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To say that Chicago was nothing like I imagined it to be was something of an understatement. I imagined a large city with people rushing everywhere, and buildings on every possible square inch. What I didn’t expect was the beautiful city that Chicago actually is.
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The fact that the city is right on the edge of the lake came as my first surprise. I knew it was in the lakes area of course, but not that the lake was large enough to be mistaken for an ocean if you stood in the right place and couldn’t see where it began or ended! The next surprise was the beauty of the river that winds its way across the city, with the little bridges across it in a somewhat Venetian fashion. My hotel was situated close to the river and the sunset as seen from my 32nd floor window was breathtaking.
Large cities usually make me feel insecure, but I didn’t feel that in Chicago. In fact I was out shopping in the city looking for a CD I’d heard played on the radio at 7pm by myself. Even in my home town I would be very wary about being out alone at this time of day, but for some reason I felt safer in Chicago despite the size of the city.
The beauty of the city aside, my lasting impressions of the city were of two things – women rushing to work in business suits and sneakers, and sitting in Burger King eating a bagel and cream cheese breakfast with classical music being played through the fast food restaurant’s music system. Just two examples of how diversity shows itself in Chicago! |
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