I can't believe we have been here 5 weeks already! The craziest thing is that I haven't done ANY clothing shopping since being here. Living here has been an adjustment, but really fun. People don't smile as much as in Holland, Michigan, and everyone wears black in the winter (I sometimes feel like a cupcake in my colorful winter gear). The housing is much smaller and taller than at Hope, but the view is nice and there is less space to clean. I love not having a car and worrying about cleaning the snow off of, especially after the blizzard of '11. The public transportation is easy to use and navigate, and it makes me feel more like a local.
Living in the Gold Coast is great because Lake Michigan is so close, and the running trail along the shore is a beautiful view. Going two blocks from Canterbury Court Apartments in any direction gives a slightly different atmosphere. South to Rush street offers many upscale restaurants, clothing stores, and bars. North offers a dog park and high-rise condos, East is the lake, and West the neighborhood of Old town with many affordable restaurants. Speaking of restaurants, I have been trying to experience the diversity of eateries Chicago has to offer by searching out unique restaurants, which I visit with other Nursing students on a weekly basis. Last week I had goat in peanut soup-sounds weird but tastes spicy and delicious.
There is much more diversity here in the Chicago than in Western Michigan, and I love this! I am interning at University of Illinois Medical Center, and I work with staff and patients from many different cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. I am working in the pediatric ICU which has many challenges, but I am learning a lot. It is a transition from taking all of the material I have learned in my nursing classes and actually applying it to real patients, families, and how to best care for them. Working in an ICU means having to be prepared for taking care of any critically ill child with any type of sickness. This requires a strong basis of medical knowledge but also fast thinking to anticipate the needs of the patient and the preparedness for emergent medical situations. Children have a strong resolve to get well but their critical state can change on a dime.
From the variety of restaurants, internship experiences, new friends, learning independence and a clearer direction of where God is calling me vocation and locationally, I am loving this experience in Chicago!
Living in the Gold Coast is great because Lake Michigan is so close, and the running trail along the shore is a beautiful view. Going two blocks from Canterbury Court Apartments in any direction gives a slightly different atmosphere. South to Rush street offers many upscale restaurants, clothing stores, and bars. North offers a dog park and high-rise condos, East is the lake, and West the neighborhood of Old town with many affordable restaurants. Speaking of restaurants, I have been trying to experience the diversity of eateries Chicago has to offer by searching out unique restaurants, which I visit with other Nursing students on a weekly basis. Last week I had goat in peanut soup-sounds weird but tastes spicy and delicious.
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| Bolat African Cuisine with the Chicago Semester Student Nurses! (I'm the one with the green scarf.) |
From the variety of restaurants, internship experiences, new friends, learning independence and a clearer direction of where God is calling me vocation and locationally, I am loving this experience in Chicago!
~Lauren Dice
