I am spending my spring break from school at Chicago to savor some authentic deep dish pizzas, experience the city’s jazz/blues music scene, get a photo clicked by ‘the bean’ and well, just live the mid-western big city life for a week! Oh and I am also interning at the Adler Planetarium!
This post marks the first in the series of my Chicago/Adler posts. This is the first time I am actually living in a big US city – not counting short stints with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit (really?!).
Two and a half days in Chicago – and it’s almost love at first sight. I can see why one of my professors Malcolm McCullough (teaching Networked Cities) cites Chicago so often in the lectures. It is an architecture enthusiast’s paradise where the old and the new blend seamlessly to create a unique experience. I could still spot those old printing press shops in the city and was left awestruck by the sheer beauty of the stained glass ceiling of Chicago Cultural Center. And then suddenly, across the block I was face to face with soaring marvels of modern architecture – the Cloud Gate (popularly known as ‘the bean’), Willis Tower and so on. After taking a self-guided walking tour of the city loop area, I can vouch for it as the best way to see the city. If there’s anything that I feel at loss of, is a good camera. I am definitely coming back with one!
When you feel hungry out of so much walking, you’re never far from good food – even on when a budget. I have sampled Rudy’s burgers and quesadillas, fine beer at Hackney’s, and some fast food Indian at Chutney Joe’s. I think I’m yet to have the best deep dish pizza – but that’ll come soon.
Today was my first day at Adler Planetarium, where I would be working for the rest of the week at the Space Visualization Lab. Yep, it is indeed as sci-fi as it sounds, and the office space is straight out of a Star Trek movie with large displays, controllers, touch screens, weird LED lights and the works! I will be working on improvising a Milky Way exhibit to make it more engaging for people, and would also design a solution to link it up with The Milky Way crowd-sourcing project. It’s bound to be a really fun and knowledgeable experience. And did I mention that the view of Chicago downtown from Adler is to die for?
View of Chicago downtown from Adler Planetarium
Today ended with loud and hearty laughs at The Second City improv show. They are possibly one of the most outstandingly hilarious live acts I’ve ever seen. If you’re in Chicago/LA/Toronto and haven’t experienced it, you’re definitely missing on some laughter therapy!
That’s about it for today! Signing off from the windy city!
Edit: Read the second post in the series! Warning: Deep-Dish Pizzas ahead!
