How sweet it is!

I know, that's Brooklyn. Still, it was the first phrase that came to mind and the only phrase that kept resounding in my head. This is about the eigth time I have arrived in the States over from Europe and I didn't think it would still be this kind of a buzz. The marvelously green road signs alone gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling even though I used to be rather certain that I didn't want to live in the US anymore.

After the rather relaxing flight, INS was a little scary for me since I was re-using my visa from New York. But as hoped the incredibly slowly-moving person just wanted me to tell him a little bit about the program and show him the letter from the U of C until he was satisfied and gave me the "admitted"-stamp. So, you can re-use a visa that says "first entry medical clerkship".

As had to be expected, my luggage was just about the last one to arrive on the belt, customs were quick though. And there I was in the States .. suddenly without much of a plan. After a moment of hesitation, I took one of the $100 bills out of my pocket and traded it for a $10 calling card and some change. I set the time difference in my watch wrong, so I initially thought I still had time to get the key for my dorm room. I then learned that Chicago is already on summer time, while Munich wasn't yet. So we had only 6 hours of time difference and it was five already. No dorm room for me yet.

That meant that CS, our sponsor for this scholarship, was actually going to have to make good on her offer to give me a bed for the night. It wasn't all that easy to reach her - neither shuttle bus nor airport express would drive me all the way to her, I was too cheap for a cab after just having spent a fortune on an extremely touristy street map of Chicago so I got a chance to try out CTA. And it was a good choice. Except for the fact that I didn't know you could buy higher-valued cards then only using parts of them. I had only one 1$-bill left. In the vast subterranean walkway leading up to the rails
I would have needed $2 for a ticket into town. And the polite but not-so-useful service personnel just informed me that if I followed that vast walkway further and took the first left turn, there'd be a store to break a 20. So I regretted again that I had packed like a girl with my huge suitcase, sportsbag full of stuff plus carry-on and went to that store. Of course they wouldn't just break that 20. "Only with a purchase". Oh no, my friend, I did not walk all this way to get ripped off again now. So I went even further .. reached the Hilton hotel
and the nice reception guy in the lobby gave me some change. All the way back in the train station I could now enter the waiting blue line that'd bring me into town.

One stop due to "technical problems", as the overhead speakers in the unmanned train announced in a voice you'd expect from a tv commercial trying to sell you something, and me (of course) walking into the wrong direction firstly due to a minor but in this case decisive inaccuracy of my tourist map later I was at CS's place, where I got not only a shower but also a full-fledged home-cooked meal with loads of water (again) and a beer.

This is great.

Tomorrow we'll apparently have to leave here at 7:15 and the two girls (CS and her friend BT) expect me to "be awake anyway". We'll see, girls. They obviously haven't become acquainted with my easily-derailed circadian rhythm yet.

Heheh.