Opa!

I can’t believe I just saw some guy riding his bike with shorts on! It is so bitterly cold out that simply to look at him was painful. As much as I wanted to join some fellow CSers for ice skating at Millennium Park tonight, I simply couldn’t be outside all night. Brrrr..

Chicago Semester is coming to an end and its closing curtain is marked by numerous activities, events, and projects. I have a lot of work to complete this weekend, including two five page papers. The only reason I feel overwhelmed is because I’ve been working on grad school applications at the same time, the first of which I submitted (for UChicago) tonight. It makes me so nervous! Everyone should sympathize with CS students who are interning and taking courses while simultaneously pumping out personal statements and securing letters of recommendation.

This week we presented our art projects for Arts in the City. I decided to stem my project on a relationship I established with a panhandler on the Madison Street Bridge. On Monday night I found him and told him I was taking him to dinner as my date. We spoke for almost two hours about stories of his life and advice I’m seeking for mine. I compiled many of his tales into a collection of comical short stories and attempted to present one as a “one-woman show.” It was a good time and a supportive environment even though we were all a little awkward. But who are we kidding? College students are awkward!

The best event of week was our Final Celebration Dinner last Wednesday. It was held at the Parthenon in Greektown where we were treated to a host of courses including delicious appetizers, fresh salad, countless main dishes and sides, and tantalizing desserts! It was so much

more fun than I could have ever expected and I left completely satisfied! I was amazed that Chicago Semester put so much effort into organizing such an outstanding event (thanks guys!). I had a blast taking pictures of my friend Joel as he ate everything on the menu. He likes to takes pictures when he is eating… strange kid.

My internship is busy as usual and I’m preparing for my final evaluation on Thursday. These last several weeks I’ve had the opportunity to work with some very diverse clients. One day I serviced a Spanish-speaking couple and cringed that after 4 ½ years of Spanish I can still hardly communicate! I also serviced a few deaf clients. That was especially meaningful because I am in a club at Hope called Silent Praise that performs ASL to worship songs. I surprisingly knew enough to effectively communicate them…go figure.

Back to work!

Turkey Time!

There have been so many fun things to do this November that I hardly have time to catch my breath!

Earlier in the month a large group of CSers went to the Bulls opening game of the season. Chicago Semester is intentional about organizing several social events for its students and the Bulls game was definitely a big hit. Although the Bulls lost it brought me back to when I was a little girl and dreamed of being the first female player for the Bulls. It was strange how much smaller the United Center seemed after all these years.

Only a couple days later I frequented the United Center again to see “So You Think You Can Dance?” on tour. I must admit I didn’t watch the show this summer but my roommate, Jackie, got tickets to go for her birthday and invited me to be her date. Afterwards we hung around by the tour busses and got pictures with several of the dancers. Neil was my absolute favorite and was runner up in the contest. Awesome!

Saturday was one of the busiest days of my internship. It was our Befriend-a-Family Thanksgiving Drive! I was the first person each client saw as they walked through the door to receive their blessings. It was fun because the clients all remembered me and were so excited when they said, “Hi Miss Heidi!” Many of the other volunteers that do not have such a direct relationship with our clients do not experience this. My responsibility for our Christmas programming is to assist with the clientele component and another group of volunteers manages the benefactor component. My only disappointment was that there wasn’t as much organization as there should have been on the benefactor side, which made it difficult to ensure all participants were appropriately serviced for gifts. It was definitely a good practice run before Christmas!

Immediately after the Thanksgiving Pick-up I drove up to Michigan to spend the remainder of the weekend at Hope College. One of my greatest anxieties is my transition from Chicago Semester back to Hope College next semester. The two learning environments are so different but I trust it will go smoothly. The big event of the weekend was a Thanksgiving Dinner we hosted at our apartment on Sunday afternoon. I was in charge of the green bean casserole because green beans are my favorite food. We had such a spread of food there was no possible way we could eat it all.

Oh, and I had another pleasant surprise. A former CSer that I shared a class with last year invited me out for coffee a couple weeks from now. She had a fabulous experience at her internship through Chicago Semester and was hired by the site! I could tell by her voice that she is very excited about the work that she is doing and I look forward to seeing her again!

I can’t believe there are only a couple weeks left?!!