Chicago: First Impressions

We’re just a few days into our first stay in Chicago and though I tried to explore as much as I could, I then went and got sick. I’m ok though – thanks for your concern – it’s just a cold.

I did, however, have to negotiate my way through the pharmaceutical section of the supermarket to buy the right thing. You’d think this would be easier than when we were in France – when I accidentally bought whitening gel instead of toothpaste on our first week – but no, the language barrier is still there. Did you know that paracetamol is called something completely different in America? They call it acetaminophen (that just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?) So there I was, staring at all the drugs, wondering what I could take – I’m allergic to some painkillers and not to others – and then I enlisted the help of the pharmacist to guide me towards something that wouldn’t make my puff up like a puffafish. She assured me that acetaminophen is “that thing that begins with a p in Europe” so I bought it, googled it to doublecheck, and it did the trick. I got all better, but not before I managed to pass it on to the husband. Sorry hubby.

Anyway, despite the cold I have managed to get a good taste of Chicago. Literally. Most of what we’ve done so far is eat, but then I did walk for three hours on day one to try and explore. I have this habit of underestimating distance and walked about 6 miles before I realised I should probably not try and not see all of Chicago in one day.

Still, at least I worked up an appetite. And that’s one thing you really need to have here to take advantage of all the food options.

All you can eat sushi at Sushi Para

Mac ‘n cheese, wings, stuffed jalapenos at Bub City

This was probably the one thing I did expect about Chicago: there would be food and it would be good and plentiful. What I didn’t expect was that everyone would still manage to be so fit. Along the lakefront, in the parks, and on the streets there is always someone running, biking or doing push ups showing off their toned tanned bodies as they go. I saw a woman rollerblading along the lakefront with a buggy the other day, another one running with her buggy in front of her. I guess they must have the same attitude as me: eat the deep fried stuffed jalapenoes and then get running, buggy or no buggy.

The other thing you see plenty of is dogs. Much like France, everyone has a dog, except these dogs tend to be bigger and thankfully Chicagoans are much better at cleaning up after them than the French. I haven’t seen a single dog poo whereas in Montpellier you couldn’t move for piles of fresh doggy doodoo. Seriously France, sort it out.

I’m sure there’s a legal reason for the cleanness but I also think it’s an attitude thing. Chicagoans generally seem to be very respectful. Cars stop for you to cross the road, people open doors, stop and help as best they can if you ask them, and when they ask “How are you?” they actually want to know the answer. People are friendly, and very chatty. On my run the other day a girl asked me where the beach was. I had no answer but we still ran together for about 5 minutes as she told me about the half-marathon she was planning to run. Half the time when I get into the lift/elevator at our apartment and someone’s in there they’ll start chatting away and, if there’s no one to talk to, they’ll just talk to themselves.

Ok that bit isn’t entirely true. This happened once when we arrived and some crazy lady was shouting to herself on the train. But the occasional crazy doesn’t stop me loving the “L”, the train that runs elevated (hence the el or L for short) over the roads. Growing up in a no-drive, public transport environment I was a little worried a move to the States would mean I’d have to dust off my rusty driving skills but they can stay hidden in the attic for now as the trains, buses and cabs are great, and cheap.

Another things that has surprised me a lot is the weather. I used to look at the weather in Chicago on my weather app while in London and had assumed it was quite similar, temperature-wise, but it’s actually much warmer. The air in general is warm and humid, in a nice way, like a hug. It’s changeable though, I just saw it switch from clear blue skies to full on storm to calm again, in the space of an hour.

Ok enough talking. As you can probably tell, I’m really liking it here and getting comfortable really quickly. Here are some pictures I took while walking about on my first day out and about in Chicago.

A big thanks for the words of encouragement and the suggestions. Please keep those coming!

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