O'Hare Chicago...

I din't really do much in the flight to Chicago...was so tired from the earlier one that I slept almost for 6 hours or something...and whatever remained of the time, I spent it either watching some movie / eating / brushing etc...not very interesting...hmmm...but then we FINALLY crossed the Atlantic and then came Lake Michigan...it is huge...Oh God it is...it took us about 10 minutes just to fly across the lake...wow...anyways and then in about 20 mins, I FINALLY got off at Chicago...and like they say the last few steps are always the toughest to climb...and my patience was being tested for sure. The inspector at the immigration counter kept staring at my passport and his computer for about 6 or 7 mins and I had no clue why...and then I realized that he wanted to be sure I was going to go back to India...hmmm...luckily I had my "business card" that I flashed at him ;-) (full to heroine pose I gave...hee hee)...anyways...I got out of there, got my luggage and ran to the exit gate...

My uncle and my little cousin, Vijay, had come to receive me...I was so happy to see them... :) my uncle had moved to USA about 15 years ago and he's always been asking me to come over...and I finally made it...and I was so glad I did. Anyways...we reached home in about 20 mins and it felt so nice to be home again after so many hours of sitting in a flight…I was so happy to see my aunt and my cousin, Pooja, who were waiting for us to reach home…Pooja was in fact waiting in her room upstairs and staring out of the window waiting for us...my cousins then showed me around the whole house…a very cute and cozy house they have…not too big, not too small…it felt just perfect. I must say my aunt and uncle quite tastefully decorated their house with artifacts…the bets part about it all was I did not feel I was in another part of the world…it felt like Home!

I was in Chicago for 4 days - a short trip I must say…but it was amazing how in those four days I spent time with my uncle - and by time I mean quality time - went out with my aunt, went for to a fest (meal) with all 4 of them, spent a lot of time with my cousins playing - we played cricket and we played catching the ball…it's quite difficult to catch a ball with a baseball glove on…much to the amusement/amazement of Vijay, I found it much easier to catch the ball without the glove - I even went for a nice long walk with my aunt around the neighborhood and we had quite a long chat about "life" with all its goods and bads. And that does not finish the list of things I did in Chicago…I also went on the "Metra" - the local train - all the way to downtown to meet one of my friends, Kesari. It had been about…hmmm…I don't know…may be about 2 years since I saw him and it was really cool to see him again. We walked around Downtown, shopped, fought over who pays for what (hee hee)…we ate at Cheese cake factory - but guess what, by the time we finished our pizza and pasta, there was no space left in our tummies to eat a cheese cake…bah!! - anyways, we then started walking back to the Metra…when we realized that the "Magnificent Mile" - a mile long road filled with stores of all the leading brands and it ran right through Downtown - was filled with people…if only I had a better word than filled…the reason for all the people crowding there was that Oprah Winfrey was doing a Season premiere show on the Magnificent Mile…while she waited in her RV giving interviews and getting ready for her show, a rock band was entertaining the crowd…and people just stood there dancing. The funny part was that they were only going to catch a glimpse of Ms. Winfrey and hear her…but it seemed like that is all they needed. Kesari and I "waded" through the crowd trying to get to the other end where the station was…meanwhile the new sandals I had bought decided it was the apt time to start biting on the backs of my feet, and it was a very very unpleasant feeling…so we squeezed into one of the departmental stores to buy some band-aids…we took our time to take stuff and got out, only to find that I wouldn't be able to get to the station in time to catch the earliest train…and since the next train was only about 30 mins later, we decided to take the longer route out. We took a bus to the station and finally got to the train…I felt sad that I was leaving, cos Kesari is a really good friend and we hardly got to spend much time together, it was really really nice to see him and spend time though…

So then I got on to the Metra and went home…when I reached home, my uncle and aunt were all dressed up to leave for the meeting they had that evening…so I baby-sat my cousins, and it was a lot of fun…we played, studied math, ate, watched TV…and then came the difficult part - putting them to bed - Vijay would just not sleep…after a lot of talking and laughing and teasing and "ok…that's enough…to bed now"…we finally fell asleep…

The next morning was really exciting…we went to a fair where my cousins and I went on some of the rides - which were AWESOME!! - and we ate sugar candy…though it was really really hot, we only complained of it after we were done with all the rides :) so anyway, we got home, got some rest and then headed out again…we went to eat the 'oh so famous' Chicago Pizza…and only after seeing it did I know why it was so sought after. It was this BIG-A** pizza - 2 inches thick, about 1 foot in diameter and STUFFED with cheese. So much so that you can't pick up a slice in your hand, you've got to use a knife & fork to eat it. There were 5 of us and 6 pieces of Pizza…My uncle, aunt, Pooja and I were done after eating 1 piece…Vijay on the other hand, gulped the 2 pieces down and was mocking me as I whined about finishing my piece…but I've got to say this…it was DELICIOUS!! Anyway, after that we headed towards downtown, and as we drove into Downtown this time, I was surprised to see that I couldn't recognize it, even though I had been there just the previous day. It just seemed to be like a whole other world by night and "Magnificent mile" looked all the more magnificent with all the lights. We went up the Sear's Tower - Willis Tower as it is called now. We bought the tickets and went into the elevator…and as it went up, we felt the pressure on our ear drums. The elevator kept going up - 15 floors…kept going - 50 floors…kept going - 90 floors…it just kept going up - and we finally stopped at the 103rd floor where the new skydeck had been built. Now the skydeck is a glass chamber, built off the building…as in it protrudes out of the 103rd floor on the building…and like I said, it's all glass…top, bottom, sides - all glass. We were terrified to step into the deck, 'cos it really felt like we were stepping into thin air - we could see traffic on the road a 103 floors below us…but we finally got ourselves together and stepped into the deck…and once we did, my cousins & I wouldn't even hear of stepping out of it. We could see my uncles SUV parked by the road and a couple of other things that we recognized - it was a lot of fun. And then…as I "grew up", I stepped out of the deck, went to one of the windows and looked at the beautiful Chi town…it was breathtaking…What caught my eye were the roads, that looked like they were drawn on the ground with a scale - absolutely straight lines which went so far as to touching the horizon. It was really beautiful. From Willis Tower, my uncle drove us to one of the "Skyline View" points…WHOA!! That was amazing too…it was the first time I ever saw a skyline in my life and it was a beautiful moment…and I was so glad that I was experiencing it with people I love :)

The next morning was not exciting at all, cos I had to leave - I mean I sure was happy I came, and even though I did a LOT in 4 days, it just didn't seem enough - but then again…I was going to see my brother and spend time with him…which somehow wasn't good enough to stop tears rolling down my cheeks when I was saying bye…

I boarded the flight, wiped my face, looked out the window, took a deep breath and said "Bye Chicago, until we meet again…California, here I come!" :-)