A Forty Minute Commute

Song: It Won't Be Long Now - Original Cast Recording x In The Heights

So, my second day in Chicago, I set out by myself to go to campus and pick up my campus card. One of the questions people always ask me about moving to Chicago is if I live close to campus. The answer is no. Far from it, actually. I live in Logan Square and campus is in The Loop (Downtown) and to get there I have two (really, one, but I'll amuse you) options: walk for two and a half hours (which at my sauntering pace would be more like 4) or walk to the train station, hop on a train, and walk from the closest stop to campus. Guess which one I chose?

My El train route is the Blue Line, which goes west to east to west in a nice curve, meeting at the loop with all of the other trains in the middle. So, I walk to this train station, trying to look cool and like I didn't just move here less than 24 hours ago, and I realize I have no idea where to pick up a train card, etc. All of these Chicago natives stop at this machine, there's a lot of beeping, they walk away and slide through the entrance to the trains. I'm thinking, maybe there's an office with a nice lady who will give me the card, ask me how much money I'd like to put on it, and then point me towards the trains - nope, there's just a machine. A few people look at me weird as I hover in front of this machine and closely read the directions before doing anything. Five minutes later, I've got a nice little silver credit card looking Ventra pass and proceed to slide on through to the stairs for the train. I notice that there's only an escalator for the passengers leaving the station - weird, but what do I know? When I get down to the train's level, there are two stations presented to me as options and neither of them are the place I want to go. I watch one train come and go before deciding to sit down and figure out (again) exactly which train to get on. Another train comes, creating its own little breeze, a few people sit on the bench with me, and then it leaves. Another train. It turns out these options are the first and last stop of the Blue Line - I need to get on the train that left when I got here, so I wait anxiously, standing up earlier than necessary to make sure I can look at the train cars before getting in one (tips: don't get on empty train cars and try not to get on overcrowded ones). I get on this train and the Ohioan in me asks a girl, "Do you mind if I sit here?"

No response. I sit, checking my map periodically, keeping my music low, so I can hear the train stations being announced, and debating on which stop to get off to be the closest to where I need to go. We go from being underground to up in the air, riding past the wonderful architecture and street art of Chicago, going through different neighborhoods, train stops, people coming and going. Nine stops (twenty-ish minutes) to the one I need to get off at, and I slide off that train in the bossest manner I can conjure up and just start walking to get back above ground.

When I get above ground, I have no idea where I am, which direction to go, etc, so I pull up my map and before it can figure out where I need to go, I just start walking. I hate crossing streets, and Chicago hasn't helped that fear. In this city, pedestrians can have the right of way crossing a street when it has no stop signs or stoplights and everyone honks all of the time and people are impatient, but people say these are the sanest drivers, so what's a girl to do? So, I'm walking, listening to directions from Siri in my head, and talking to my friend on the phone, and it takes me twenty minutes to finally reach Michigan Avenue from LaSalle.

Even my friend from Chicago told me: Siri will become your best friend trying to navigate this place.

Walking around The Loop, I realized two things:

1. This place is big as WOAH.
2. This place is beautiful and doesn't smell bad.