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.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
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.
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.
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.
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