passed by a duke ellington elementary school, how cool is that! i suppose that today they might have a notable hip hop scene, cause there are a lot of young people there, they’ve got a variety of colleges, too. however i suspect that this is not where the genuine hiphoppers derive from – i’ve met those two friends of jasmine’s who are latinas and from what i’ve seen and heard around the garfield area and from what their perception of life is i take it chicago is not a shiny happy no worries man place.
interesting, because it is a very different part of the us culture i got to know there, i really appreciate that. not that i had never been to a ghettolike place before – come on, i grew up in gröpelingen and such – so i had been acquainted with the general way of expression, like speaking in a different manner, a different register as we linguists call it, than middle or upper class people, getting your cheeks pierced and your ears tattooed, having other expectations from life, hanging out at the gas station at night etc., if not in the exact same way so at least in some other.
still chicago is a whole lot bigger then bremen, but what struck me the most is that racial question, a thing that had never played a role in my life or where i grew up – i used to live in an area with a high turkish immigrant population, but i never felt out of place when i walked around there. interesting.
chicago for the rich
and the not so rich
the pool table at which i sucked playing big time
as of now i’m back on the road, heading to boston. i think i have forgotten to mention: wisconsin looks like podmoskovye (moscow suburbian and surrounding areas) with the exact same vegetation and landscape. look how small the world is, when you come to think of it.
oh yeah, wisconsin by the way connects minnosota and illnois – minnesota being northwest of it, illionis east, i guess. i’m particularly impressed with my newly acquired geography of the us-skills – is there any song or rhyme or whatever they make you learn in grade school to learn all the states by heart? cause there is none for the capitals of the german bundesländer (states) and obviously i cannot learn 16 cities by heart without a song, right, even if three of them are one-city-states and some other ones are pretty obvious. never.
and also i have forgotten to mention: anyone who wants to visit the states and plans on going by train there, do it, it definitely is worth a shot because those trains are extremely comfortable, you almost for certain get a double seat for yourself, they’ve got plugs at some seats (that’s why i had a chance to write this entry and to recharge my camera battery) and they’ve just handed out pillows to everyone, and with the isic (that international student id you get for 12 euros at the asta bremen for instance) you get a 15% discount on the tickets – it’s definitely worth it.
some more chicago for you - i like that one:
or marge, you never know...
scary
lol. yeah, sure thing.
thanks a lot to bunnie and jasmine and toni again, take care and send me your kid at some point – remember: we socialists gotta look out for each other :)
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