This Friday and Saturday marked the first free weekend for
all of us together at Amate. Friday
night, some people chose to go out and explore the city, while others (myself
included) stayed in for some R&R. I
watched the Olympics with another housemate for an hour or so, then took some
alone time to read before turning in early.
Saturday morning was low-key as well. I woke up early, took some time to enjoy the
nice weather outside in the courtyard, and caught up with my friend Emily back
home via a phone call. About mid-morning
a few of us took a walk to the local library (thank you Liz Boback for sending
me mail – it gave me proof of address for my new library card!) and explored
the neighborhood a bit.
This may seem a bit hum-drum so far, but I promise it was
fun, and it get s more exciting. After a
light lunch, a group of us decided to head into the city. I purchased a day pass (or a “Fun Pass” as it
is officially called) for the CTA at Walgreens for $5.75 which would give me
unlimited use of the L for 24 hours. Our
first adventure was an L ride and a 20 minute walk to Pilsen, another Chicago
neighborhood, to visit the We Are Hip Hop festival. Although the group of 6 or 7 of us looked and
felt a bit out of place, it was a cool (and free!) cultural experience. We heard a local hip hop artist perform an
original work, observed a 10-canvas-wide graffiti competition, and even saw
some local neighborhood kids show off their break dancing and
circus-trick-performing skills.
After the Hip Hop festival, we boarded the L to make our
next plan. Our group split in half, with
some going off to explore millennium park and the rest (myself included) riding
up toward the North to visit Edgefest in Edgewater, Chicago. Edgefest, also affectionately known as “Bacon
Fest,” is an annual festival held in a ritzy-ish neighborhood and is comprised
of different art vendors, bands, and local food vendors. By the time we arrived, it was clear that a
storm was brewing. We had heard talk on
the train that Lollapalooza had been evacuated and everyone was being
encouraged to take cover. Fearlessly, we
defied the warnings and carried on, determined to find out for ourselves what
Bacon Fest was all about. After a little
haggling at the entrance booth, we each offered a $1 donation to enter, and
quickly spun through the different booths before the owners closed up shop for
the storm. We even each snagged
ourselves a bacon donut (don’t knock it til you try it) for the low, low price
of $2. We stayed long enough for the
cover band to play a few hits before heading back toward the L. As we were leaving the festival, the downpour
started and we bolted down the street.
We decided to try riding for only a few stops since the lighting and
rain were intense, hoping to seek refuge at North House until the storm
cleared. As we departed at the Sheridan
stop, we ran down the steps toward the street only to find the station was
completely flooded. With our spirits
down and shoes soaked to the bone, we trudged through until (ta-da!) we
serendipitously ran into the other members of our house. Yes, somehow even though all 12 of us had
been in different places and out of communication all day, we ended up in the
same place at the exact same time. Since
we were all together and it was nearing dinner time, we decided to just tough
it out and head back to South House.
After a relatively uneventful ride home, we were lucky that
the rain stopped before we departed our train and walked the few blocks
home. After our long day of adventuring,
we decided to cook a light dinner and settle in for a movie before going to
bed.
All in all, an eventful and exciting Saturday all for a
grand total of $8.75. Not too shabby, Chicago.
No comments:
Post a Comment