• my architecture pages
    • Lost Chicago Building: Steinway Hall, 1896
    • Looking for Mr. Goldberg
    • The Punch and Judy Theatre, 1930
    • Lost Chicago Building: First Regiment Armory
    • The Edison Shop
    • The theater that never was
    • Lost Chicago Building: The Masonic Temple
    • elegy for Chengdu

running into myself

Monthly Archives: July 2017

Chicago

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Roger

I’m now in my third week in Chicago. I can’t say that the transition has been easy; my dog Gougou endured almost 24 hours in a pet carrier being transported from China, and the culture shock of re-entry plus the jet lag have left me feeling drained.

We lived in a hotel for a week, while I searched for and rented an apartment in Lake View. We’re now installed in a comfy but small studio, and I’ve purchased the bare furniture essentials, and begun to outfit the kitchen. Gougou seems to have adapted better than I have, and we enjoy walks together to the nearby lakefront, Belmont harbor, and the abundant parks that stretch along Lake Michigan.

It’s strange new world that I inhabit: I can understand the language here, and the mannerisms and attitudes of Americans are very different from those of the Chinese. I’ve lost my different-ness; in China I was often the object of attention, and here I’m simply another person on the street. Coincidentally, my new apartment is just a couple of streets away from where I lived many years ago at age 22, fresh out of university and experiencing the big bad city with young eyes.  I constantly compare what the neighborhood was like then with its current incarnation. There are far more yuppies now, and the gay population of Boys’ Town is much more visible than similar populations would be in China. My neighborhood seems to consist entirely of joggers, dog-walkers, and gym rats traveling to and from their workouts.

I have a two-week teaching stint in a summer English program at DePaul University, and I continue my job search as I continue to adapt to my surroundings.

I seem to have come full circle, once again.

Posted in Chicago | Tags: Chicago | 2 Comments |

Roger Jones

Subscribe
Loading

Categories

Archives

Blogroll

  • ArchInform
  • david lebovitz living the sweet life in Paris
  • Lyric Opera of Chicago
  • my architecture pages
  • runningintomyself – old version
  • The Art Institute of Chicago
  • Urban Omnibus

Pages

  • my architecture pages
    • Lost Chicago Building: Steinway Hall, 1896
    • Looking for Mr. Goldberg
    • The Punch and Judy Theatre, 1930
    • Lost Chicago Building: First Regiment Armory
    • The Edison Shop
    • The theater that never was
    • Lost Chicago Building: The Masonic Temple
    • elegy for Chengdu

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • May 2020
  • February 2020
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009

Categories

  • Aix-en-Provence (2)
  • Ancient towns (46)
  • Architecture (103)
  • Arles (4)
  • Chengdu (139)
  • Chicago (47)
  • China (71)
  • Chongqing (7)
  • Food (23)
  • France (26)
  • Hong Kong (3)
  • India (22)
  • Istanbul (3)
  • Marseille (15)
  • Mount Everest (3)
  • Movies (5)
  • Nepal (10)
  • Old Chengdu (26)
  • Paris (18)
  • Personal history (32)
  • Photography (84)
  • Shanghai (11)
  • Suzhou (8)
  • Teaching (34)
  • Tibet (25)
  • Travel (123)
  • USA (20)
  • Writing (2)

WordPress

  • Register
  • Log in
  • WordPress
© running into myself