Chicago – The Windy City

I arrived to Chicago on the 9th of August 2002. It was the first time I ever traveled so far from home, alone.

It’s been 3 and half years now, and I cannot seem to get enough of this city. It did not take me too long to fall in love with Chicago – The Windy City. I live in an apartment on the Michigan Ave, towards the South side of Chicago. It is very much close to the dreaded and widely unpopular 35th Street in Chicago.

During my 2 years at the Illinois Institute of Technology at Chicago, I have heard of people being mugged, heard of gang fights, stabbings, gunshots, marijuana…. Oh the works… I have learnt to accept it as a part and parcel of Chicago. This is the darker side of Chicago.

Well it is hard for me to decide what is it that I like the most about Chicago…. Is it the vast Lake Michigan or the wonderfully built Chicago Downtown? The Lake Michigan is soooo huge; according to me it should at least be a sea. It is beautiful, to say the least. One thing I have noticed about the Lake is that it changes its color everyday, it is brown and angry at times, it is grey and fierce sometimes, it is blue and calm or maybe green and serene or sometimes just colorless and playful. It is a beautiful sight as you drive along with the lake on Lakeshore Drive.
Another sight that is breathtaking while driving on Lakeshore Drive is of course the Chicago downtown. Tall skyscrapers, with admirable architecture adorn the Chicago downtown. The skyline of Chicago is really awesome to look at.
Chicago is the one of the world’s first planned city. That’s why it is difficult to find flaws with the architecture of the downtown. The view of the city from the sky deck of Sears tower and the Jon Hancock is indescribable. The view from the sky deck during the evening when the whole downtown is lit, all the buildings of the downtown become alive and look like glittering jewels adorning the city.

Another amazing thing about Chicago is its weather… too unpredictable. It totally justifies its nickname of a “Windy City”. It is deadly cold in winter… not so much with the snow but with the wind. The weather is so unpredictable that it can rain, snow, and turn sunny and then cloudy and windy all in a matter of a couple of hours.

I have been here for 3 years now and have a lot of wonderful memories attached to this city. I have watched the fireworks display from Navy Pier on New Year’s Eve, visited the downtown to see the Christmas trees and Santa Claus, the display of dolls and puppets on the display windows of Marshall Fields, which is a tradition every year, been to Devon Ave and gorged on Chicken Biryani from Ghareeb Nawaz, rambled on the Magnificent Mile window shopping, eaten Giordano’s pizza (Chicago’s very own home style stuffed pizza), ice skated on the Michigan Ave, … oh and so much more.

Well, I love Chicago….. in spite of all these reasons, because of all these reasons!!

-Moi