Just for Fun

In my past few posts I've been talking a lot about my service work. But I promise I haven't spent all my time working! In this post, I want to talk about all the ways I have been having fun outside of my volunteer sites here in Chicago.

When I started helping Sister Mary with English Language Learner classes at the Holy Spirit Life Learning Center (located only a few blocks from our monastery) I was delighted to find that the Holy Spirit Sisters had a volunteer of their own: Fabienne, who came all the way from Germany to do a year of service in Chicago.

Because this fall has been unseasonably warm, Fabienne and I were able to make several trips to the beach on Lake Michigan. Because her hometown is located on Germany's northern coast, Fabienne was excited to find herself so near "the sea" here in Chicago. Our many other adventures have included: attending a free outdoor slam poetry event, stumbling upon a colorful festival in Chinatown, and (of course) shopping at the many stores in Chicago's "Magnificent Mile" shopping district.

Me and Fabienne exploring the beach

Fabienne took this picture of me wading in Lake Michigan

Fabienne took this picture of me downtown

A view of downtown from the old watertower

Fabienne and I, I soon discovered, have a shared interest in learning Spanish. In October we both signed up for beginner level classes at the Latin American Learning Center in the Lakeview neighborhood.  In addition to my other volunteer work, every Friday night, I take over Fabienne's childcare duties at the Holy Spirit Life Learning Center while she goes to Spanish class, and then I attend the Saturday morning session. On most afternoons, you can find me in the monastery library studying my verbs or making vocabulary flashcards.

Getting cozy in my favorite chair in the monastic library

When she's not helping with Sister Mary's ELL class or taking care of children, Fabienne is planning holiday parties for the Center. In October, she did a marvelous job of organizing the Holy Spirit Life Learning Center's annual Halloween party. All the kids showed up in their costumes (I came as the superhero Flash) and there were enough food and games to keep everyone entertained for the evening. 

It was a full house at the Holy Spirit Life Learning Center's Halloween party

Left to Right: Sister Therese, Sister Ina, Sister Agate (all Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters), a little angel, me, Sister Mary

Two girls I babysit on Friday nights (dressed as Elsa from "Frozen" and spidergirl) with their mother at the Halloween party

Besides finding a new friend in Fabienne, I have been lucky enough to reconnect with old friends as well. Hannah and Heather are two incredibly awesome women I met in college. Not only did we graduate together, but we also all lived on the same floor during our first year at CSB. I  more or less lost touch with them for the remainder of our time at college but was able to reconnect with them when I found out that we were all living in the Chicago area. Some of my best times in Chicago have been when we get together for a day at the zoo or an evening out for deep dish pizza. 

Hannah, Me, and Heather out for pizza

Last weekend, Heather also invited Hannah and I to her parents house in Lake Geneva, WI. It was our first time traveling via Chicago's commuter rail line (the Metra), and we both nearly missed our train. It was an adrenaline rush, to say the least. In the end, though, we had a lovely weekend, which included a seven mile walk around the lake and chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast (made with love by Heather's parents). Again, the beautiful autumn weather was our friend. 

Hannah, me, and Heather all bundled up for our walk around the lake

Lake Geneva's "miracle house" includes a walkway painted with inspirational quotes

Me and my new friend, on the shore of Geneva lake

On a different note, last Monday I joined my Indo-American Center coworkers at a protest downtown. The purpose of the protest was to encourage the state of Illinois to pass a budget, which is months overdue because of political gridlock in the legislature. Because no budget has been passed, organizations across the city have been forced to lay off employees and shut down important services, including citizenship preparation courses, ESL and GED classes, after-school tutoring programs for kids, and the list goes on. Luckily the Indo-American Center is still open, but other organizations have had to shut down, causing an overflow of people seeking services elsewhere and straining the resources of places (like the IAC) that have been able to stay open. I find it maddening because most of the immigrants I work with desperately want to learn the language, land a job, and help their children be successful in school.. which is not possible without the help of adequately funded service organizations like the ones I work with.

Me marching with the Indo-American Center, protesting the budget impasse

Some of my fellow protesters with a poster of Gandhi, whose work I analyzed for my senior political science thesis at CSB

Me and IAC staff members at the rally, protesting the budget impasse

As you can see, I've been keeping myself busy.. meeting new people, learning new things, and having as many experiences as I can get my hands on.