I miss Chicago. I miss the peeps from the department, my roommates, the I-House crew. I miss Hyde Park (I don't miss the snow, because yes, we happen to have that here too now, and it's messing with 'the system' in Belgium big time). I miss being able to have fried chicken, even though I only ate it once there. I miss talking English all the time and I hate people making fun of me for subconsciously slipping English words in my stories when I'm telling them about 'my' city. I even miss the banging (!) sound of the radiator in my apt at the times it was actually working and the annoying drip of the bathroom tap. Or Petey's alarm clock tune that kept going off. Yes, even all those kind of irritating things. I'm definitely Chi-sick.
I just realized I'm home. I just realized I felt much more at home in Chi-town, though. At least for now. I started crying. I have been brave and strong up to now, but I cracked. Better go to bed...
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Sunday, 23 March 2008
in one day I'll be outa here...
Last days are never cool. Packing, doing the last bit of laundry, more packing, saying goodbye, eating left-over food, trying to get rid of the last dollars (because who wants those in Europe), then realizing you still need some americamoney for something (luckily ATMs are all over the place here, even when you need them), more saying goodbye, trying to make everything fit into that one big bag until it starts dawning in on you that it will never do, plus that you've got wayyy too much luggage for a little girl anyway and you'll never be able to carry it to the airport, starting to worry about getting to the airport tomorrow, wondering whether you might wanna take that cab after all instead of the 'el', then realizing you will need more cash for that (here's where the ATMs come in again).
So no, last days are never cool (or: yes I worry too much).
Oh and saying goodbye once more, because for some reason I'm socially retarded when it comes to that. Awkward!
I still don't fully realize I'm not gonna be here next week, so today is just a regular awkward day to me. I've had those before, I can handle it. Even without crying. I think. Boohoo.
So no, last days are never cool (or: yes I worry too much).
Oh and saying goodbye once more, because for some reason I'm socially retarded when it comes to that. Awkward!
I still don't fully realize I'm not gonna be here next week, so today is just a regular awkward day to me. I've had those before, I can handle it. Even without crying. I think. Boohoo.
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
about missing things and people
Ok, it's not that I am completely out of conversation topics, but let's talk about the weather, for a change. Chicago today is cloudy, grey, rainy. Chicago is not very cold at the moment, maybe a little windy but nothing that will blow even me away. There is no snow at all anymore, not even the half-melted dark dirty-ish heaps on the side of the road. There is no sun anymore either, unlike what I've seen on the majority of even the most wintry days. There is only mud and wetness, a lot of wetness. Yes, Chicago is preparing me for something I haven't been missing at all but am gonna get anyway from next week on.
Believe it or not, one of the things I am gonna be missing is the Chicagoan weather. Seeing that I've only experienced winter, you might think I've gone insane. But maybe I am just a fan of extremes. At least now I know what it feels like when your legs are freezing off. Or maybe I just like sun beams on my face for most of January and February. Yes, I like sunshine, no matter what the temperature (in Celsius or Fahrenheit). Of course, I, too, prefer it above freezing so I'll enjoy summer even more.
Another thing I am going to miss is the ice cream. I am a huge sucker for everything ice creamy and the US of A has every taste you can imagine (including the ones you didn't want to imagine, but let's not go there). Mmmmmmm...
But the aspect I'll miss most of all is probably just Chicago. Downtown, Hyde Park, campus, everything is so pretty. Every time I walk back home I catch myself thinking 'I feel at home here, I can imagine myself living here'. Against all odds.
One thing about home I did not find here, though: stars. When you look up at the sky at night, there are no stars. Or, let me rephrase that: there are stars but you can actually count them. There's like 4. Sometimes 6, when you're lucky and keep gazing long enough. Back home, especially in my backyard (meaning the graveyard behind my house), the black and blue sky is filled with them. They're drawing pictures in the sky and I can't even count the times I've seen one of them fall. I miss wishing on a star.
Don't think I'm heartless for only talking about things I'd miss or am missing. I will miss the people here terribly, just as I miss my friends and family back home. But that's only obvious. For both: This is not goodbye, it's 'catch you later'!
Believe it or not, one of the things I am gonna be missing is the Chicagoan weather. Seeing that I've only experienced winter, you might think I've gone insane. But maybe I am just a fan of extremes. At least now I know what it feels like when your legs are freezing off. Or maybe I just like sun beams on my face for most of January and February. Yes, I like sunshine, no matter what the temperature (in Celsius or Fahrenheit). Of course, I, too, prefer it above freezing so I'll enjoy summer even more.
Another thing I am going to miss is the ice cream. I am a huge sucker for everything ice creamy and the US of A has every taste you can imagine (including the ones you didn't want to imagine, but let's not go there). Mmmmmmm...
But the aspect I'll miss most of all is probably just Chicago. Downtown, Hyde Park, campus, everything is so pretty. Every time I walk back home I catch myself thinking 'I feel at home here, I can imagine myself living here'. Against all odds.
One thing about home I did not find here, though: stars. When you look up at the sky at night, there are no stars. Or, let me rephrase that: there are stars but you can actually count them. There's like 4. Sometimes 6, when you're lucky and keep gazing long enough. Back home, especially in my backyard (meaning the graveyard behind my house), the black and blue sky is filled with them. They're drawing pictures in the sky and I can't even count the times I've seen one of them fall. I miss wishing on a star.
Don't think I'm heartless for only talking about things I'd miss or am missing. I will miss the people here terribly, just as I miss my friends and family back home. But that's only obvious. For both: This is not goodbye, it's 'catch you later'!
Sunday, 16 March 2008
green green, everything's green (and drunk)
St Paddy's Day. The day when the whole city is covered in a green coat and smells of beer. When you see herds of tottering Americans pretend they are in fact Irish ("Hey man, I'm at least one sixteenth Irish"), probably because they think being American will not get you laid. The fact that St. Patrick Day might get you there, has probably more to do with the rivers of alcohol than with the proclaimed Irishness.
Anyway...some IHouse friends of mine and me went downtown because the city has spent millions to create some bio-organic colouring, green of course, to give the Chicago river a new look. And actually, it was pretty impressive: a big part of the river turned bright green in a couple of minutes. And I didn't see any three-eyed fish jump out of the water yet, so maybe it is not as bad for the environment as it looked. (pictures coming up)
The parade that followed the dyeing of the river green (god, I love resultatives) was pretty lame, but it's a parade, what did we expect? So the majority of girls in our group dragged the boys along on their shopping trip and lost them as we were going. This was actually the first time I really went shopping downtown and in one fell swoop I found (almost) all of my presents. The only problem now will be to fit everything in my luggage next week...Oh my, next week...Let's chill today!
Anyway...some IHouse friends of mine and me went downtown because the city has spent millions to create some bio-organic colouring, green of course, to give the Chicago river a new look. And actually, it was pretty impressive: a big part of the river turned bright green in a couple of minutes. And I didn't see any three-eyed fish jump out of the water yet, so maybe it is not as bad for the environment as it looked. (pictures coming up)
The parade that followed the dyeing of the river green (god, I love resultatives) was pretty lame, but it's a parade, what did we expect? So the majority of girls in our group dragged the boys along on their shopping trip and lost them as we were going. This was actually the first time I really went shopping downtown and in one fell swoop I found (almost) all of my presents. The only problem now will be to fit everything in my luggage next week...Oh my, next week...Let's chill today!
Monday, 10 March 2008
Look what I learned!
Again, there's a list. Because it's faster for me to write. Because - admit it - you prefer it to long bulks of texts filled with stories and non-adventures. Because we all want structure in our lives, even when everything is in fact the chaos we love. Because we don't always want to get too philosophical, especially not on a blog and especially not right now.
1. A butterface. Sounds cute, but is the exact opposite. Can be hot if you don't look up. Cannot be used for guys, though (dicit Niko).
2. Winter ain't over 'till it's over. That is to be taken literally. I'm coming back when it's really summer here, see what that's like. Or, can anyone send me a tourist visa?
3. Language is not to be taken literally. What people say is mostly not what they mean. Maybe that is why I prefer ellipsis...
4. When someone who's drunk says "let's climb up the roof", take it literally. They don't mean "let's go up some flat roof or balcony that might be there", they really mean"let's climb out the window and up the roof". Which is not always a bad idea, it might be nice in the sun. But it definitely is when they're drunk.
5. Tea is never tea. It's sweets and salty snacks. And wine. And beer. Loads of. Can be vodka or that very strong Greek drink I forget the name of. But never tea. (hence previous bullet)
6. Some U of C slogans (apart from the one quoted on this blog already "Where fun comes to die"): "University of Chicago...
...where the only thing that goes down on you is your GPA."
...where the men all look like Woody Allen, and the women do too."
...if it were easy, it would be your mum."
...Hell does freeze over."
...where the squirrels are more aggressive than the guys."
...where the squirrels are cuter than the girls."
...I don't mind getting laid, because the U of C is fucking me over anyway."
...it's like unprotected sex: you're glad you got in, but sorry you came."
...our ivory tower is bigger than yours."
...the limit of sex as it goes to the UofC is zero."
...the level of Hell Dante forgot."
...if I wanted an A, I would have gone to Harvard."
7. Words I want to pick up:
- word
- ish
- peeps
- psh
8. Words I didn't want to pick up at all but did anyway:
- like
- awesome
- come on (said in my own special way)
- some dirtier expressions not fit for public blogs
After writing up what I learned and realizing it's not that much, I'm wondering whether I wanna stay longer so that I can learn more before going back, or whether I wanna leave not to waste more time. Hmmmm...
1. A butterface. Sounds cute, but is the exact opposite. Can be hot if you don't look up. Cannot be used for guys, though (dicit Niko).
2. Winter ain't over 'till it's over. That is to be taken literally. I'm coming back when it's really summer here, see what that's like. Or, can anyone send me a tourist visa?
3. Language is not to be taken literally. What people say is mostly not what they mean. Maybe that is why I prefer ellipsis...
4. When someone who's drunk says "let's climb up the roof", take it literally. They don't mean "let's go up some flat roof or balcony that might be there", they really mean"let's climb out the window and up the roof". Which is not always a bad idea, it might be nice in the sun. But it definitely is when they're drunk.
5. Tea is never tea. It's sweets and salty snacks. And wine. And beer. Loads of. Can be vodka or that very strong Greek drink I forget the name of. But never tea. (hence previous bullet)
6. Some U of C slogans (apart from the one quoted on this blog already "Where fun comes to die"): "University of Chicago...
...where the only thing that goes down on you is your GPA."
...where the men all look like Woody Allen, and the women do too."
...if it were easy, it would be your mum."
...Hell does freeze over."
...where the squirrels are more aggressive than the guys."
...where the squirrels are cuter than the girls."
...I don't mind getting laid, because the U of C is fucking me over anyway."
...it's like unprotected sex: you're glad you got in, but sorry you came."
...our ivory tower is bigger than yours."
...the limit of sex as it goes to the UofC is zero."
...the level of Hell Dante forgot."
...if I wanted an A, I would have gone to Harvard."
7. Words I want to pick up:
- word
- ish
- peeps
- psh
8. Words I didn't want to pick up at all but did anyway:
- like
- awesome
- come on (said in my own special way)
- some dirtier expressions not fit for public blogs
After writing up what I learned and realizing it's not that much, I'm wondering whether I wanna stay longer so that I can learn more before going back, or whether I wanna leave not to waste more time. Hmmmm...
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
hold back!
Guys, I'm not really staying! No-one should freak out; I was just playing with the idea. I never seriously considered not taking that plane home in three weeks. Anyone who read the first reaction carefully (yes Luis, that's yours) knows I couldn't stay even if I wanted to: my damn visa expires. :-) And if I ever want to come back (which I do) I have to keep on pretending I'm an innocent little girl.
Apart from that, staying here sounds very appealing. I meet very cool new peeps (yes, I love that word) every day, especially at I-House and our very linguistics department, and every time the newest very cool new person asks me 'so how long will you be here for?' I realize I have to answer a smaller and smaller number of days. That is worrying. Luckily modern society has ways to keep in touch.
So no, I'm not staying. Yes, I will be home again, attending your parties, cheering you up on bad days and eating your food, from March 25th. One more reason why I decided it's better to go home is that I finally discovered something I don't like dealing with anymore. Something that's not as trivial as the salty/way too sweet food in restaurants. I can 'produce food' well enough to overcome that one. It's not even the snow or the cold (sorry, Chicagoans, I like it). The coming spring can do away with those anyway. It's the fact that it is harder to fully trust people here. Wait no, it's not harder, it's just wiser not to. And as I'm not wise, I'm often screwed by general hypocrisy. "No, I'm not actually your best friend, although I may act like I am. I'm just a mere vague acquaintance". (No reactions like "oh what happened?" please, because nothing did. It's a general attitude)
Peeps (jeej), I'm coming home.
Apart from that, staying here sounds very appealing. I meet very cool new peeps (yes, I love that word) every day, especially at I-House and our very linguistics department, and every time the newest very cool new person asks me 'so how long will you be here for?' I realize I have to answer a smaller and smaller number of days. That is worrying. Luckily modern society has ways to keep in touch.
So no, I'm not staying. Yes, I will be home again, attending your parties, cheering you up on bad days and eating your food, from March 25th. One more reason why I decided it's better to go home is that I finally discovered something I don't like dealing with anymore. Something that's not as trivial as the salty/way too sweet food in restaurants. I can 'produce food' well enough to overcome that one. It's not even the snow or the cold (sorry, Chicagoans, I like it). The coming spring can do away with those anyway. It's the fact that it is harder to fully trust people here. Wait no, it's not harder, it's just wiser not to. And as I'm not wise, I'm often screwed by general hypocrisy. "No, I'm not actually your best friend, although I may act like I am. I'm just a mere vague acquaintance". (No reactions like "oh what happened?" please, because nothing did. It's a general attitude)
Peeps (jeej), I'm coming home.
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
let's try this...
What if I stayed? What if I just stayed here in Chicago? Griffin's room is empty and up for whoever wants it, I like it here, I'd pay less rent than back home and I have company that actually can talk (no-one should feel offended; this is in reference to my cats). Plus almost all of my roommates have asked me to stay. And it'll only get warmer from now on.
Who here thinks this is a great idea? Who back home gets up on their hind legs at the mere thought of it? Or, also possible - let's not be too self-confident -: who here really thinks I should go? Who back home would be thrilled by my staying on the other side of the ocean?
(It would be kinda sad if no-one reacted to this on the blog, so please everyone who rather emails me instead: go crazy in public!)
Who here thinks this is a great idea? Who back home gets up on their hind legs at the mere thought of it? Or, also possible - let's not be too self-confident -: who here really thinks I should go? Who back home would be thrilled by my staying on the other side of the ocean?
(It would be kinda sad if no-one reacted to this on the blog, so please everyone who rather emails me instead: go crazy in public!)
about life, basketball and saying goodbye
It's been silent in Chicago. It's been snowing and thawing, and snowing and frrrreezing. And the night is always grey. Never blue or black. Always grey and forsaken by the stars. Oh right, and the Oscars were on tv last night; some stars there. Not that I watched. I have a life. I guess.
What's up? Not much. We had Romance languages tea on Valentine's day. Amazing and worrying how many people showed up. Amazing because that meant we hadn't made all that delicious food for no-one. Worrying because it confronted us with the fact that linguists don't seem to have a love life. A life we have, though. I guess.
What's up? A lot of sports. Two basketball games last week featuring the Dynasty, the team of roommates Keenan and Kelvin. One game won, one game lost. Both played well. And although the season is over now, the games continue in our living room (see pictures: Kappa Gardens). With the downstairs neighbors as our biggest fans. Or not. No, they have a life. I guess.
What's up? I'm sad. I'm sad because exactly four weeks from now I will be on my plane home. I'm sad because there is so much I still want to do here, but my day doesn't contain 48 hours anymore like it used to. I'm sad because people are the same everywhere and still they touch me more than they realize. No, wait, I'm happy because of that. I'm sad because Griffin (one of my roommates) is leaving tomorrow. No, wait, he's going to be happy back home though, and you can't possibly be sad then. I'm not sad. I have a life.
What's up? Not much. We had Romance languages tea on Valentine's day. Amazing and worrying how many people showed up. Amazing because that meant we hadn't made all that delicious food for no-one. Worrying because it confronted us with the fact that linguists don't seem to have a love life. A life we have, though. I guess.
What's up? A lot of sports. Two basketball games last week featuring the Dynasty, the team of roommates Keenan and Kelvin. One game won, one game lost. Both played well. And although the season is over now, the games continue in our living room (see pictures: Kappa Gardens). With the downstairs neighbors as our biggest fans. Or not. No, they have a life. I guess.
What's up? I'm sad. I'm sad because exactly four weeks from now I will be on my plane home. I'm sad because there is so much I still want to do here, but my day doesn't contain 48 hours anymore like it used to. I'm sad because people are the same everywhere and still they touch me more than they realize. No, wait, I'm happy because of that. I'm sad because Griffin (one of my roommates) is leaving tomorrow. No, wait, he's going to be happy back home though, and you can't possibly be sad then. I'm not sad. I have a life.
Thursday, 7 February 2008
live from quote to quote
This past week seems to be most adequately defined in quotes:
"If you say all boys are in the classroom, you don't necessarily mean that only boys are in the classroom. There might also be 2 cats, 14 girls and 1 egg."
"Habits are addictive." (which I subscribe)
"I like big buts and I cannot lie." (which I don't subscribe)
"Chicago is the city of crazy ideas. I'm not sure having huge self-creating swimming-pools at every cross-roads in the middle of winter was one of the better instantiations, however."
"Roargh." (translation: "do the dinosaur")
"Shiiiiiiet..." (while throwing both hands down, letting them cross)
"Come on" (while moving both hands up towards you)
"This relationship is extinct."
"There's cheating and there's cheating."
"So there are gardens on the roof surface of the skyscrapers. Now that is cool, but no-one's allowed to go there, because if you fall down, you might get hurt."
Haiku: "Hippopotamus. Anti-hippopotamus. Annihilation."
"I'm telepathetic." (for the record: not my quote)
"Byebye douche bag!"
"If you say all boys are in the classroom, you don't necessarily mean that only boys are in the classroom. There might also be 2 cats, 14 girls and 1 egg."
"Habits are addictive." (which I subscribe)
"I like big buts and I cannot lie." (which I don't subscribe)
"Chicago is the city of crazy ideas. I'm not sure having huge self-creating swimming-pools at every cross-roads in the middle of winter was one of the better instantiations, however."
"Roargh." (translation: "do the dinosaur")
"Shiiiiiiet..." (while throwing both hands down, letting them cross)
"Come on" (while moving both hands up towards you)
"This relationship is extinct."
"There's cheating and there's cheating."
"So there are gardens on the roof surface of the skyscrapers. Now that is cool, but no-one's allowed to go there, because if you fall down, you might get hurt."
Haiku: "Hippopotamus. Anti-hippopotamus. Annihilation."
"I'm telepathetic." (for the record: not my quote)
"Byebye douche bag!"
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Oops I did it again...
Mia by Gorki, or by Milow, or by me, whichever: it's gonna be a hit in America. Or at least in Chicago. Or definitely in the Green Mill. Hell, it already is!
Last Saturday two of my friends from Belgium, Monika and Joris, voluntarily underwent the nine-hour flight from Brussels to O'Hare, Chicago, just to visit me for a week - and in the meanwhile have a look at my new hometown, since they're here anyway. So what better place to take them to than the Green Mill? With Mark Smith - so what! -, the legend that became a man, as host and a - not so cramped - vintage Jazz bar as setting, our Superbowl Sunday couldn't possibly need anything else. (Before anyone starts freaking out: there was a small tv-screen near the entrance showing America's favorite game). Anti-Superbowl Poetry Slam, here we go!
Apparently they like Belgians there, because our kind was endowed with the honorable duty of judging the poems, again. Apparently they love Belgians there, because Mark Smith called me onto the stage, again. To sing "Mia", both in Dutch and in English, again. And they recorded it (together with the rest of the evening, but still...)! Little girls leave their marks, and they leave them good. :-)
We even made it to the newspaper! The Chicago Tribune of Monday February 4, 2008 contains a picture of the Poetry Slam at the Green Mill and we're on it. Well, at least you can almost distinguish our good looks in the black silhouettes if you look very closely. And no, we're not obsessed by the media. Where are those paparazzi when you need them? ;-)
Note: Pictures are freely available here: http://picasaweb.google.com/superpurr/IMGonnaBeAStar. Requests for autographs can be send to my email address and may or may not be complied with. "Don't be too big for your shoes, girly"-emails will be considered as spam and will therefore be ignored. :-)
Last Saturday two of my friends from Belgium, Monika and Joris, voluntarily underwent the nine-hour flight from Brussels to O'Hare, Chicago, just to visit me for a week - and in the meanwhile have a look at my new hometown, since they're here anyway. So what better place to take them to than the Green Mill? With Mark Smith - so what! -, the legend that became a man, as host and a - not so cramped - vintage Jazz bar as setting, our Superbowl Sunday couldn't possibly need anything else. (Before anyone starts freaking out: there was a small tv-screen near the entrance showing America's favorite game). Anti-Superbowl Poetry Slam, here we go!
Apparently they like Belgians there, because our kind was endowed with the honorable duty of judging the poems, again. Apparently they love Belgians there, because Mark Smith called me onto the stage, again. To sing "Mia", both in Dutch and in English, again. And they recorded it (together with the rest of the evening, but still...)! Little girls leave their marks, and they leave them good. :-)
We even made it to the newspaper! The Chicago Tribune of Monday February 4, 2008 contains a picture of the Poetry Slam at the Green Mill and we're on it. Well, at least you can almost distinguish our good looks in the black silhouettes if you look very closely. And no, we're not obsessed by the media. Where are those paparazzi when you need them? ;-)
Note: Pictures are freely available here: http://picasaweb.google.com/superpurr/IMGonnaBeAStar. Requests for autographs can be send to my email address and may or may not be complied with. "Don't be too big for your shoes, girly"-emails will be considered as spam and will therefore be ignored. :-)
Tuesday, 29 January 2008
Last week's highlights
1. January 21, Martin Luther King's Day. Everyone but me had holiday.
2. Jazz concert at Bar Night.
3. Watching basketball game with Jill and without actually watching it.
4. Wrestling proven to be gayest sport. Pictures obtainable from editor.
5. Yours truly not good at beerpong.
6. God exist - or not. Proof not obtainable from editor, but can be reproduced - or not - for anyone who has two hours to spare.
7. Yours truly was eye-witness of assassination of Jesse James.
8. Ellipsis is coolest topic in linguistics and beyond.
9. Stop sign disappeared from 54th and University to mysteriously turn up again in 53rd and Woodlawn.
10. Snow in Chicago but no opponents found for snowball fight.
11. So-called Belgian chocolatier in Chicago is no fraud.
12. Time to do laundry...
2. Jazz concert at Bar Night.
3. Watching basketball game with Jill and without actually watching it.
4. Wrestling proven to be gayest sport. Pictures obtainable from editor.
5. Yours truly not good at beerpong.
6. God exist - or not. Proof not obtainable from editor, but can be reproduced - or not - for anyone who has two hours to spare.
7. Yours truly was eye-witness of assassination of Jesse James.
8. Ellipsis is coolest topic in linguistics and beyond.
9. Stop sign disappeared from 54th and University to mysteriously turn up again in 53rd and Woodlawn.
10. Snow in Chicago but no opponents found for snowball fight.
11. So-called Belgian chocolatier in Chicago is no fraud.
12. Time to do laundry...
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Miscellaneous stories from the deep freeze
It's winter in Chicago. I know because I can't feel my legs anymore after a ten minute walk to the library. I know because my breathing literally creates ice drops in my scarf. I know because it is becoming a problem that the radiator in my room doesn't work. There's something missing though...oh right: snow!
After a week of moderately cold weather and me reading for my semantics class and syntax seminar (Yes, I am doing linguistics here...That's why I don't post any story during the week. Most of you wouldn't be able to take that much excitement), the cold and the weekend kicked in hard. UChicago, where fun come to die? No way!
On Friday I went to Greek town with Alice, Jasmin, Peter, Ryan and Niko, all linguists, and Jasmin's cousin Felicia. All very nice and funny people, I had a wonderful time and a great laugh. Peter was right: this is the fun-loving crew of the department and I wanna be part of it! Thanks guys!
Saturday evening, dancing queen! I let my frozen legs walk me to the International House for a party and I will let them do it again soon. The I-House is where most exchange students reside, which means that parties there exhibit other dance styles than grinding. Excellent! We even had a short salsa session. And they bring in pizza round 11. Dancing and food, right on! (Maybe that's why you see less grinding there...not to spoil each other's appetite)
So, I-House, great discovery. Another part of Chicagoan spirit I came across is the slang (I'm still a linguist). Some words I've learned so far: word - you can use that practically in any context, as affirmation for instance -, for real(s) - meaning 'for sure', 'really' -, legit - for anything cool or appropriate -, ricoculous - and any other creation where you replace dic in ridiculous with the name of a male body part. It's not much yet, but it still beats relaxt, the only slang term I heard - not: picked up - during my four months in the Netherlands.
I don't want to leave in two months!
After a week of moderately cold weather and me reading for my semantics class and syntax seminar (Yes, I am doing linguistics here...That's why I don't post any story during the week. Most of you wouldn't be able to take that much excitement), the cold and the weekend kicked in hard. UChicago, where fun come to die? No way!
On Friday I went to Greek town with Alice, Jasmin, Peter, Ryan and Niko, all linguists, and Jasmin's cousin Felicia. All very nice and funny people, I had a wonderful time and a great laugh. Peter was right: this is the fun-loving crew of the department and I wanna be part of it! Thanks guys!
Saturday evening, dancing queen! I let my frozen legs walk me to the International House for a party and I will let them do it again soon. The I-House is where most exchange students reside, which means that parties there exhibit other dance styles than grinding. Excellent! We even had a short salsa session. And they bring in pizza round 11. Dancing and food, right on! (Maybe that's why you see less grinding there...not to spoil each other's appetite)
So, I-House, great discovery. Another part of Chicagoan spirit I came across is the slang (I'm still a linguist). Some words I've learned so far: word - you can use that practically in any context, as affirmation for instance -, for real(s) - meaning 'for sure', 'really' -, legit - for anything cool or appropriate -, ricoculous - and any other creation where you replace dic in ridiculous with the name of a male body part. It's not much yet, but it still beats relaxt, the only slang term I heard - not: picked up - during my four months in the Netherlands.
I don't want to leave in two months!
Monday, 14 January 2008
The Chicagoan dating/dancing scene
Any European has seen movies about this, but the American dating scene is even more complicated than the movies are willing to show. And more different from what I am used to than I expected.
So I figured it is time to tell you something about my flatmates. They are all very sweet guys and I like hanging out with them. The bunch of them reminds me a lot of my brothers and their friends back home. A very nice crew to be around. (Of course, my dear Jesse and Senne, they will never replace you!)
Now these guys took me to a party this weekend. Despite the fact that almost everyone was at least four years younger than I am - not that anyone noticed my greater maturity, but still -, I had a good time. The people who know me a bit better know that I am a real party animal and love dancing even if no-one else dares to thread the dance floor yet. However, dancing is a relative notion, it appeared. Not only do people stare when you're dancing on your own, they like to come ridiculously close, in spite of my - and their! - sweat and the vast space behind them. You might have seen this dance-style called grinding (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grinding_%28dance%29) in Dirty Dancing. You might even have tried it just for fun at some party. You might also have caught yourself thinking - as I have - that some people should NOT dance like that. Here, however, they don't care about other people's appetite - and why should they? There's no food at this party anyway - and go on rubbing their - bleep - against each other's legs all night long. Hey, I know taste is subjective. Only, please, don't try humping towards me like a monkey if I don't look in the least interested. I wasn't!
However, laughing at drunk people in their face can be fun too. I like it here. :-)
PS: I noticed that the slideshows don't always load as quickly, so here's the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/home
So I figured it is time to tell you something about my flatmates. They are all very sweet guys and I like hanging out with them. The bunch of them reminds me a lot of my brothers and their friends back home. A very nice crew to be around. (Of course, my dear Jesse and Senne, they will never replace you!)
Now these guys took me to a party this weekend. Despite the fact that almost everyone was at least four years younger than I am - not that anyone noticed my greater maturity, but still -, I had a good time. The people who know me a bit better know that I am a real party animal and love dancing even if no-one else dares to thread the dance floor yet. However, dancing is a relative notion, it appeared. Not only do people stare when you're dancing on your own, they like to come ridiculously close, in spite of my - and their! - sweat and the vast space behind them. You might have seen this dance-style called grinding (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grinding_%28dance%29) in Dirty Dancing. You might even have tried it just for fun at some party. You might also have caught yourself thinking - as I have - that some people should NOT dance like that. Here, however, they don't care about other people's appetite - and why should they? There's no food at this party anyway - and go on rubbing their - bleep - against each other's legs all night long. Hey, I know taste is subjective. Only, please, don't try humping towards me like a monkey if I don't look in the least interested. I wasn't!
However, laughing at drunk people in their face can be fun too. I like it here. :-)
PS: I noticed that the slideshows don't always load as quickly, so here's the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/home
Monday, 7 January 2008
Slam poetry!
(Let's start with another question, for a change ;-))
Can you say "this night is just perfect" if right after that it gets more perfect with every second? Is perfect quantifiable? I think it is. Read on to be convinced.
Tonight Kirsten took Ezra and me to The Green Mill, the bar where Al Capone used to go. This fact alone got me thrilled, but it gets better. Every Sunday this cozy place programs an event they call Poetry Slam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_slam). It's a poetry contest where poets of all ranks read out their creations in an entertaining way. Now, the guy who came up with this idea in 1984, the legend Marc Smith, he's some performer! Even if every poet in the slam is rubbish, he would save the day. And today was even more special because it was the birthday of Carl Sandberg, the poet who put Chicago on the art map at the turn of the last century. Party!
You see, this poetry slam is no dull happening, it's pretty interactive. Whenever you like a poem, you can of course do the obvious thing and cheer or clap your hands. If you think it's awful, on the other hand, you snap your fingers, stamp your feet onto the ground or even boo the wanna-be poet off the stage. When the poet is not being the most women-friendly person, you produce the female hiss; when the poem is giving men a hard time, the Green Mill gets filled with male grunt. And when you can 'guess the rhyme', you shout it out loud. Yes, as said before, Chicago is the right kind of crazy.
Still, there's more to come (as I predicted in my previous post as well): not even were the poems very high-standard tonight, Marc Smith always selects three judges from the audience who have to give scores to the contestants. And guess what: I got to be a judge! Imagine Belgium, 7 points! Very Eurosong, but this tiny girl stood her ground :-).
Last but definitely not least, when the contest was over, Marc Smith called me to the stage and I got to defend my country's honor (possibly for being a tough judge, but who says being satisfied easily is a good thing? ;-)). So, all you Flemish people, I sang Mia by Gorki, both with the Flemish and the English lyrics, accompanied by the band in the Green Mill, during my very first week in the States. Beat that! (And yes, I'm still kinda shaky)
Can you say "this night is just perfect" if right after that it gets more perfect with every second? Is perfect quantifiable? I think it is. Read on to be convinced.
Tonight Kirsten took Ezra and me to The Green Mill, the bar where Al Capone used to go. This fact alone got me thrilled, but it gets better. Every Sunday this cozy place programs an event they call Poetry Slam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_slam). It's a poetry contest where poets of all ranks read out their creations in an entertaining way. Now, the guy who came up with this idea in 1984, the legend Marc Smith, he's some performer! Even if every poet in the slam is rubbish, he would save the day. And today was even more special because it was the birthday of Carl Sandberg, the poet who put Chicago on the art map at the turn of the last century. Party!
You see, this poetry slam is no dull happening, it's pretty interactive. Whenever you like a poem, you can of course do the obvious thing and cheer or clap your hands. If you think it's awful, on the other hand, you snap your fingers, stamp your feet onto the ground or even boo the wanna-be poet off the stage. When the poet is not being the most women-friendly person, you produce the female hiss; when the poem is giving men a hard time, the Green Mill gets filled with male grunt. And when you can 'guess the rhyme', you shout it out loud. Yes, as said before, Chicago is the right kind of crazy.
Still, there's more to come (as I predicted in my previous post as well): not even were the poems very high-standard tonight, Marc Smith always selects three judges from the audience who have to give scores to the contestants. And guess what: I got to be a judge! Imagine Belgium, 7 points! Very Eurosong, but this tiny girl stood her ground :-).
Last but definitely not least, when the contest was over, Marc Smith called me to the stage and I got to defend my country's honor (possibly for being a tough judge, but who says being satisfied easily is a good thing? ;-)). So, all you Flemish people, I sang Mia by Gorki, both with the Flemish and the English lyrics, accompanied by the band in the Green Mill, during my very first week in the States. Beat that! (And yes, I'm still kinda shaky)
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Chicago, my city
Does it still count as 'un coup de foudre' if you fall in love after two days? That's still pretty fast, no? Because Chicago is getting to my heart swiftly. Despite the - true - prejudice of Chicago being a dangerous city, I'm starting to love it more and more.
During my first days here I haven't had much time yet to really explore the city, but the LSA conference did take me downtown. The skyline is a-ma-zing! It's so overpowering that in one restaurant they've even made a gingerbread version of it. Eat that! (or not)
Talking about food, though, there's a tiny bit of a disappointment in that respect. A few days ago I went out with Ezra, his extremely funny "Chicagoan" friend Kirsten and his slightly goofy (in a good way!) colleagues Raj and Roni. We ended up in a Belgian restaurant where they had a lot of (needless to say - good) Belgian beers and food that was supposed to be Belgian, but didn't taste Belgian (i.e. good) at all. Apparently, Americans put loads of salt on everything! Literally, as you'll be able to read later. Apart from this tiny food disappointment - which might in fact help me keep my New Year's resolution of surviving three months of America without gaining 20 kilos - Chicago is wonderful. On our drive home Kirsten was an excellent tour guide, complete with 'on your left...on your right...' and everything. She showed us the Chicago Bears station for instance, which looks like a spaceship landed on an ancient Greek temple. Yep, the city's got tons of unexpected loony aspects. Another example is "the bean" in Millennium Park. Officially it's called Cloud Gate, but it really is a bean. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Gate or wait until I remember to take my camera with me.
We also went to a 'haut chocolate' shop, Vosges (http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/) where they've got the most original combinations with chocolate. Some are delicious, such as the dark chocolate with hot chili pepper and the curry-coconut (of course) one. Other combinations are more 'unexpected', such as the Barcelona salt and almond bar or the one with bacon flavor (!!!). Not exactly my kind of treat, but hey, I'm in America. Nothing can surprise me now.
Despite being a genuine country-girl, I really like all those huge and prettily lit buildings. And on top of that: it turns out that Chicago has this lovely theater scene. Yesterday I got to experience that myself: wow! The play was called "Too much light makes the baby go blind" and it's not an actual play at all. It's 30 plays in 60 minutes! Everyone got a name tag - I was X-mas - and to see how much you had to pay, you had to roll a dice. Just my kind of crazy! Then, every time the actors said curtain, the audience had to shout the number of the play/sketch they wanted to see (we all got a 'menu' with 30 titles, like "These women are communicating their needs to you as clear as day, and boy, you better deliver", or "Unleash The Bucket Insurgency", or "Hot lesbian semi-historical love vignettes starring Barbie and Barbie"). Oh and they have this motto when we sell out we order out, so they ordered a pizza and we could all take a piece at the end. I'm definitely going back there (because they change the plays every week)! Check them out: http://www.neofuturists.org/)
So, these were my first few days in the big city. There's more to come, I'm sure...
Cheers!
Lobke x
During my first days here I haven't had much time yet to really explore the city, but the LSA conference did take me downtown. The skyline is a-ma-zing! It's so overpowering that in one restaurant they've even made a gingerbread version of it. Eat that! (or not)
Talking about food, though, there's a tiny bit of a disappointment in that respect. A few days ago I went out with Ezra, his extremely funny "Chicagoan" friend Kirsten and his slightly goofy (in a good way!) colleagues Raj and Roni. We ended up in a Belgian restaurant where they had a lot of (needless to say - good) Belgian beers and food that was supposed to be Belgian, but didn't taste Belgian (i.e. good) at all. Apparently, Americans put loads of salt on everything! Literally, as you'll be able to read later. Apart from this tiny food disappointment - which might in fact help me keep my New Year's resolution of surviving three months of America without gaining 20 kilos - Chicago is wonderful. On our drive home Kirsten was an excellent tour guide, complete with 'on your left...on your right...' and everything. She showed us the Chicago Bears station for instance, which looks like a spaceship landed on an ancient Greek temple. Yep, the city's got tons of unexpected loony aspects. Another example is "the bean" in Millennium Park. Officially it's called Cloud Gate, but it really is a bean. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Gate or wait until I remember to take my camera with me.
We also went to a 'haut chocolate' shop, Vosges (http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/) where they've got the most original combinations with chocolate. Some are delicious, such as the dark chocolate with hot chili pepper and the curry-coconut (of course) one. Other combinations are more 'unexpected', such as the Barcelona salt and almond bar or the one with bacon flavor (!!!). Not exactly my kind of treat, but hey, I'm in America. Nothing can surprise me now.
Despite being a genuine country-girl, I really like all those huge and prettily lit buildings. And on top of that: it turns out that Chicago has this lovely theater scene. Yesterday I got to experience that myself: wow! The play was called "Too much light makes the baby go blind" and it's not an actual play at all. It's 30 plays in 60 minutes! Everyone got a name tag - I was X-mas - and to see how much you had to pay, you had to roll a dice. Just my kind of crazy! Then, every time the actors said curtain, the audience had to shout the number of the play/sketch they wanted to see (we all got a 'menu' with 30 titles, like "These women are communicating their needs to you as clear as day, and boy, you better deliver", or "Unleash The Bucket Insurgency", or "Hot lesbian semi-historical love vignettes starring Barbie and Barbie"). Oh and they have this motto when we sell out we order out, so they ordered a pizza and we could all take a piece at the end. I'm definitely going back there (because they change the plays every week)! Check them out: http://www.neofuturists.org/)
So, these were my first few days in the big city. There's more to come, I'm sure...
Cheers!
Lobke x
Thursday, 3 January 2008
first impressions
1. It takes you almost nine hours to get from Brussels to Chicago, a flight that luckily is more bearable in the right company (Thanks, Mister Mike ;-)). That means home is 7 hours faster than me now.
2. The windy city is not that windy at all! :-)
3. It is very cold though...
(note to myself: wear a hat next time you go outside! you still need your ears).
4. They've got snow everywhere, even inside tunnels.
5. Cars are significantly bigger here. Except for the taxi that drove me from the airport. Bummer.
6. They've got such lovely houses! Amazing!
7. The university campus looks like Hogwarts, but without the witches and wizards. Very pretty. Oh and today also without the lady from the International Office and without Prof. Jason Merchant, which made my walk there today pretty useless. Not funny in such cold.
8. My room is very nice. I got scared a little when one of my new - very sweet - roomies told me the heater is not working, though...
9. Fire engines look like X-mas trees.
10. Those dimes, quarters and pennies are going to be the end of me. They're going to be the reason why it will still be obvious I'm not American after three months.
People, I have arrived in Chicago!
2. The windy city is not that windy at all! :-)
3. It is very cold though...
(note to myself: wear a hat next time you go outside! you still need your ears).
4. They've got snow everywhere, even inside tunnels.
5. Cars are significantly bigger here. Except for the taxi that drove me from the airport. Bummer.
6. They've got such lovely houses! Amazing!
7. The university campus looks like Hogwarts, but without the witches and wizards. Very pretty. Oh and today also without the lady from the International Office and without Prof. Jason Merchant, which made my walk there today pretty useless. Not funny in such cold.
8. My room is very nice. I got scared a little when one of my new - very sweet - roomies told me the heater is not working, though...
9. Fire engines look like X-mas trees.
10. Those dimes, quarters and pennies are going to be the end of me. They're going to be the reason why it will still be obvious I'm not American after three months.
People, I have arrived in Chicago!
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