February 20, 4:20 PM (Central Time, USA)
Well, it's been a long hiatus - I am aware of that. The last couple of weeks - almost three weeks now - have literally just left me rather tired, exhausted, and yet excited for more! There are so many interesting things we did in the program already that part of me feels like I've been here for months already! Well, I'll be good and briefly state some of the things we did ..
One of the most interesting experiences I've had - and am still having everyday - was familiarizing myself with the way the city of Chicago is set up. The neighborhoods are so unique, they are like little cultural subsets of the much larger cultural milieu that is Chicago. So far I've visited Andersonville - with it's amazing small businesses, galleries, studios and thrift stores, and of course the delicious-looking Thai and Vietnamese restaurants and markets, Hyde Park - with the charm of a university campus and beautiful houses (although my first brush with this neighborhood wasn't very welcoming, as I almost lost my feet to a frostbite during a scavenger hunt excursion, but more on that later!), and Pilsen - where my internship is! The neighborhoods of Chicago really intrigue me and hopefully, by the end of my stay here, I will have explored into as many of them as I possibly can ...
Going back to my internship - I must say I have literally landed my dream internship! I am interning twice a week with a conservatory, called Parma Conservation, Inc. and they are situated on West Cermak, in the Pilsen neighborhood. So far, I have only been there once, but tomorrow is my second day and I can hardly wait. The process of art conservation has fascinated me for the longest time and I can hardly believe my luck at having an internship with such a well-known and respected conservationist, Elizabeth Kendal. Parma mostly works on paintings and murals and on my first day itself there was so much to absorb and I also got to do a bit of hands-on work! I can't wait to see how the next 14 weeks shape up in terms of my internship experience!
Probably the best experiences I have had, though, are the interesting workshops and film screenings and theater shows that we are attending as a group. Some of them are for the entire 'Chicago Programs' group, while most are for the 'Chicago Arts' program students only. So far we've had an 'Improve Workshop' and a film screening for 'Louder Than A Bomb' as the whole group. With the six of us who are in the 'Arts' program, we did a 'Poetry Workshop' with local poet cin salach (and no, it's not a typo, she does go by that name in all lower case letters!) which absolutely blew my mind it was so good, a theater show at the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, in collaboration with the Goodman Theater (which was a part of their current "Seeing Things" exhibit) and a performance art show at the Museum of Contemporary Art. I know it's a lot of information, but I didn't want to leave any of it out! Oh, and we also had a rather cool film screening at a small, independent theater/studio called 'Prop Thtr' in Wriggleyville and an interview with the co-owner of 'Transistor' - the most awesome store/studio I have ever set foot in - Rani Woolpert.
(And, umm, I will try and blog more regularly so I don't throw a barrage of information your way - what can I say? I am super-excited!)
Other than that, I am a complete food traveler, and I have already started my food traveling in Chicago. I've visited some unique and rather amazing restaurants - out of which one was an Irish pub and restaurant called Chief O'Neill's in Wriggleyville. The food was so good, and I remembered after a long time what a traditional and proper serving of the old English-style Fish n' Chips tastes like! I've also eaten at the cult favorite - Wow Bao - multiple times, and am very much addicted to it. It does not help that it's right across the street from the ACM Office where most of my classes are! Add to the above some excellent Chinese and Thai take-outs, some great food shopping from Trader Joe's and yes, I am absolutely enjoying my gastronomical experience in Chicago!
I do like the fact that both the ACM office and the apartment building I live at (along with the 5 other 'Arts' program students) are so centrally located. It literally takes me 15 minutes or less from door-to-door from the apartment to morning classes. And that is including a three-stop train ride on the Red Line. Pretty amazing!
Well, I have to get back to an assignment I need to finish. Quite an interesting assignment, too .. I am re-designing the book cover for my favorite book (or one of my favorite books in my case, for I have a few) as a part of a class activity in our Seminar class. The only part of the program that I haven't yet dived into yet is the Independent Study Project .. although, I have definitely started thinking about it. More on that soon, hopefully ..
Till then, Adios!
Well, it's been a long hiatus - I am aware of that. The last couple of weeks - almost three weeks now - have literally just left me rather tired, exhausted, and yet excited for more! There are so many interesting things we did in the program already that part of me feels like I've been here for months already! Well, I'll be good and briefly state some of the things we did ..
One of the most interesting experiences I've had - and am still having everyday - was familiarizing myself with the way the city of Chicago is set up. The neighborhoods are so unique, they are like little cultural subsets of the much larger cultural milieu that is Chicago. So far I've visited Andersonville - with it's amazing small businesses, galleries, studios and thrift stores, and of course the delicious-looking Thai and Vietnamese restaurants and markets, Hyde Park - with the charm of a university campus and beautiful houses (although my first brush with this neighborhood wasn't very welcoming, as I almost lost my feet to a frostbite during a scavenger hunt excursion, but more on that later!), and Pilsen - where my internship is! The neighborhoods of Chicago really intrigue me and hopefully, by the end of my stay here, I will have explored into as many of them as I possibly can ...
Going back to my internship - I must say I have literally landed my dream internship! I am interning twice a week with a conservatory, called Parma Conservation, Inc. and they are situated on West Cermak, in the Pilsen neighborhood. So far, I have only been there once, but tomorrow is my second day and I can hardly wait. The process of art conservation has fascinated me for the longest time and I can hardly believe my luck at having an internship with such a well-known and respected conservationist, Elizabeth Kendal. Parma mostly works on paintings and murals and on my first day itself there was so much to absorb and I also got to do a bit of hands-on work! I can't wait to see how the next 14 weeks shape up in terms of my internship experience!
Probably the best experiences I have had, though, are the interesting workshops and film screenings and theater shows that we are attending as a group. Some of them are for the entire 'Chicago Programs' group, while most are for the 'Chicago Arts' program students only. So far we've had an 'Improve Workshop' and a film screening for 'Louder Than A Bomb' as the whole group. With the six of us who are in the 'Arts' program, we did a 'Poetry Workshop' with local poet cin salach (and no, it's not a typo, she does go by that name in all lower case letters!) which absolutely blew my mind it was so good, a theater show at the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, in collaboration with the Goodman Theater (which was a part of their current "Seeing Things" exhibit) and a performance art show at the Museum of Contemporary Art. I know it's a lot of information, but I didn't want to leave any of it out! Oh, and we also had a rather cool film screening at a small, independent theater/studio called 'Prop Thtr' in Wriggleyville and an interview with the co-owner of 'Transistor' - the most awesome store/studio I have ever set foot in - Rani Woolpert.
(And, umm, I will try and blog more regularly so I don't throw a barrage of information your way - what can I say? I am super-excited!)
Other than that, I am a complete food traveler, and I have already started my food traveling in Chicago. I've visited some unique and rather amazing restaurants - out of which one was an Irish pub and restaurant called Chief O'Neill's in Wriggleyville. The food was so good, and I remembered after a long time what a traditional and proper serving of the old English-style Fish n' Chips tastes like! I've also eaten at the cult favorite - Wow Bao - multiple times, and am very much addicted to it. It does not help that it's right across the street from the ACM Office where most of my classes are! Add to the above some excellent Chinese and Thai take-outs, some great food shopping from Trader Joe's and yes, I am absolutely enjoying my gastronomical experience in Chicago!
I do like the fact that both the ACM office and the apartment building I live at (along with the 5 other 'Arts' program students) are so centrally located. It literally takes me 15 minutes or less from door-to-door from the apartment to morning classes. And that is including a three-stop train ride on the Red Line. Pretty amazing!
Well, I have to get back to an assignment I need to finish. Quite an interesting assignment, too .. I am re-designing the book cover for my favorite book (or one of my favorite books in my case, for I have a few) as a part of a class activity in our Seminar class. The only part of the program that I haven't yet dived into yet is the Independent Study Project .. although, I have definitely started thinking about it. More on that soon, hopefully ..
Till then, Adios!
