Soaking in the Sun (Sort of)

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

The Windy City Was Not Windy Today

Woke up super early this morning after very little sleep last night to catch a flight to Chicago for Scholarship Junkies work. I slept the whole flight—didn't even get a drink when the drink person came around. I did, however, capture a picture of SNOW in Western Washington before knocking out.

Arrived in Chicago to humidity and heat that I had not experienced in a while. Definitely did not check the weather before packing. Today's high: 86 degrees. Whoops.

Dad picked me up from the airport though, which was really nice, since this is my first actual trip to the Windy City. Chicago is a massive city, and I'm realizing the whole "public transportation-only" plan is not such a good one. I promptly booked a Zipcar first chance I had Internet.

I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast at Burger King in SeaTac's N-gates, so Dad and I Yelped a place and ended up at Al and Joe's Deli near the airport. While the Italian sub was indeed tasty, it's not a place I'd go out of my way to visit.

We were planning to drive downtown to walk around, but I remembered that I needed to post a trivia question for my Intrepid work. So we headed to Dad's hotel for a bit. No one new answered today, so after an hour of waiting, we decided to head out. Due to traffic though, we ended up going straight to my friend Paul's place.

Paul and I were both Fulbrighters in Germany last year, and he was kind enough to offer a bedroom at his sweet apartment near the University of Chicago. It was cool for Dad to meet him too. I dropped my stuff off and then Dad and I went downtown for dinner. The drive was nice. Got to see more of the city.

We were going to go to Navy Pier, but our GPS led us in a terrible wild goose chase around downtown Chicago, which is freakin' huge. Driving near the riverfront, I was reminded of the Dark Knight, and as it turns out, the Dark Knight was indeed filmed primarily in Chicago (thank you, Wikipedia).

As we got increasingly frustrated with the GPS, Dad and I decided to just park and go find some place to eat at. We ruled out any fast food chains (no brainer), considered a Chinese restaurant (despite seeing the sign above the street, we didn't find it but we did find a Japanese restaurant), and finally decided on a grill house.

The wait was about 15-20 minutes, and so I thought it was a busy night. But, as the hostess who led us to our table told me, tonight was actually not busy. I'd hate to be there when it actually is busy. I don't like crowds (unless I'm speaking to them...haha).

Dad and I both got awesome burgers that were huge. We also had a starter sampler full of grilled goodies. Probably why we each only ate half of our burgers. Still, very delicious.

The beer was also good. When it was cold, that is. Dad had a Sam Adams, which I normally like but can get at Shultzy's in Seattle. So I had a beer from Chicago's Goose Island Brewery. Forgot which one, but it wasn't bad. I've grown increasingly fond of trying local brews, while still maintaining just a hint of my German beer snobbishness.

Overall, the day was a good one, and I am especially happy to have gotten to spend the day with Dad. Hooray for travels and thanks for the food and the rides, Dad! :)

Tomorrow, I will give the first of my two workshops at Loyola University Chicago (the other is on Friday). Looking forward to it! I will also get to have lunch with my old friend from the GMS program, who actually is the one who organized my even being in Chicago. Then in the evening, I will get to have dinner with more Fulbright friends and one of the students I mentored through Scholarship Junkies starting back in 2007—it will be our first time meeting in person after countless emails and phone calls!

Bis morgen,
Sam

Portlandia

I don't actually like the show, Portlandia, but since I was in Portland this weekend, it seemed like an appropriate post title. Yup.

A few weeks ago, Roland and I decided it was time to figure out which Blazers game to visit this year. With the season ending in April and our respective schedules already quite hectic, we bought tickets for the March 3rd game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The T-Wolves are an exciting, young team with some very talented and entertaining players. Within a few years, they're going to be one of the best in the West as some of the older teams like the Spurs, Lakers, and Mavs drop off in production. The Blazers were supposed to be one of the young up-and-coming teams along with Seattle (I mean Oklahoma City) and perhaps now the Clippers.

In any case, we thought it'd be a fun game to go to. So Friday, I took the train down to Portland, and Roland picked me up at the train station. We went grocery shopping and bought food to cook that night. Wanna guess what we made? Yup, pasta.

It was a fun night of eating, enjoying some drinks, hanging out with his dental school friends, and playing NBA 2K12. Compared to the many years ago when we first started playing NBA video games against each other, the graphics were simply unreal. I can't even explain it. Roland's place is pretty sweet too.

Not surprisingly, I didn't win a single game against him, even playing with the Blazers while he played with the worst teams in the league. The last game last night was closest...I was up by 16 early...and lost by 3. Tuhrrible.

The highlight of the weekend, though, was supposed to be the game itself. It wasn't. In fact, the game was atrocious. The Blazers gave up 40 points in the first quarter...at least we got Chalupas, but I hate losing. So even our post-game Taco Bell run wasn't as satisfying as it should've been (though the joy of junk food is always ephemeral).

Our poor game experience was made better, though, by the chance to meet Blazers legend, Terry Porter. My boss at Intrepid found out I was going to the game, and since TP is a coach for Minnesota (and we outfitted a few of his AAU teams with basketball uniforms), Rob offered me the chance to deliver a few pairs of shorts to TP in person. 

What should've been an easy drop-off turned into a somewhat stressful endeavor as I didn't have a pass/credential to get into the Rose Garden, even though Rob had given security my name. Apparently, they don't keep a list, so we're not sure what happened. In any case, I called my friend, Bjorn, who I thought would know a thing or two about credentials, since he has done work with the Blazers and also has gotten media credentials before.

We ended up waiting for an hour (total) to meet TP and had just missed him pulling into the parking lot by the loading docks (where the players/teams enter) by 60 seconds. Meanwhile, Roland's car accidentally blocked Nic Batum's car as he was getting in. And shortly after moving his car, LaMarcus Aldridge rolled up with his music blaring. Roland said he saw Jamal Crawford pull up too.

As we waited outside the gate looking like some desperate fans (even though I have come to lose much of the awe-factor in meeting quote-unquote famous people since perhaps my first year of college), the Timberwolves team bus pulled up. Shortly after, the security team brought us to command central, where we proceeded to wait another 20-25 minutes.

Standing next to the front door, we watched as Raymond Felton walked through the players' door, wearing a checkered green dress shirt, blue jeans, and green shoes. A few minutes later, Gerald Wallace arrived with his bent down as he was texting on his phone. He looked up just before he walked in and gave us an ever-so-slight head nod. 

Pretty interesting. NBA life does not look as glamorous as I had once imagined when I was an elementary student with dreams of reaching the NBA as a basketball player. We watched as Michael Beasley walked up the ramp with his hoodie on, headphones plugged in his ears, and sporting the general mood of one who would rather be anywhere but going into an NBA arena to play a basketball game.

Finally, though, we got the chance to meet TP as he finished up a media thing and jogged down the hallway. We chatted for about 30 seconds, and he thanked me for getting him the shorts. I joked that Rob would fire me if I didn't get a picture with him, so he said he'd take one because he didn't want me to get fired. Haha.

After that, he ran off, and Roland and I headed home to eat some pre-game snacks and then head back to the Rose Garden via public transportation. Worked out perfectly. We got to the game right on time, and immediately, the Blazers were in a hole. They played catch up the rest of the game, and by the third quarter, it was clear we weren't going to win.

All in all, it was a good trip though, and I had fun catching up with Roland. I hadn't seen him since before I left for Germany in 2010, so it was good to hang out and just kick it over the weekend. I made it back to Seattle this morning and promptly had three hours of meetings. Back to work.

Next trip will be to Chicago in a few weeks, and I've got tickets to a Bulls vs. Raptors game, so that should plenty of fun. Plus I've never been to the Windy City before, so it will be a few days of fun exploring.

Till then,
Sam

Weekend in Whistler

It's been a long while since I last blogged. Less travel equals less blog time, I suppose. Although I traveled a fair amount during January for Scholarship Junkies, it didn't seem particularly blog-worthy.

Last weekend though, a few of the boys from my Berlin 2007 study abroad program and I headed up to Whistler, British Columbia, for a little weekend getaway. They started the tradition last year, but since I was in Germany then, I missed it.

We booked a timeshare condo for the five of us, but then at the last minute, one of the guys couldn't go. So our group was down to just four. Nevertheless, we had a great time. I don't actually ski or snowboard, so I wasn't exactly sure what I'd be doing while they all hit the slopes. But I was just happy to have a bit of a vacation.

I feel lazy, so I'm just going to post pictures and caption them. Enjoy!

There was plenty of snow as the view from our room showed.

Our first night in town, we went to the Banff Film Festival event and watched some incredible films. My favorite was one about a guy named Tim Cope, who traveled from Mongolia to Hungary with just horses and a dog. Took him three and a half years.

On Saturday, the guys went up Whistler to ski and snowboard. I went on a snowmobile tour in Callaghan Valley. Pretty nuts.

Having ridden ATVs in Greece, I figured riding a snowmobile might be similar. I was wrong. It's a bit tougher, 'cause snowmobiles don't like to turn.

The snow was phenomenal though, and in the picture below, you can see our guide taking pictures of the other dudes. There was a group of 4 guys from KY, and they were all way better at snowmobiling than me. Oh, we're riding on a frozen lake below all that snow. :)

Then we drove up the side of this hill and went straight down the side of it. It doesn't look all that steep in this picture, but when you're at the top of it and have to drive a snowmobile straight down, it feels steep.

I headed back to the pad after that with some groceries and a chicken caesar salad. Place looks nice, doesn't it? I didn't have internet, but I had some work to do. Hence, the laptop. I don't vacation well.

We had a kitchen too, so that was nice.

I had taken a nasty spill the week before and banged up my knee. In fact, I had a huge bruise that was dark purple, and my knee was swollen to the size of a grapefruit. It's still a bit puffy and bruised.

The guys got back in the afternoon, and after they went to the hot tub downstairs (I had to refrain for medical reasons—no intense heat with my implants), I started making dinner. We had some Italian sausages to go with our pasta.

Joe didn't want any veggies, but I chopped up some celery for the pasta sauce anyway. Is that weird? I never thought it was in Germany...I even threw in carrots and zucchini in Berlin. Apparently, the guys thought that was strange.

Yum. It had been a while, since I last cooked.

I had also bought a loaf of garlic bread that we popped in the oven.

Later that night, we went out to some of the bars in Whistler Village. It was a fun night, and we even got a picture on the Olympic rings.

Right before returning home though, we were a bit hungry, so we stopped by a little joint called Dinky Dawgs. Crazy what you can put on your hot dog.

On Sunday morning, I joined the guys up on the slopes, except I went up just to join 'em for lunch. So I bought a sightseeing ticket to ride the gondola up and then the Peak2Peak gondola from Whistler to Blackcomb. Took me an hour to get all the way up there 'cause of the lines.

Nevertheless, it's quite nice up there. Like a little village on the mountain.

The Peak2Peak gondola was great for nice views.

After a rather unhealthy lunch of poutine and pizza, we rode the gondola back to Whistler together, so they could continue skiing.

The gray gondolas have a glass floor, so you can see straight down. Too bad we didn't get one of those.

Oh, Canada...

Whistler Village itself is quite nice. Felt like a little Hogsmeade of sorts.

I enjoyed my first time there, and I'm sure we'll be heading back again next year. I will be much more ready with the right clothes.

On Sunday night, we decided to celebrate our last night by going out for dinner and drinks. We had enjoyed the Irish Pub from the night before, so we went there for dinner this time. Look at that huge sprig of rosemary in my shepherd's pie!

After dinner, we were all extremely full and tired, even though we'd been planning to go out to another bar or two. But, the toll of the day must've hit us all, even though I hadn't even skied or snowboarded. So we went home.

We packed up the next morning, cleaned the place up, and then hit the road.

Whistler's not inexpensive at all, so you have to do your best to save money where you can. We saved a lot by cooking on our own and by booking our place way in advance.

The drive back was gorgeous too. It had been rainy and foggy when we drove up, so the view of the fjord wasn't visible. Our return trip was nice and clear though.

We had stopped for dim sum in Richmond on Friday when we went up, so on our way back, we stopped at Shabusen in Vancouver for Korean BBQ and sushi. No reservation, no seats in the boat.

Our table still had the grills though, so we went all out at this all-you-can-eat joint.

I lost track of how many meat dishes we ordered...

But, man, were we stuffed...

The drive back was rather uneventful, but we stopped by the duty free shop before returning to the US. This looks like a normal sized Jameson, but it's 4.5 L!!! Costs about $100 Canadian. For Jameson, I would've bought it, but I wouldn't be able to finish 4.5 L of Jameson for a looooong time.

I spy freedom...haha.

All in all, I had a blast, and I thoroughly enjoyed a relaxing weekend away with some good friends. Hard to believe that our study abroad group from 2007 still hangs out so much, but we are awesome like that.

I've got a few more trips coming up soon, but mostly for work. Still, I'll do my best to blog, since there'll be some new cities and sights to talk about.

Cheerio,
Sam