Big city buzz

On Sunday, we had our first day off. It was glorious. When we arrived Saturday evening after our 115-mile ride, I was exhausted but excited to be in a city. Chicago was the biggest, most exciting thing we had seen in 1300 miles. Diana Jih, a friend from Dartmouth who is working at local foods organizations in Chicago this summer, joined us. We took the El downtown and saw Millenium Park, “the Bean”, and had a beer at RockBottom Brewery. That night, I biked with Diana back to her apartment, somewhere near half awake. I gritted my teeth and limped along behind Diana for the 3-mile ride. Sitting on the saddle never hurt so much, and I laughed at the irony of 3 miles bothering me way more than 115.

Diana’s apartment is decorated a la Frank Lloyd Wright, and it’s got stained glass, oriental carpets and dark wood. The kitchen has an old aga, and there are New Yorkers dotted around. In the morning, we sat on the veranda and ate Boston brown bread with carrot ginger marmalade that Diana had made. The wind was blowing, and I had to run after pieces of the Chicago Times.

In the afternoon, I met up with Sarah, the Iraqi student who will be starting at Dartmouth this fall. It felt oddly normal to see her in Chicago, although it was a far cry from the last time we met in Damascus. I noticed my tank top and skirt, the way I stretched out on the grass in Wicker Park and the blond families pushing their kids in strollers.

Sarah had questions about Dartmouth, and she talked about her first impressions of the United States. She has been here for two months now, and she noted the lack of safety net here. In Iraq, before the war, she said, you could get by even if you didn’t work hard or even if you didn't work. You might not be able to afford luxuries, but you would have access to electricity, water and heat. Here, everything costs money and it isn't easy to make it. Her mom, trained as an engineer, just got a part-time job as a cashier at Target, but she has a hard time being on her feet for so many hours. As the day cooled off, we walked around the area, bought pastries at a Mexican bakery, and hopped on the bus back home.

In the evening, Quang and I biked to a Chinese restaurant and had bubble tea and ‘vegetarian fun rolls'. Several of the riders regaled us with stories of their sky-diving exploits that morning. For some, it was the experience of a lifetime, while others were not too fazed. I can't wait to try it sometime.