Day 14 - Chicago

Travel day 14 – Chicago
July 12, 2007

It is Thursday, and on Friday Arielle will be in the art show based on the three weeks she spent at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Today the hotel moved our luggage for us to a regular room on the 33rd floor with a view of the lake and I took more photos. We head out for a walk and Dianne heads to the bank to get cash for Arielle.

It was about 11:30 am and time to figure out where to go for lunch. While standing on the street corner a lady walked up to us and asked if we needed some help. If we were in Los Angeles, I would be ready for the come-on, the gun, the con or just a request for money.

But we are in Chicago, and the lady was actually offering to help us for no other reason than we looked like out-of-towners and could be lost. She suggested the old Marshall Fields basement cafeteria (now Macys) for lunch, and it was great. Dianne wants to go where the locals go, not the tourists. The people here are scary nice.

Then a girl in sitting near us in the basement cafeteria noticed that we had our empty tray on the table next to us and asked if she could put it away for us. What the heck?? We told her how nice the people are in Chicago and it was such culture shock for us. Especially after being in Israel where people bump into you and keep on walking. The idea of someone saying, “Excuse me” in Israel would be unheard of. She explained she is a second generation from Chicago and her mom has lived in the same house for over 25 years.

We then purchased some pastries at another counter and the clerk said, “Have a nice day” and it sounded like she really meant it! Oh my gosh! The people in Chicago are so nice. Sure they have their panhandlers too, but so many people we met were just so nice. This is a really unique big American city.