Anyway, the first day was crazy. I don't plan on writing a full page story about every day, but my first day had some merit. So, it was about a week ago today that I landed in Chicago, I think about 4 PM because our flight was delayed due to unscheduled maintenance. Oh, and when I say "our", I'm including my friend Anthony, who flew up with me to hang out for a week before school started. So we landed, and it just so happened that one of my roommates, Sophia, was getting in from New York (her hometown) right about the same time we were. So we split a cab to the apartment, which I thought was cool because I'd never been asked to split a cab in my life.
We got to the apartment and I really really liked it. The neighborhood is small and quiet, kind of residential, but there are bars and restaurants one street over (although if you were to look at just our street, you would never be able to tell). There seems to be little families in the houses next to us, and it's been quite a while since I've been exposed to that sort of neighborhood, so it was refreshing. After checking out the house and setting our things in my little green room, we went to a restaurant that most of the people Anthony had met on his previous trip to Chicago work at, and we ate lunch as we planned the rest of the day. It was kind of late, so we scratched the beach idea and decided we'd head to the Magnificent Mile (www.themagnificentmile.com) downtown to shop.
Our day-planning was derailed (that's train talk) as soon as one of Anthony's friends showed up and literally TOLD us that we were going to the Cubs game that night because they had two extra tickets in a box suite that their restaurant had won in a competition against all of the other restaurants on their street. You just don't say no to that. So off we went, to the Cubs game and to my first taste of Chicago life.
Let me just stop here and say that my first day in Chicago was quite possibly the weirdest of my life. Walking by bars and restaurants on the crowded sidewalk where people ran, biked, walked their dogs, rollerbladed; it was the strangest feeling to realize that this was my "new life". The temperature was 75 and all the restaurants had patio seating and open doors where you could people-watch out onto the street, it was so odd knowing that this is what I would be passing everyday. It was like being on a trip to a big city, taking everything in and feeling completely separated from feelings of home and then realizing this was your home, and that you were now a local, moving with the rest of the Chicagoans in your day-to-day life. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but it's so hard to put into words what I felt that day. The feeling has already started to pass as the days go by, but I'm reminded of it whenever I see the skyline in the distance, so unfamiliar to me but at the same time exactly where I want to be.
The Cubs game was so much fun. I've never been much into baseball but when you're there at the field you can't help but get into it, plus the stadium is 10 minutes (walking) from my apartment, so I knew I would have to go someday. They were playing the Atlanta Braves, and they ended up losing, but just like at North Texas, it's still fun to go and watch. I was also wondering about the dangers of foul balls because they fly into the stands so fast that it must be a serious hazard, and then one went straight into the stands to the right of home base and smacked someone in the head, who was escorted out of the stadium by a health crew. Anyway, the seats were great, pretty much right behind home base and up off the ground. There are also some really cool seats on local restaurants that just erect stands on their roofs where you can look into the stadium. I'd never seen that before, and I'll have to check it out sometime. It was definitely a really cool way to be introduced to the city, the team, and these people who could quite possibly become some of my best friends.
After that, it was back home, as I was mentally and physically exhausted. Such a great start to what's going to be an amazing experience.
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