From the Windy City to Athens

Chicago really deserves the nickname Windy City! As soon as I step out of our downtown hostel, a sharp, icy wind from Lake Michigan blows into my face. After arriving in Chicago on a domestic flight from Dublin (that is possible thanks to U.S. Visa Preclearance at Dublin’s Shannon Airport) and overcoming the first phase of jetlag, I start exploring the city with my BA Plus fellows. Lena already arrived a day before the rest of us and thanks to her couch surfing host Albert, we get free tickets to the Chicago Art Institute, one of the most famous art museums in the country. The huge collection of European impressionism doesn’t really catches me (sorry Annika), but the exhibition on Soviet propaganda photomontages is quite fascinating. I still don’t know why Goebbels is always pictured as a little ape…

Chinatown, Chicago.

Within the next couple days we make our way through Downtown and Uptown, Chinatown, and Pilsen, where the fabulous National Museum of Mexican Art with its quite unique sin frontera (borderless) approach is located. 

True indeed!

Food (always very important) in Chicago is great, I eventually had “real” Mexican food again after more than two years and a few flops back in Germany. Also on the menu were a delicious Ramen and the famous Chicagoan deep dish pizza, which is like three thin pizzas stacked on top of each other, topped with a pound of cheese. After enjoying New Year’s Eve at Lake Michigan’s waterfront watching the Navy Pier’s firework, we take the subway to Midway Airport to pick up our rental, and finally make our way to Athens. 

Somewhere along I-70.

Driving in America is kind of easy, especially when you come from a country like Germany. Highways are wide, usually with three lanes, and cars come almost always with automatic transmission. Speed limits are often at 70 mph, there is no such thing as "I can go as fast as I want to" like on some parts of the notorious German Autobahn. But if there is just a monotonous landscape, as in Illinois or Indiana, it gets pretty boring, and you are tired soon. Countless miles of straight Highway with some trees passing by on the left and right, no need for shifting gears, and 70 mph is all of a sudden also kind of slow. Probably the biggest advantage of driving in the U.S., however, is the gas price. An environmentally destructive incentive to use your car, but great for the (almost) always cash-strapped student. 36$ for 430 miles (approx. 700 km). I can't believe my eyes.

The picturesque OU campus.

Athens welcomes us with a lot of fog and light rain. Because the semester hasn't started yet, it is relatively lifeless, just a few locals and OU students seem to be on the streets. The city is manageable but orientation is hard in the beginning, if you have enjoyed the amenities of Chicago's chessboard-like street system. And it turns out that Athens really seems to be this liberal, kind of cozy college town with its picturesque campus everyone back in Leipzig talked about in a nostalgic tone. Orientation week flies by, and I meet lots of enjoyable international students who will start their studies at OU like me. Thanks to my roommate Jake and Prof. Stewart from the GLC, I get to know the culinary highlights of Athens. Spicy breakfast at Casa Nueva, crispy Pizza at Jackie O's, tasty lamb at Salaam. This town has a lot to offer! Now a week has passed and classes start tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a great semester at OU!