Welcome to another world, welcome to Geneseo!

On Friday we had to say goodbye to the Wexlers. It was the sadest morning of our stay, it was raining. We arrived at the office quite early, so we had some time to go to the CVS and Starbucks and stuff. We also said goodbye to Lisa and all the WorldChicago staff and started our two- hour drive to Geneseo.

All we could see coming out of the city were corn fields. I slept most of the time and when I looked out it was like "Oh, look corn fields". By that time Ruuben was already quite annoyed by them. :) We arrived at Geneseo a bit late, so all the families were already there. We took a couple of group pictures and then we were sent to the host families and then we already left, it was all so quick.

I live at the Tiedeman's house with Donara from Lithuania. The house is quite close to the down town, it's big and old, but renovated. The father works at a bank and the mother is a speech pathologist. They have four kids: Christina 17- very reasonable and loves horses (she has her own horse and a lot of awards), Andy 15- always playing with the smaller kids, Arlen 10- nonstop chatterbox and Shenne 10- self-reliant little girl.

In the evening we went to an Italian restaurant to have dinner and to a drive-in movie theatre just between the corn fields, to see the movie "Despicable me". I sat at the car and watched the movie and there were fireflies outside. It was just like in the movies. I liked it a lot.

Last full day in Chicago

Thursday was the last full day we had in Chicago, Jeff came to the down town with me and Greta. The train was especially cold that day and we were all especially sleepy that day.

We started at the office with drawing thank-you cards for Dream Leaders and WorldChicago. Jeff helped us with drawing the flags. Afterwards we presented our action plans and filled in the evaluation sheets. Lisa and Meagan and Lauri and Zane also gave us some feedback on our projects.

For lunch we went to the Navy Pier. We had about two hours there and ofc we went to the Billy Goat Tavern. We all got a double cheezeborger, it was good. For dessert I had some divine Ben & Jerrys and afterwards did some souvenir shopping.

We took a bus to the riverside to go on a boat cruise. We met the British group who just started their program with WorldChicago and both of the groups went on the cruise. We saw all the buildings on the riverside and their stories, went on Lake Michigan and got a bit wet and took some awesome pictures.

In the evening we had a farewell dinner at the Cultural Center with hosts and Dream Leaders. It was so nice to see Kyree again and all the other Dream Leaders and I also got to meet some other hosts. We got our certificates and and saw the documentaries (Abby did a really god job and all the groups too). We thanked each other and said a little something we had learned or experienced and then had some deep dish pizza, a must in Chicago. We took a lot of pictures and chatted with the Dream Leaders. I think that the time we spent in Chicago is going to be the best of all, because the Dream Leaders were just such an inspiring group of young people and I'm so gonna miss them.

We walked to our car and on our way we also passed the transformers scene. At home (I already call it home, cause it felt like that) we had some cherries and I ate some Rocky Road ice cream, that we don't have in Estonia. We changed our contacts and chatted and packed and went to bed.

Kevin Lampe, Skydeck and last long night at home

On Tuesday evening Suzanne, Alyssa, Jeff and Lauren picked us up at the station and we went to a buffet called Sweet Tomatoes, they had really tasty food there. Afterwards we went to a crafts store just on the other side of the parking lot to see if they have any beads. And they did! They had all sorts of beads: glass, lucite, semi- precious, metal etc. I bought some of them, OK, I bought a whole bunch of them and then also a big bag of candies from Target, to bring home. (Neti, valmistu)! For the rest of the evening we just hanged out and looked at some videos on youtube.

On Wednesday morning we met with Kevin Lampe, who is working with many different politics, including Barack Obama, giving them advice on how to get the message out there and how to give a speech. We had a workshop and learned a lot of interesting and useful tips for public speaking.

We had some pizza for lunch and then Monika was replaced by Meagan from DC. We went to the Willis Tower (formerly Sears) and the elevator took us to the 103rd floor. My ears popped badly. The wiew was awesome, although it was a little bit hazy. Even the other big skyscrapers looked small from down there. There were a couple of glass boxes there, coming out of the building. We could go and step on them.

After Sears we had some time for action planning and Abby came by to finalise the documentaries. Our documentary was so hearttouching, especially because I had been to the orphanage myself. We went home with the six o'clock train.

As Alyssa was flying to New York the next day we kind of had our last farewell dinner, last dinner all together. Jeff also made pavlovas, that were just delicious and the Wexlers surprised us with a really heartwarming gifts. They gave us a framed picture of me, Greta, Jeff, Lauren and Alyssa and a card with all their great wishes. I almost had tears in my eyes, because it felt so sad that we had to leave their family so soon. They really made our time in Chicago the best!

After dinner we went on a walk to the neighbourhood and also dropped Alyssa to her friend's place and said our last goodbyes. I had a long and interesting conversation with Jeff. It was nice to walk around there, because we didn't have any time to do that before.

Heal the world, volunteer!

This was THE day. The day of volunteerist and service, the day of our group. We started at 9 am at the office as usual. Today Peggy and Anya came with us. Lisa stayed at the office as they are having another group at the same time from UK, with severe peanut allergies.



We walked to Adams/Wabash corner and went to the Chicago Area Project / Youth as Resources headquarters. It’s basically an NGO for resolving problems in the youth communities by youth. The also have an office on the east coast and several offices throughout Chicago. We met an African American group there, they were just full of energy. We taled a lot about volunteerism and organizing it and volunteerist by youth (YAR). We also created ideas of Youth organizations and events in 15 minutes.



It was time for a typical Chicago lunch. A very special group of youth served us beef sandwitches and hot dogs, in the Chicago-an way. It was all delicious. We had a “talent show“, where the youth from CAP rapped and sang to us, it was so cool, they are really creative. We took a lot of group photos and all sorts of pictures and it seemed like noone wanted to leave.




We ran to the CTA station and ended up waiting there for 50 minutes until the Dream Leaders came. We went to the very tought side of Chicago to Clara’s house. Clara is a very strong old lady who has had a shelter for homeless kids and their Moms for 25 years, she is determined and she has a big heart. We went to the backyard with the kids and everyyone got a child to read with. I ended up with a two year old girl Simone, the prettiest and cutest thing I’ve ever seen on Earth. We read some books, mostly looked at the pictures and counted the apples in them and said the names of the animals in them.





Eva was taking pictures throughout all the time there, I was too busy with Simone. She played with my locket and she seemed to be happy with the situation. We went to the table and she draw a picture, that she later gave to me- the best souvenir from America. She was sitting on my lap and we chatted a little, as much as possible with a two year old. It really was a facinating experience to have and it made me want to go to Africa to volunteer with kids or do something like that.





It was time to take the group pictures and say our goodbyes and we took the CTA back to the office. We did some reflecting with Lisa and now we are driving home with Metra. I still have Simone’s face in my mind. :)

Loco Mexico

On Monday we had the tolerance diversity day. In the Morning we took the CTA to Pilson, the Mexican neighbourhood in Chicago. It was the first time for me take the L, it was just loud, very loud. I prefer Metra. We walked through the blocks and avarything around us was very colorful, a lot of paintings called mirals, even in the train stations. It was very interesting for me to see the different parts of Chicago.





First stop was Radio Arte, a Mexican radio channel for youth, functioning on the volunteer work by the youth themselves. We were taken on a tour at the station and then we had an interactive session about immigration and getting the citizenship of the USA.





We had lunch at Mexican restaurant, not my taste, but it was a very typical place at that neighbourhood I guess and it was nice to chat with the girls from Radio Arte.



We were supposed to go to the Museum of Mexican Art, but it was closed on Mondays, so we went right back to the office, started with the action planning and then had some free time for shopping. I liked many shops on the State street (Urban Outfitters, Charlotte Russe), but we had to little time, so I didn’t buy anything.

We went home afterwards and met Lauren, finally. All the family has been talking about her and now she’s finally home from the camp. She’s a very pretty girl, much more quiet, but she seems to be have a very outstanding personality and much inside. We had a very good dinner: salad and noodles with vegetables.

After dinner Jeff invited us to his friend’s place. (I’m not sure if I spell Jeff’s friends’ names correctly) On our way there we stopped by Dominic’s, a huge supermarket and also Jeff’s and Lauren’s school. From 9th to 12th grade they have 5000 students. (Yes, there isn’t one 0 too much) It was just huge, they have tennis courts a swimming pool, two cafeterias, performing arts hall etc.

Arriving very late me, Greta, Lauren and Jeff went to Lukas’ (Polish) apartement with an ice cream cake saying „Happy Birthday Jas“. Jas is an Indian friens of Jeff’s and it wasn’t his birthday actually. I guess it was just an inside joke. There was also Lukas’ girlfriend and Gracian. These guys were really funny, especially Jas. We played monopoly and we had a kind of an alliance with Greta, so we were kind of winning. But we had to go home, so Gracian drove us there, it was scary to say the least, the turnes and the speed...õõh.

All in all it was a really fun day. We got to see more of the real Chicago life, going to the Mexican area and meeting Jeff’s friends and seeing the monsterous school.

the Wonderful Wexler Weekend

On Saturday the air conditioner broke down and we decided to spend as much time outside as possible, because it was quite warm inside, especially for them. We had a big family breakfast, chocolate pancakes and stuff. The first plan we had was Six Flags Great America amuzement park. It happened to be just 20 minutes away from our house. We arrived there at 10 o’clock. The car queues were awfully long, a huge amount of people were going there. I didn’t take my camera with me, it would have been really not easy to handle it, so I have no pictures of that day. Jeff was our pockets, so he had a camera and he took some pictures.

At first we tried some smaller carouselles, but they were not much. I was really afraid of the rollercoasters, they were just huge. But the next thing we went on was one of the fastest rollercoasters, the line was about 50 minutes, but it was worth it. We did a couple of rides with the rollercoasters, had Chinese food and then did some waterrides. It was all extremely amuzing. Lots of fun.

They also have a waterpark at Six Flags. It was just next to the american moiuntains. It had reached its capacity earlier, so they kicked everyone out at 5 pm and let us in. It was huge, we did the tornado and the tubes and some more cool stuff. At seven they closed the waterpark. We were exhausted by that time. We just had a funnel cake for the four of us and then Suzanne and Ken picked us up.

A huge, and I seriously mean huge mall was just 10 minutes from Six Flags. You know the signs they have at airports saying „10 minutes to terminal B“? They have those at that mall. We drove there, walked around the mall and then I found the Forever 21 store. Now why don’t we have that in Estonia? Clothes are a lot cheaper here and I bought myself two dresses, a shirt and a jacket. I also got a little something for Neti from the mall.

It was clearly too late to cook dinner, so we went to a Middle-Eastern restaurant. We sat outside, under the grapewines. Suzanne and Ken ordered all sorts of interesting thing for us to share and we had a late night dinner there. I found out that I love Middle-Eastern cuisine. At home we had some dirt cake, had a conversation about religion and went straight to bed.

On Sunday morning we had so many options what to do, it was impossible to decide. We ended up going to the Museum of Science and Industry. On our way we stopped by the Estonia House, that was unfortunately closed, but I saw a Saku beer advertisment there and a map of Estonia.





The museum was very catchy, we started with a live experiment show, saw some geography and weather stuff. The genetics part was very interesting and also the human body department. We had some light lunch there and also so an IMAX movie at Omnimax theatre. It was about the Hubble space telescope. The screen was all over the place and the sound system was outrageous. It made me want to become an astronaut.






Later on we drove to the down town, to the Navy Pier. We watched a Shanghai cirque show there. It was all about the abilities of the human body, some very dangerous athletic tricks. After that we walked on the Navy Pier, there was a stained glass museum and also some souvenir shops and nice eating places for example Bubba Gumps Shrimp Restaurant. We also took some pretty pictures there, as we could see the view of the city from the Pier. We had dinner at Harry Caray’s. Me and Greta tried chili for the first time, I loved it. We laughed a lot, especially at the part where we tried to explain them what are blood sausages and sauna (+vihtlemine). I felt like I’m from a strange country. When we went outside, we took some pictures of the city in the lights and drove home, where we went right to the bed, very tired.












Overall I was very satisfied with the weekend, I saw so much and got to spend a lot of time with my host family. I loved it.

Campaigning and Swing

On Friday we had to be at the office super early: at 8 o’clock, I had to get up at 5.00. We ended up chatting at WorldChicago until 8.45, bbecause some people were still not there. Anyway, we were split into two groups with a different candidate and suburb. We all took a yellow schoolbus and started the trip to Lombard and Naperville. I was at the Lombard group and we were supporting a Republican Chris Nybo running for state representative.




At the campaigning office we met the town mayor, who gave us a speech and badges to mark, that we are the honorary cityzens on Lombard. We talked a little bit of how the campaign works (everyone’s working there as a volunteer) and also the told us about the candidate. The we went out to the field. We were in goups on two or three and every group had a Chris Nybo volunteer with them. Basically we walked around the suburb, knocking on doors and spreading information about Chris Nybo. We only got three doors open, all old friendly ladies.









Back at the office, we went to the Polish Bakery next door and had a refreshing strawberry, dipped into chocolate. Then we were taken to a Mexican restaurant an we had some tacos and laughed a lot with the Estonians. The Naperville group arrived a bit after us. I’d say that they were more excited about their day, they were taken around the town and they actually did no campaigning.





All together we went back to the office of Organizing for America. It is an organization that grew out from the Obama campaign. We had an interesting introduction about the organization and how a lot of its work is based on civic engagement and volunteerism. They are now running a campaign to attract young people to vote. We helped a little with the preparation for canvassing on the next day.



After taping some of the people there we went to the office and had a got to meet Chris Nybo. The long workweek was over. We walked to the Millenium Park, where we met our host families and had some dinner. Then the swing lessons started. Greta danced with Jeff and Ruuben with Triin and I danced with Lauri. It was a lot of fun and not as hard as I thought it would be. But after the lesson I was very tired. We taped our host family for the volunteerism documentary and chatted with all the people and just fooled around with the Estonians. We also met Ruubens host, Kevin Hogan, who has taught English in Tapa. It was interesting to meet him and talk to him, he’s a great host.





We went home at about 8 o’clock, had some dirt cake (that’s a super good dessert made out of chocolate cream and Oreos). Still not ready for bed, we went downstairs and played some Earth-opoly with Alyssa and Jeff. We didn’t finish it, but I think I had some great chances to win.