Exploring the City

by Brett Jasper

Being in Chicago so far has been unbelievable! There’s always something happening if you’re willing to leave the apartment for a while and maybe get a little lost. In fact, it’s almost overwhelming how much you’re surrounded by diverse people and culture. This being the case, you have to be really careful with how much money you spend because it goes quick here, and as college students, were not the wealthiest group. But I figure experiencing Chicago to the fullest is at least a cool way to go broke.

I was lucky enough to start dating someone from the program so I had someone to go on adventures with. Steph and I spent the first few weeks putting our transit cards to good use. We got lost a lot at the beginning, thanked heaven that we have smart phones loaded up with Google maps, and slowly started to understand how Chicago transit works. From this point on we were free to explore the entire city.

We got all the touristy stuff out of the way first. We visited “The Bean” and paid $20 each to go to the top of Willis Tower, despite the fact that it was too cloudy to see anything. We visited the Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute, Navy Pier, and a bunch of other places, and what we realized was that a lot of the “touristy” stuff isn’t a great idea in January, though we still had fun.

So where were we to go from here? We’d seen the popular stuff and the rest of the city was pretty overwhelming. So what we did, and what might be a good idea for others, was to pick out one or a few Chicago neighborhoods that seemed interesting and just got to know that neighborhood better. We became regulars in a neighborhood called Wicker Park. It’s full of young, mustached, creative-types who like to put stickers on things. Our favorite place there is a coffee shop called the WormHole. It’s got kind of a loose sci-fi/80s movie theme happening and the WiFi is very fast indeed. We also got addicted to a small chain of donut stores called Glazed and Infused which features just insane donuts such as the bacon maple long john. These are only for hardcore donut junkies so be careful.

There are always bands playing in Chicago, too, and most concerts are fairly cheap if you don’t mind indie music. We waited outside in freezing temperatures for an hour and a half to see a free Airborne Toxic Event show. If you look hard you can find cheap and amazing things to do all the time in Chicago and I’m excited about what the rest of this semester will bring.

Chicago: Getting Orientated

by Brett Jasper

Orientation during the first week was interesting. After some introductions from the Chicago Semester instructors and general info, we got a crash course on how to navigate the city and avoid danger, which is mostly common sense and trusting your instincts.

We played a few icebreaker games, which I generally don’t enjoy, but all in all, the program did a good job of helping us get to know each other. The activities I found to be the most helpful were when we were broken up into small groups and sent out into the city to have lunch or dinner together. Phil also taught us how to use the “conversation stack” (Google it) to help us avoid those awkward conversation lulls that tend to happen when people first meet.

A few days in we found out where we would each be interviewing for internships and were given times to meet individually with Chicago Semester instructors to help us clear up anything we needed clarified. We also had mock interviews with instructors to prepare us for the real ones in the coming days.

There was plenty of downtime and research time during this period where we were able to get to know each other even better. With only about 50 students in the program, you’re bound to meet everyone eventually. And commuting to and from the office gave me a feel for how long it takes to get to places in the city. The office is located in the Loop, which is basically the hub of downtown Chicago where all the trains meet and “loop” around a few blocks.

Chicago: The Awkward Meet And Greet Stage

by Brett Jasper

Hi everyone. My name is Brett Jasper. I’m from Ontario, California, but I attend Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa where I studied fine art and graphic design;  I’ve been living in Chicago for the past few weeks, seeing the sites, checking out interesting eateries and coffee shops, and spending way too much money.

I arrived a few Saturdays ago, flew into Midway and took a shuttle, eventually arriving (after getting slightly lost) at the doorstep of Canterbury Court Apartments on North State Street just off Division. It’s a bustling, touristy neighborhood right in downtown Chicago. When I got up to my room on the sixth floor I was immediately blown away by the view and, simultaneously, horrified by the lack of a kitchen and second bed. I soon realized, though, that they weren’t missing – just hiding in closets. It’s definitely small but two people can easily make it work. It’s only three months, anyway.

Our first day after arriving, we met with the entire group at Lou Malnati’s pizza just down the street from the apartment. For the first few days, for me at least, it was hard to get comfortable. In this whole new place with a crowd of strangers, it didn’t really feel like home. This out-of-place feeling didn’t last too long though. It was actually pretty easy to meet people. While some students did have friends in the program, it seemed like most came alone, so everyone was kind of in the same boat. Also, this group is pretty good at posting to the Facebook group when fun things are happening, so everyone can get involved.