Settled? Well, at least a little.

I hope I don't end up being one of those bloggers who posts every detail of their every day on the internet. But I guess I haven't posted for a couple days, so I feel better about life.

I started my internship... it's going really great. I've been amazed at how many social work skills I have used so far, two days into it. I've been able to meet some amazing people and have really enjoyed getting to know the people I'll be working with. Not only that, but I found a place that will serve me coffee for 35 cents a cup, with free refills for as long as I am there. Score one for me.

Yesterday we went to see Improvised Shakespeare at the IO Theater near Wrigley Field. Holy cow was that funny! Basically, they ask someone from the audience to give them a title to work from, and these six or seven men perform an improvised play, in the style and wording of Shakespeare. Ours was "Rod has a Bad Day." Several characters were Scottish and sounded suspiciously like something one would find on a McDonald's menu. It was a lot of fun and a great way to end orientation.

And today we moved into our apartment! My parents came up and helped bring all of my stuff, and after many hours of unpacking and attempting to organize, I am pretty much settled, at least as far as I can be. Since then I've just been hanging out with the roomies that are here. Not only that, but we discovered that the Mexican place down the street is AWESOME. Best burrito ever.

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year, so I'll be sure to post on that. We're going to a giant parade in Chinatown, and I am looking forward to seeing all the craziness.

Fun times!

living and love (in the form of chocolate)

I signed my lease today and got a sneak preview of my apartment! It's huge and awesome, and I am very excited to live there. It is a three bedroom, two bath, fully stocked and furnished apartment that makes me very happy every time I think about it :) Be jealous, very jealous. Plus, it's down the street from one of Al Capone's old hang outs, which makes me feel pretty gangster. I want to wear a pinstripe suit, sit in a dark corner, and order a big tall glass of milk just for kicks.

In other adventures, I went with a couple of friends to the Ghirardelli chocolate place off of Michigan Avenue today. Yum. It was super fun, and I pretty much paid $5 to drink a cup of straight up liquid fudge. It was great fun... the chocolate was so thick that I couldn't even finish it!
Tomorrow I start my internship, which I'm pretty stoked about, and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. I just hope I can get there in time and not get lost!

I'm here!

Okay, so there was a few things I probably should have known before I

came to do this program.

1. Just because someone says they know where a street is, doesn't mean they do. Apparently you can live in Chicago your entire life and have no clue how to get to Randalph from Union Station.

2. Be not afraid to hail a taxi.

3. Everyone in this program is Dutch. I am not. I am learning a lot.

There is a lot of really good stuff going on here though. It has been culture shock though... to come from a town of a thousand people, and from a Christian college that is hardly on the map, and be dumped in Chicago is to truly experience change.

Yesterday was my first day. I rode Amtrak in to Union Station (which I had never been to before), which is absolutely a gorgeous piece of architecture. I walked into the Great Hall and felt so... small. You could see all the travelers in there, but you could also see the homeless people sitting there trying to get warm.

Then I walked outside. My plan was to use my GPS and just walk to the hotel, but for some reason it wasn't connecting with the satellite. I sat there, stupified on the street, trying to figure out where to go, when I homeless man walked up to me and asked me where I wanted to go... I told him what street I wanted, and he told me to follow him. He told me a little bit about himself... his name was Antwon, he took people where they were going for a living, and I was going to tip him, right? Because the last guy didn't tip him. It was pretty entertaining talking to Antwon, especially when he missed the street I was supposed to be on three times, and then put me in a cab so that I would be able to get where I was supposed to be. And I made it! Hotel Allegro!

My time here so far has been really... overwhelming. It's hard to believe I'm here, first of all, because I never thought I would actually make it. Second, it seems like I'm being overloaded with information. For the past two days, we've been in seminars about safety, housing, transportation, internships, and anything else they could think of. I hardly know how to handle it. I can't wait until we are done being "orientated" so that the fun can start!

A few final words - I do have an apartment in Uptown. I do have an internship. So basically all I have to figure out is how to get around without being assaulted, which shouldn't be too bad. If you're worried, don't be. I was just joking about being assaulted.

More later!

An attempt to keep the panicking to a minimum...

Just a little over a week! I can't believe it's sneaking up on me so soon!

While I'm not completely freaked out, I know this next week is going to be pretty eventful. I'm at school for another few days, working and waiting for a lot of my friends to get back from their cross-cultural trips to Guatamala, Costa Rica, South Africa, and everywhere else in the world. It'll be pretty great to see them one last time before I head out for my adventure!

Thursday I leave SAU, and I likely won't be spending much quality time here again until I graduate in May... it's kind of sad to think that something I have grown so familiar with will soon be a part of my past, but on the other hand, the end of one thing is only the beginning of another.

I just have a few minor details to take care of before I hit the city... packing, a train ticket, etc. For the most part, I'm ready to take the city by storm.

Mostly, I'm just trying to remain upbeat while I try not to panic!