by Nikki Howard
Hello, readers!
All of us students here at Chicago Semester sadly only have
about 3 weeks left, and I’ve noticed a trend of slight panic over all the
things we haven’t yet done. Chicago is a huge city to explore, and I’m 100% sure
there’s always something new to find. I’m trying not to feel too much like I
missed out on a lot of things because I know I would never truly get to them
all. I mentioned it in my last post, and I’ll say it over and over: Plan out
where you want to go and make time for it. Weekends are wonderful for us
because it’s a chance to have down time after a busy week, but I know I’ve been
lazing about too much during those times. Try to find that balance between
relaxing and exploring! Going out and finding a new place to eat is a good way
to do that, for example. Or even just find a place to eat dessert if you can’t
afford the whole meal. Here’s a delicious cupcake I bought at Molly’s Cupcakes,
and they average around $4. It’s a pretty well-known bakery, so that’s not too
bad.
When you feel like having a more adventurous day, pick a
neighborhood and go visit it. I just happened to visit Chinatown last weekend,
and I absolutely loved exploring the area. Which also reminds me—don’t stick to
the most advertised street in a neighborhood. Go off the beaten trail a little
bit, and you’ll find some hidden gems that many often miss because they stick
to the popular streets that have been designed to be tourist-friendly. When you
look up Chinatown, for instance, you’re pointed toward the main street that has
that big welcome sign over the entrance. It was fun to explore, but I have a
feeling if my roommate and I hadn’t wandered away from that street, we might
not have enjoyed it as much. We found a lot of the typical tourist shops, of
course, but there were also a lot of marketplaces to go into where they had
more cultural appropriate things that weren’t modified to fit the American
standard.
So don’t be afraid to be your own tour guide if you visit
Chicago, and just be safe about it.
Before I end this post, I wanted to include a picture of some lucky cats that have been sitting on the bookcase next to my desk, silently cheering me on. I never really looked at them until after my trip to Chinatown - funny how that works.
