This morning, I definitely slept in till 10:30. Paul said he'd sleep in too. He got up by 7. Poor guy's got lots of work for his PhD to do.
I ended up heading out around 11:45 to take my Zipcar up to Loyola's campus. Paul lives in Hyde Park near the University of Chicago campus, which is basically the south side of Chicago. Loyola, on the other hand, is in the north part, so it was a nice 12-mile drive up.
On the left, I saw what felt like massive skyscrapers for nearly the entire 6 or 7 mile stretch from downtown up to Loyola's campus. On the right, I saw the clear blue sparkles of Lake Michigan. I still don't get it...how is that a lake? It's bigger than the Sea of Marmara!
I arrived at Loyola around 12:30 and had plenty of time before my 1 o'clock lunch meeting with Jason, who is the one who brought me out to Chicago. He's known me since my days as a GMS Scholar and when he worked for APIASF. I think the last time I saw him was actually in Seattle at Shultzy's. Haha.
Parking was terrible, but the rounds I made to find street parking (and take advantage of my handicap parking placard) ended up taking me right next to the lake. Can you imagine your college campus sitting right on the edge of a lake? Oh wait, I went to one that does.
In all seriousness though, you can't see across Lake Michigan, which gives it the feeling of being like being on a beach near the ocean. Plus, there are sandy beaches. The sun today definitely made me want to go swim and chill on the beach. Alas, I could not. Nevertheless, I felt today's heat wherever I was (indoors and out).
After meeting up with Jason, we went to a place across from campus that serves special kimchi burgers. It was delicious! Besides the bun, meat patty, and cheese, my burger also had kimchi, a fried egg, and what looked like coleslaw. Whatever it was, the entire burger was so freakin' good.
I finished mine pretty fast and contemplated getting another one...until I realized I had to present shortly and should not have a really full stomach (that, or I saw my ever growing gut).
After chatting and catching up for nearly two hours, Jason headed back to his office, and I went to do some final prep work for the presentation. It's always a tiny bit more challenging sharing scholarship strategies with current undergraduates because there are really not many scholarships for current undergrads. But, I really wanted the students to have realistic tools to walk away with, so we covered some good stuff.
I've gotten really bad at taking pictures, so I have none of the workshop. Normally, Mike just shows up and snaps hundreds of photos. I have become spoiled. Nevertheless, the workshop was great. I gave away a copy of my book too (Studying Abroad in Greece: Tips & Reflections). The student who won it didn't ask me to sign it though. Haha.
I also gave away a copy of Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer's newest book, The Gardens of Democracy. I've found that crowds like it when you give away free stuff that's not just pencils and other things like that. Although tomorrow, I'm giving two cups when I speak to the high school students...
Today's presentation was also marked by a special visit from my friend, Tiffany, whom I've known since 2007 or so when she was a high school senior. She found Scholarship Junkies and really took advantage of the opportunity—she won enough scholarships to cover her full college education.
I remember all the emails we exchanged, the phone call when she won a major national scholarship, and the Skype chats when she was studying abroad in China. So, it was somewhat surreal that we got to meet today for the first time in person. She even helped share some of her tips and advice with the students too. So awesome.
While we were packing up to leave though, the fire alarm went off. We thought it was just a drill or something, but the police came and shooed us out. So we all crossed the street and waited. I had to leave my laptop just sitting in the room. Wasn't terribly worried, but I was anxious to get back to the room so no one swiped it when the crowd rushed back into the building.
The rest of the evening was going to be dinner with my fellow German Fulbright friends, Keri and Alec. So many Fulbrighters in Chicago! When Tiffany and I got to the Zipcar though, I found a ticket on the car. I was annoyed! Turns out, even my handicap parking placard could not save me from a $60 "Rush Hour" parking infraction. Are you kidding me?! Contest, I shall. But win, I probably will not.
We made it a few blocks over to Keri and Alec's, and Alec gave me a guest parking permit to park on their street (permit only, I guess). I also just realized I never took off the sticker in the Zipcar...I may book it again tomorrow.
Keri and Alec took us around their neighborhood, which has tons of good eating spots—primarily Indian restaurants. We got some Indian take out and ate at their place along with some delicious German beer (thank you, Alec!). We ate like royalty. Check it out!
Overall, it was a fantastic day, and I'm so glad I got the Zipcar (though not the ticket) since public transport would've taken us at least 75 or 90 minutes to get back to Paul's. The drive was much more pleasant and only took about 30 minutes. Plus, it was just great to see so many good friends.
Tomorrow, I will finish some work in the morning and then head back to Loyola in the afternoon for a second workshop. Tiffany plans to join me again as well, so I'm excited for that. Yes, I will drive up again too, though I will only book the car for a few hours instead of the whole day. Should be good.
Till then,
Sam
I ended up heading out around 11:45 to take my Zipcar up to Loyola's campus. Paul lives in Hyde Park near the University of Chicago campus, which is basically the south side of Chicago. Loyola, on the other hand, is in the north part, so it was a nice 12-mile drive up.
On the left, I saw what felt like massive skyscrapers for nearly the entire 6 or 7 mile stretch from downtown up to Loyola's campus. On the right, I saw the clear blue sparkles of Lake Michigan. I still don't get it...how is that a lake? It's bigger than the Sea of Marmara!
I arrived at Loyola around 12:30 and had plenty of time before my 1 o'clock lunch meeting with Jason, who is the one who brought me out to Chicago. He's known me since my days as a GMS Scholar and when he worked for APIASF. I think the last time I saw him was actually in Seattle at Shultzy's. Haha.
Parking was terrible, but the rounds I made to find street parking (and take advantage of my handicap parking placard) ended up taking me right next to the lake. Can you imagine your college campus sitting right on the edge of a lake? Oh wait, I went to one that does.
In all seriousness though, you can't see across Lake Michigan, which gives it the feeling of being like being on a beach near the ocean. Plus, there are sandy beaches. The sun today definitely made me want to go swim and chill on the beach. Alas, I could not. Nevertheless, I felt today's heat wherever I was (indoors and out).
After meeting up with Jason, we went to a place across from campus that serves special kimchi burgers. It was delicious! Besides the bun, meat patty, and cheese, my burger also had kimchi, a fried egg, and what looked like coleslaw. Whatever it was, the entire burger was so freakin' good.
I finished mine pretty fast and contemplated getting another one...until I realized I had to present shortly and should not have a really full stomach (that, or I saw my ever growing gut).
After chatting and catching up for nearly two hours, Jason headed back to his office, and I went to do some final prep work for the presentation. It's always a tiny bit more challenging sharing scholarship strategies with current undergraduates because there are really not many scholarships for current undergrads. But, I really wanted the students to have realistic tools to walk away with, so we covered some good stuff.
I've gotten really bad at taking pictures, so I have none of the workshop. Normally, Mike just shows up and snaps hundreds of photos. I have become spoiled. Nevertheless, the workshop was great. I gave away a copy of my book too (Studying Abroad in Greece: Tips & Reflections). The student who won it didn't ask me to sign it though. Haha.
I also gave away a copy of Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer's newest book, The Gardens of Democracy. I've found that crowds like it when you give away free stuff that's not just pencils and other things like that. Although tomorrow, I'm giving two cups when I speak to the high school students...
Today's presentation was also marked by a special visit from my friend, Tiffany, whom I've known since 2007 or so when she was a high school senior. She found Scholarship Junkies and really took advantage of the opportunity—she won enough scholarships to cover her full college education.
I remember all the emails we exchanged, the phone call when she won a major national scholarship, and the Skype chats when she was studying abroad in China. So, it was somewhat surreal that we got to meet today for the first time in person. She even helped share some of her tips and advice with the students too. So awesome.
While we were packing up to leave though, the fire alarm went off. We thought it was just a drill or something, but the police came and shooed us out. So we all crossed the street and waited. I had to leave my laptop just sitting in the room. Wasn't terribly worried, but I was anxious to get back to the room so no one swiped it when the crowd rushed back into the building.
The rest of the evening was going to be dinner with my fellow German Fulbright friends, Keri and Alec. So many Fulbrighters in Chicago! When Tiffany and I got to the Zipcar though, I found a ticket on the car. I was annoyed! Turns out, even my handicap parking placard could not save me from a $60 "Rush Hour" parking infraction. Are you kidding me?! Contest, I shall. But win, I probably will not.
We made it a few blocks over to Keri and Alec's, and Alec gave me a guest parking permit to park on their street (permit only, I guess). I also just realized I never took off the sticker in the Zipcar...I may book it again tomorrow.
Keri and Alec took us around their neighborhood, which has tons of good eating spots—primarily Indian restaurants. We got some Indian take out and ate at their place along with some delicious German beer (thank you, Alec!). We ate like royalty. Check it out!
Overall, it was a fantastic day, and I'm so glad I got the Zipcar (though not the ticket) since public transport would've taken us at least 75 or 90 minutes to get back to Paul's. The drive was much more pleasant and only took about 30 minutes. Plus, it was just great to see so many good friends.
Tomorrow, I will finish some work in the morning and then head back to Loyola in the afternoon for a second workshop. Tiffany plans to join me again as well, so I'm excited for that. Yes, I will drive up again too, though I will only book the car for a few hours instead of the whole day. Should be good.
Till then,
Sam
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