Lost in the City

Back to France yesterday afternoon, back to work this worning, totally jetlagged and sleepdeprived... but it's nothing that can't be cured!
I'll give you the rundown on this great Chicago vacation soon... for now, here is a link towards some of the great pics I took in the Windy City: http://community.webshots.com/user/windycitygirl

Departure date is nearing and I still had not toured Chicago’s ethnic neighborhoods. So today, unlimited metro pass in hand, I rode the El from Downtown to Chinatown, Pilsen, Lakewood, and finally Andersonville.

Chinatown isn’t a big neighborhood and it’s a little out of the way. It isn’t very far from downtown, but you’d better take the metro if you want to get there. It’s particularly obvious if you compare it to the location of Chinatown in NY or DC. There is another striking difference and that’s with regards to the kind of neighborhood Chinatown is. It just doesn’t mean the same thing as it does in NY or in DC. In DC, Chinatown has become a trendy neighborhood with Chinese and Thai food, that’s true, but mainly regular franchised stores and restaurants like Potbelly, Starbucks, Citysports or CVS. In NY, it’s where you find cheap electronics, souvenirs and the like. Lots and lots of little shops. In Chicago there are shops all right. Just not the same kind. You’ll find authentic (well, seemingly at least) Chinese products, from food to furniture. And on the contrary to NY and particularly DC where you’ll mostly find white people walking around, there are very few of them in Chicago’s Chinatown.

Pilsen used to be the Czech neighborhood. What I forgot is that it now is a Latino neighborhood. Well… I was reminded as soon as I stepped out of the metro. There is nothing but Hispanic stores on 18th Street. What makes Pilsen interesting is the difference between the Latino vibe and the kind of architecture you run into. On one hand, you have signs in Spanish all over, Hispanics walking around, including food vendors with carts. On the other hand, most of the buildings have a distinctive Eastern European style. The contrast is striking. The church on 18th Street looks out of place, so does the former Czech community building you find a little further east on the same side of the street. It’s odd, really, but not uncharming.

Andersonville is the neighborhood I liked the best compared to the previous two I saw. Maybe because it’s more “european” in atmosphere, more like what I’m used to. It’s the king of mix I like between stores, restaurants, cafés and resisdential buildings. It used to be the Swedish neighborhood of Chicago, and a few stores are still there to remind people, like the Swedish Bakery (which is the first I saw).

On the way from the Berwyn metro station and Andersonville is another little neighborhood usually called Lakewood-Balmoral. It reminded me of the neighborhood surounding the National Cathedral, north of DC. It’s a totally residential neighborhood, with nice houses, sometimes rowhouses, sometimes not, but always with a spot of the greenest grass in front. Kind of a suburban look within the city… but within a few blocks of Clark Street, it’s stores and restaurants, which makes the neighborhood much more appealing than the suburbs!

…out in the bright sunshine
There’s no place for me like Wrigley Field
With that team of mine
I hear the call of the Ivy on the wall
God’s own green grass let’s play ball”
(Alan Barcus)

I made it!! Yes, I actually saw the Cubs win a game at Wrigley Field! That was a wonderful experience.

I started my journey on the red line, riding the El up to Addison station, which is right next to the ballpark. I had been there several times before, as you know, but it was obviously very special today. Eager as I was to enjoy the Wrigleyville atmosphere on a game day, I arrive quite a bit early on site. I mean early like more than 3 hours early… Hey, I also wanted to watch batting practice, and that starts 2 hours before the game, so I actually wasn’t _so_ early. Ok… maybe still a little bit. Well, this gave me time to wander around, look at all the cub gear, and be in the line early, which got me a little fluffed Snoopy in Cub away uniform, the give-away of the day. Just enough to revive the kid in me.
Frankly, I was afraid I would be disappointed by Wrigley Field. I had been waiting to step into the Friendly Confines for so long and had heard so much about it that I almost expected the disappointment, even if several fans said they had been afraid of the same thing and weren’t disappointed at all in the end. Well I was many things when I walked in, but disappointed wasn’t one of them. It was amazing. The closeness of the field, the layout of the ballpark, the ivy, and the general atmosphere as the fans started to come in.
The atmosphere during the game was something too. Did I mention it was a Cub-Cards game? Since it is the big Midwest rivalry, there was a lot of tension in the air. Many Cards fans had made the trip or (for those living in Chicago) dug up their Cards outfit. The result was a lot of Cubbie blue, but quite a bit of Cardinals red as well in the stands.
The game itself wasn’t thrilling, as just a few players got on base, BUT it ended with a victory, which was good enough for me, particularly since it made the Cubs advance to Central Division first place. And I got to hear “Go Cubs Go” and see the “W” flag wave in the wind.

It feels good to be back in Chitown. I arrived a few hours ago after some time in a couple of planes from Paris to the Windy City via London. Mary picked me up at the airport. It was great to see her, and great to have a friend to meet at O'Hare. It really makes an arrival nicer. As we talked and exchanged news, driving towards downtown, I watched the city growing bigger and bigger through the windshield. Back in Chicago... that is a very nice feeling.
Mary dropped me off at my hotel on Wacker Drive and had to run. It wasn't too late yet, so I decided to take a quick shower and head out to enjoy the city. For this first outing, I stayed in the Loop. The previous trip had given me a few pointers, and even though I wasn't quite at home yet, I was still familiar with the area. I walked around the Theater District, going from the infamous Chicago Theater tp the Goodman Theater, to the Palace... catching a sight of the Thompson Center and its Miro sculpture, snapping many pictures for the surrounding buildings, the numerous bridges and their reflection in the River. The walk that had started with daylight ended at night amidst the neon signs. That was a good start!

Somehow, the excitement gave way to apprehension over the past few days. It's natural I guess: last time I was so excited about a trip was last year, when I left for California (the Christmas trip to Chicago doesn't count, it was a short one and I had my man to protect me!). The thing is... the California trip didn't end that well. So I'm a little bit disturbed about that. But I'm not going to let this feeling linger. No way!!!
Chicago, here I come! I'm looking forward to my first game at the Friendly Confines, obviously. I'm also looking forward to see Mary, walk around, run around, bike around, ride the El... and so many other things! Now let's hope that my leg will end this trip in better shape than last time!

Yes, the Cubbies did it, they slid in the first spot of the Central Division!!! It took a victory against the Phillies while the Brewers lost to the Mets. Yes, I know, there are still two months to go… and that’s a loooooong time. But that won’t prevent me from savoring today’s good news!! Nope, no one will spoil my fun! It’s so good to see the cubs’ flag up that pole at Wrigley Field!
Now to get back to the real life (wait… the cubbies wouldn’t be for real???)… it has kept being insane lately… which is why I’m posting some news here and hope you’ll cut me some slack while I’m dealing with my backup and not replying your (always interesting, of course) emails.
Work has been really busy for what should have been a slow month of July, and it's barely starting to slow down. This was for a couple of good reasons though. Perhaps more on that later… For now, I have to say that the most insane thing I have been dealing with lately is the bus situation. It’s August, Parisians are supposed to be away, so they cut down the number of busses. That means a bus every 15 minutes on my route if you’re lucky... and that's for peak hour. Bottom line: on the way in and one the way out, it’s 30 minutes in a packed bus. NOT a great way to start and end a day, particularly with a bum leg that tends to swell in the heat. So, nope, Ludi is not a happy camper when coming out of the bus.
Still on the work front, I got some very good news. Well, not me so much as a great colleague of mine, who just got the nod from the adoption commission to launch an adoption procedure. See, when you want to adopt, you first have to get this commission’s agreement that you are fit to adopt. It’s particularly difficult when you are single, which is my friend’s case. She faced the commission on Tuesday and got the decision yesterday. She took me out for lunch to celebrate. Great great news! Any kid would be lucky to have her as a mom.
The thesis is progressing. Some good work got done today as I finished the second subsection of my segregation chapter. I’ll start working on the third and last subsection tomorrow.
Finally, the marathon training is going great. I decided to give a real training a chance even if I'm not completely healed yet. I put to good used the long hours put in studying track and field training in the past and made my own training program. This is going very well for now. Let's hope my leg, knee and ankle will play nice and let me train properly!
And… I guess that will do it for today. I am totally pooped and have to get ready for my parents' arrival tomorrow evening.