Only the necessities, at least that is what I told myself I was moving in with but that is never the case. Anyways in the style of a true Chicago apartment I got myself a Chicago view from my bedroom window. However the view from the kitchen is much nicer, the neighborhood is a beautiful place.
The neighborhood is mostly Latino families, I have been told most of them are Mexican-American. There is something different about seeing children on the street, something different about walking down the street and seeing POC everywhere I go. In the Parks, in the stores, on the sidewalk, EVERYWHERE, it's very refreshing...something I feel I could get used to very fast. That being said I still dont know anyone, I am trying to figure out the best way about meeting people in Chicago, hopefully through work I will be able to meet some folks, and through friends of friends. Living this far south really hinders my chances of meeting people my age, or at least that's my impression, perhaps that will be proven wrong.
After getting settled last night, I woke up this morning, sat around and then decided to go out for a walk. I saw Marquette Park wasnt too far away and West Lawn Park was between here and there and so out I went in multiple layers due to the cold across town. This part of town is multifaceted. I can't imagine having grown up here, you can see reality all around you. This area is not somewhere the Mayor of Chicago would visit, not anywhere wealthy people would wine and dine, this is however real. There is also beauty in this, beauty in communities of color, beauty in the authenticity of the immigrants who populate this area. And beauty in the art that is inspired by life in this part of Chicago.
These two Murals are really one painted on the back of the building that I will be working in. The parking lot which the murals are painted in is surrounded by a giant metal fence, one that I could not have scaled even if I wanted to and doing so probably would have brought me some unwanted attention. So I settled for sticking my phone through the fence to snap the photos and they turned out pretty well. The clearer one on the left really epitomizes the area and its history. All the various peoples that make up this area most communities remain, while some such as the Arab community has moved mostly to the Southwest Suburbs.
This next mural is across the street from the SouthWest Youth Collaborative, same folks who did the other mural above. With its beautiful imagery perhaps my favorite part is the melding of two cultures exemplified at the very top where جنة is written in Arabic, which means Paradise.
After having walked for a good while I decided to return to the Palestinian grocery store/bakery that I visited yesterday for some breakfast/lunch which was way overdue at this point. After a 20 minute conversation with the store owner who was more interested in religion that anything else, I took my dozen falafel and began the trek back home. It was cold and in the freezing Chicago weather nothing is better than fresh, hot, falafel. Eating most of it by the time I got home (its a 20-30 minute walk after all) I put the rest on a plate with some hummus and sat down to enjoy my first Chicago meal, fresh (by this time lukewarm) Falafel and Hummus.
I took a nice long nap afterwords and now am spending the night inside. I would like to go out, but first its too cold, and second I don't know anyone yet. I am hoping most of my nights in Chicago don't turn out this way, but after one day I cant expect too much. Work starts on the 15th, if all else fails I will at least meet some people through the AAAN. Not bad for a first day in the Chi, here's to hoping they only get better
-محمد
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