*sigh* Internet at last!

okay all, so... i've been in chicago since last week monday (aug 25th) and i can finally sit down with my computer and write about the last week and a half. i'm at The Corner Bakery where they have free wirless and really good oatmeal. i'm gonna be here a lot.

any. for those who don't know, i'm doing Chicago Semester this fall; i'm interning and taking classes until the first week of december. orientation started last monday. kav (stepdad) dropped me off at the hotel the CSers stay at during orientation, and i was on my own. super nice hotel, nice rooms, very modern lobby decor, wine tasting every night. had to wear business casual whenever we were outside our rooms. kind of annoying but ya get used to it.

anyway, we had meeting after meeting, some getting to know you games, how to get around chicago sessions, interviewing tips, safety reminders, and all that stuff on monday and tuesday. everyone was really nice and helpful, but we were all still a bit nervous. the map of chicago they gave us is literally the size of my bed. daunting, but i think pretty simple once you get your bearings.

on tues, we found out our list of interview sites. i'd already had two phone interviews over the summer, so i only had to go to one real interview that week, plus visiting one of the others. wed through friday most people had interviews. wed i interviewed at Intuit: Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art. http://www.art.org/ very cool, and the interview went really well.. Wed i visited Woman Made Gallery, the internship i really wanted and eventually got. i didn't ever get to visit the other place i had a phone interview with b/c they were at a convention or something all last week. that one was DuSable Museum of African American History. it sounded like a cool gallery but the work i would have been doing wasn't at all what i wanted. it would have been a lot of organizing and filing, cataloguing and things like that.

at woman made, i get to do everything from washing windows to setting up galleries and interacting with the artists. i get to go to other galleries and compare them, do research, update the websites, etc. i get hours for galley openings and stuff that is more fun that work! i'm really excited, and the people i work for are great.

i should probably say something about woman made: it's a small, non profit gallery that supports and raises awareness for female artists. they have some really good art up right now, but i think they are putting in a new show soon. check out the website, though. http://womanmade.org/index.html

wednesday of orientation week we also got apartments set up. (we just moved in sat. morning). small, $500/month each for a two bed studio. but they are a couple blocks from the beach and there are a lot of bars/restaurants/cafes nearby, plus a barnes and noble, walgreens, grocery stores, and a cta station. i'm living with whitney powell from dordt. met her on our london trip this summer but didn't really get to know her that well. we like a lot of the same things so we decided to room together. we live on the second floor which is nice for going up and down, but there's no view. :( oh well. lots of other CSers live in the same building so there's always someone to talk to/go to the beach with.

on sat, dad and grandma came up with the rest of my stuff. we went to navy pier- took a short cruise around the lake, then went to sears tower. lots of waiting in line, lots of people. but the view at night is gorgeous. sunday and monday were chillaxing days. beach, grocery shopping, unpacking, buying forgotten items, more beach. Zulfiya, Michelle, and I had a drawing party at the beach on monday (yesterday). sunday night we went downtown to grant (?) park for the jazz festival. awesome. stood in line for free organic delicious dark chocolate. then listened to great jazz music. after that we played in a cool fountain and went out for ice cream. last night a bunch of us went to another CSers apartment and had a pasta dinner, everyone bringing a little something. it was fun. the other students are pretty cool. i haven't met everyone (there's 60 of us), but i recognize most faces.

all the leaders are really nice. especially cynthia. she's kind of my go-to person. i was in her group for the interview process and she made my internship possible. (there were complications with hours). and she is going to be my practicum group leader. our practicum groups are the small groups we have for discussing our semester each week. they happen on wednesdays along with classes. speaking of classes: i'm in the arts in the city seminar, where we go to a different event each week and discuss it, write about it, reflect, and we have a final project at the end of the semester. the other class is metropolitan: public art, where we discuss and look at architecture, sculpture, etc and it's impact on the city and city life.

so yeah.... what haven't i talked about yet? the cta trains are pretty simple, even if they don't go all the places i'd like them to. buses are intimidating but i think i can figure them out. good places to eat- had thai once during orientation, and went out to a pub once for supper. mostly we've gone to cheap places though, and now we can buy our own groceries. i've only been out to a bar once with a big group of people. some people have been out a lot. it's just too expensive!

oh! and i "discovered" a great place for tea: Argo Tea. it's like starbucks, but tea instead of coffee. delicious. great atmoshpere, friendly. and we found where wicked is playing, and jersey boys too. oh, and we saw an improv shakespeare show. BEST EVER! i don't even know if i can explain it properly. it's too much awesome. http://chicago.ioimprov.com/io/shows/14

well, for now, i think that's it. sorry it's long- i had to make up for the time lapse.

enjoy some pics- wherever they show up! love and miss you all!

p.s. my address is 1220 N. State Parkway (not street, sorry if i already told you it was street)

Chicago, IL 60610. and if you don't have my phone number yet, shame on you. 712-210-1179