A Fond Farewell

Three and a half months ago my parents dropped me off in Chicago. I couldn’t have possibly been in a worse mood. After having a fantastic fall semester at Hope, spending my spring in Chicago seemed like a horrible idea. I had absolutely no desire to be here. Before I headed down to the ballroom for our first meeting of orientation, I told myself that since it was far too late to back out now, I might as well pretend to be happy.

When I left my hotel room that afternoon, it never crossed my mind that I was about to embark on what has easily been the best semester of my college career.

I liked Chicago just fine before I came here, but during these past few months I’ve completely fallen in love with the city. Yeah, there’s the fun tourist attractions, the endless amount of shopping, the grocery stores that have turned me into a foodie (Trader Joe’s, anyone?), but it’s the little things about Chicago that have made my semester great. Joe, who greeted me every single morning at the Howard CTA station with the RedEye newspaper and a “Happy *whatever*-day!” The Red Line conductor who often drove my train home, who was more than happy to vary from the standard, “Please stand clear of the doors, doors are closing” announcement for more personal sentiments, like, “Let’s go home,” “Stay warm!” and, my personal favorite, “All right, buddy, I guess we’ll wait for you,” when someone tried to board the train after the doors had closed. It’s things like this—things that you miss when you come just for Michigan Avenue—that have made me feel like a true Chicagoan.

Before the semester ended, we had a great final party a restaurant in Greektown called The Parthenon. Chicago Semester people from across the board—general students, nurses, social workers, student teachers and the staff—were there, which was great because that hasn’t really happened at all since orientation. I had never had Greek food before, but it was all fantastic. Highlights for me included moussaka, which is similar to lasagna, the baklava and galaktoboureko for dessert and of course the saganaki, which is the official term for “flaming cheese.” It sounds a little weird, but it’s super good.

Spending four days a week working has been a welcome change of pace from my normal academic life. I’ve gained a ton of practical experience here and it’s really been helpful to me in getting a clearer idea of what I would like to do after I graduate next year. I truly would recommend the Chicago Semester to anyone. Even if you’re unsure about living in a big city, even if you’re convinced life can’t get better than it is on your college campus: give it a shot anyway. It’s an experience unlike anything else.