The first leg of my US vacation was spent in the Midwest, particularly in Chicago, IL. My Tita Tel (Papa's sister) and Tito Ruben were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and it was for this reason that this US trip was primarily planned. Tita Tel and family migrated to the US in the late 80's and she is my dad's only sibling to be living outside of the Philippines.
I left Beijing at Thursday 5pm and landed in Chicago still on Thursday 5pm (hehe) after a 12-hour flight, due to the time difference. When I got to Chicago, Papa, Mama and Tata were already here. Immediately after dropping my bags off at my Tita's house, my cousins Robin (whom I have not seen for 5 years) and Tricia (whom I have not seen for 14 years!) and my sister headed to the cinemas for the first screening of the
The next morning was spent shopping for a dress to be used during the wedding and reception, and then we had the rehearsal in the church for the renewal of wedding vows. The next day, Saturday, was the big day. Together with Rob and Tricia we got ready for the ceremony, which was at 2pm. It was a brief and intimate ceremony attended by family and close friends. After that we headed to the reception for... party time! I had a good time and I was very glad that I decided to come out here for the celebration.
Sunday was spent just lazing around the house; jet lag and fatigue finally caught up with me so I was asleep for most of the day. Or maybe it was just a prelude to the next day where we drove an hour to Aurora, IL for some... outlet shopping! On the way home we bought Cranium, Taboo and the Monopoly Here and Now edition and we ended up having game night - twas so much fun! On Tuesday we headed downtown to see the famous Chicago skyline, dropping by the Sears Tower, Millenium Park and Navy Pier. Wednesday was again shopping day, though we headed home early to pack.
So what do I think about Chicago? The weather this time of the year could definitely be better. It was cold on most days and it also snowed at some point. And although I am a fan of cold weather, having consistent below-10-degree days are not that fun, specially if you want to go out and see the city.
With Chicago having given me a first glimpse of the USA, I can tell that this entire country is consumer heaven. Everything and I mean everything seems to be here. Every need and every whim can be fulfilled in exchange for cash. In my side of the world, I can say we are not spoilt for choice this way. Many creature comforts are not really made available to us since as a people we can barely afford the necessities, let alone anything on top of that. But how easy and convenient it is to live like that (the qualifier, of course, being that you can afford it).
On the other hand I can see my relatives have built a good life for themselves here. My cousins have turned out to be very kind and fun people, and I can see that their life as a family is going well. I throughly enjoyed my stay there and I am also glad to have reconnected with my cousins whom I have not seen for so many years. I cannot wait to visit them again. But for now I am very much looking forward to the West Coast leg of my trip and I am extremely happy to be heading towards warmer weather!
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