Touring the Windy City
My experience of being a tour guide for once.
Last week, my family was hosting my cousins from Kuwait, as they were visiting us for the first time since we’ve moved here. They were really excited about the trip, as they hadn’t been to Chicago before, so they actually asked us to take them downtown and show them around. I imagined that my parents would book a five-star tour guide to help us give them the full experience of Chicago, but, unfortunately, they didn’t. So instead, I decided to take it upon myself to not be Bilaal, the cousin, this past weekend, but instead, be Bilaal, the best tour guide of Chicago. My parents liked the idea, but were busy over the weekend, so I asked my sister and brother-in-law to join us instead, as I imagined that the more of us their were, the merrier.
A week before my cousins arrived though, I decided to go downtown with my other cousins, as I wanted to observe and make a plan of all the places that we could go (based on their interests). Knowing one of my cousins (Mo), I knew that he would enjoy visiting some of the well-known museums that Chicago has to offer, as I would categorize him as quite a ‘highbrow.’ His younger brother (Adam) is quite different though, and I felt like he would enjoy exploring and finding other attractions more, especially since he’s a lot more well-traveled than his brother. With that in mind, I chose to add a couple of neighborhoods (parks) that I wanted to take everybody to, because if there’s anything that this class has taught me, then it would be to visit places that you wouldn’t regularly think of visiting. In fact, I would bet that most of the people who’ve lived in Illinois (their whole lives) haven’t been to these parks, so I imagined that the trip would be a unique/different experience for my family.
My experience aside though, I chose to focus on tourism for my map because, like Robert Krygier and Denis Wood say in their article, “Ce N’est Pas Le Monde,” a maps proposition “affirms the existence and location of its subjects,” and what better way to do that then by visiting some of the most popular places in Chicago? Plus, I think I would have been doing the city a huge disservice if I were to not even mention tourism in Chicago, since it’s become one of the most popular tourist destinations in recent years, with its growing skyline, increasing recreational activity spots, and long history.
But, as the days went by, the more nervous I began to feel about our trip. Random questions began forming in my head, as the thought of Chicago was making me panic…
- “What if I get everyone lost?”
- “What if I don’t know what I’m talking about?”
- “What if they end up disliking Chicago?”
But how did I manage to calm down, you ask? Well, I always calmed down when I realized how absurd my questions were… I mean, for one, if you think about it, it’s actually become a lot harder to get lost than it was before, thanks to our phones... As Giles Turnbull says in his article, “Handheld Time Machines,” “The modern explorer has it all. Every gadget you can think of combined into a pocket-sized smartphone. There’s no need to be lost, or lonely, anywhere. Ever. Unless we explore with our eyes closed, figuratively speaking.” Turnbull’s quote is really calming, as he’s got a point, and that point answers my second question too (I could just search up information about the places that I don’t know much about). Regarding my third question though, I would always think about what people would and wouldn’t like about Chicago, and the truth is, I believe that the positives of the city heavily outweigh the negatives.
Since we were going to visit so many places over the weekend, I decided to divide our trips into three days, with each day for something new:
- Friday was for the museums
- Saturday was for the attractions
- Sunday was for the neighborhoods/parks
Friday
The Field Museum
9:40 AM — We took the Metra from the Route 59 station to the Chicago Union Station, where we got on Jackson (red line), got off at Roosevelt Station, and then walked for a bit until we go to our destination.
11:36 AM — We reached the Field Museum, where we spent a good amount of time, as we ended up checking out the Shedd Aquarium too.
For the posting of this museum on my map, I chose to put a fish, as it represented the Shedd Aquarium, which (I believe) is a very important part of Field Museum “campus.”
Art Institute of Chicago
1:04 PM — We decided to leave, and head to another destination. We walked back to the Roosevelt Station, where we got on Howard (red line) to Jackson, and walked a bit more before reaching.
1:28 PM — We reached the Art Institute of Chicago, where we actually spent a lot of time outside, admiring the architecture of the statues, building, etc.
For the posting of this museum on my map, I chose to put a lions head, as it represented the statue of the lion that is perched outside of the museum.
Chicago History Museum
1:59 PM — We decided to leave, and head to another destination. We walked to Jackson, where we got on Howard (red line) to Clark/Davidson, and walked a bit more before reaching.
2:27 PM — We reached Chicago History Museum, where we spent about as much time as we did at the Field Museum...
For the posting of this museum on my map, I chose to put the “Gas for Less” sign that they have hanging up in an exhibit, as it really stuck out to me and represented a certain part of history in Chicago.
Museum of Science and Industry
3:34 PM — We decided to leave, and head to another destination. We had another museum that was much closer to us, but decided to visit a museum that was much farther away first, as it closed earlier than the one close by. Since our next location was too far to go by foot, or train, we took an Uber instead. I felt quite guilty about it, but my family were just not use to this much walking! On the bright side though, our Uber got us to the museum in about 20 minutes.
3:52 PM — We reached the Museum of Science and Industry, where, personally, I had the most fun, thanks to the variety of the exhibits.
For the posting of this museum on my map, I chose to put a flask, as it represented the “science” part of the museum.
Museum of Contemporary Art
4:45 PM — Once we were done, we decided to head to our final destination. Since we had to go back to where we came from, and since our next location was very far by foot and train, we took an Uber again. Like on the way here, our Uber took us to our final museum in about 20 minutes.
5:18 PM — We reached the Museum of Contemporary Arts, which we spent some time exploring, until we had to leave for dinner with our other cousins to end the day.
For the posting of this museum on my map, I chose to put a “contemporary” piece of art, as I believe that my drawing could probably pass as one of the paintings that they have hanging on their walls, etc.
In summation, our first day out was a wonderful experience, as I felt like everyone had fun. All the museums were different from one another, which was good to see, as each one managed to “entertain” us for multiple reasons. On our journey though, my family and I saw, felt, heard, smelled, and tasted a lot of different things, like:
- Different exhibits at the museums (saw)
- A lot of people wearing jackets (saw)
- Different objects at the museums (felt)
- The cold air (felt)
- A lot of people waking by/around us (heard)
- Multiple cars (heard)
- Gasoline (smelled)
- Paint (smelled)
- Coffee at a museum (tasted)
- Chips at another museum (tasted)
Saturday
Willis Tower
9:40 AM — We took the Metra from the Route 59 station to the Chicago Union Station again, where we walked to our first destination.
11:06 AM — We reached the Willis Tower, where we spent a good amount of time, as we ended up checking out the skydeck too.
For the posting of this attraction on my map, I chose to draw the tower itself, as all of the attractions of Willis (like the skydeck) are within it.
Magnificent Mile
12:11 PM — We decided to leave, and go to our next destination. We walked to Quincy, where we got on Midway (orange line) and went to State/Lake, from where we walked a bit more to get on Howard (red line) and went to Chicago, which is where our next attraction was.
12:22 PM — We reached Magnificent Mile, where, out of all of us, my sister had the most fun, as she was able to shop at all her favorite places.
For the posting of this attraction on my map, I chose to draw the dollar sign, as the stores at this place were very expensive!
Navy Pier
12:57 PM — After a while, we decided to leave, and go to our next destination. We decided to just walk this time, as the weather had seemed like it was getting better, but were we wrong.
1:17 PM — After walking for about 20 minutes, we reached Navy Pier, where I, despite the rain, had the most fun.
For the posting of this attraction on my map, I chose to draw, as the video suggests, the ferris wheel, as I remember us having a good time on it.
Lincoln Park Zoo
2:16 PM — After quite a bit of time, we finally decided to leave, and go to our next destination. The next place was quite far away, as going by foot wasn’t an option, so we decided to Uber it (like yesterday). Thanks to Uber, were able to get there in about 20 minutes.
2:41 PM — We reached Lincoln Park Zoo, where my nephew had the most fun, as he was able to see several animals, like the polar bear, etc.
For the posting of this attraction on my map, I chose to draw a dollar sign again, but with a cross through it, as the zoo is absolutely free, and that’s great!
Wrigley Field
3:28 PM — After convincing my nephew to finally leave, we were on our way to the next destination. Similarly, our next, or final, destination was quite far to go by foot or train too, so we decided to Uber it. Uber helped us out a lot, as we were able to make it to our next destination quite quickly.
3:41 PM — We reached Wrigley Field, which we didn’t really enter, but we did end up exploring the places around it, which were mostly restaurants.
For the posting of this attraction on my map, I chose to draw the Chicago Clubs logo, as this is their stadium, or home...
In summation, our second day was pretty fun too, but the weather really made it hard to stay positive at times. Thankfully, the attractions that I picked made everyone happy, as my sister and nephew got to do something that they both enjoyed (shopping and visiting the zoo), while the rest of us were happy to do all the other things. Much like yesterday though, on our journey, my family and I saw, felt, heard, smelled, and tasted a lot of different things, like:
- Rain (saw)
- A historical stadium (saw)
- Glass boxes at Willis Tower (felt)
- The cold air (felt)
- A lot of people waking by/around us (heard)
- Machines at Navy Pier (heard)
- Animal feces (smelled)
- Hot-dogs (smelled)
- Coffee at Navy Pier (tasted)
- Burgers by Wrigley Field (tasted)
Sunday
Rogers Park
10:08 AM — On the last day of our downtown trips, we decided to take our own car, as we drove down to our first destination in about an hour and 30 minutes.
11:37 AM — We reached our first destination, Rogers Park, where we spent a good amount of time, as we ended up checking out all of the famous murals.
For the posting of this attraction on my map, I chose to draw a paintbrush, as it symbolizes the murals in the neighborhood.
Wicker Park
12:24 PM — After spending some time at Rogers Park, we decided to drive to our next destination, as it took us about 45 minutes.
1:14 PM — We reached our second destination, Wicker Park, where we spent another hour, as we explored the place, and had a “brunch” at “Halal Bros.”
For the posting of this attraction on my map, I chose to draw the “Halal Bros” logo, as it symbolizes the first time that I actually talked to my friends in this class.
Millennium Park
2:15 PM — After spending time at Wickers Park and having lunch, we decided to drive to our next destination, as it took us about 25 minutes.
2:48 PM — We reached our third destination, Millennium Park, where we spent some time, as we explored the most popular tourist attraction of the midwest.
For the posting of this attraction on my map, I chose to draw “The Bean,” as it is one of the most popular attractions in the United States.
Grant Park
3:45 PM — After spending time at Millennium Park and taking a lot of pictures, we decided to drive to our next destination, as it took us about 10 minutes.
4:08 PM — We reached our fourth destination, Grant Park, where we spent some time exploring the neighborhoods.
For the posting of this attraction on my map, I chose to draw “Buckingham Fountain,” as it is one of the most popular attractions in the neighborhood.
Hyde Park
4:45 PM — After walking around in Grant Park, we decided to drive to our final destination, as it took us about 20 minutes.
5:02 PM — We reached our final destination, Hyde Park, where we spent some time reflecting on our great weekend.
For the posting of this attraction on my map, I chose to draw the “Art Center” board, as it is one of the most popular attractions of Hyde Park.
In summation, our third day was pretty relaxing, as we visited some different neighborhoods, and saw how the people of Chicago live and spend their weekends. In Leo Hollis’ article, “Cities belong to Us,” he discusses that “reclamation of the city begins with the realization that ‘that’ place… is in fact ‘our’ place,” and I think that’s what me and my family realized while observing the people, as we saw how the neighborhoods were made up of tight-knit communities that cared about, and looked out for each other, no matter what happened.
Overall, I would say the whole weekend was a great experience too, not only for me, but my whole family. This trip allowed me to gain some confidence in my knowledge, as, although I didn’t know everything, I tried to find out as much as I could about the places we would visit, and it was good for my family, as they got to see more (this weekend) than they could have imagined! Specifically, on our journey, my family and I saw, felt, heard, smelled, and tasted a lot of different things, like:
- The Bean (saw)
- A lot of locals (saw)
- Halloween decorations (felt)
- The cold air (felt)
- A lot of people waking by/around us (heard)
- A lot of signs (heard)
- Pumpkins (smelled)
- Pie (smelled)
- Coffee at Wicker Park (tasted)
- Burgers at Wicker Park (tasted)
After completing this project, I’ve realized that since I’m new to the country, and live in the suburbs, I definitely live and walk differently then how a local would. But my goal now is to, in a few years (when I can consider myself a local/resident), revisit these places, just so I can see how differently/similarly I see things. I’ll make sure to keep you posted! (2,884 words)
My Map
Work Cited:
Krygier, John, and Denis Wood. Ce N’Est Pas Le Monde. Vol. 1. N.p.: Rethinking Maps, 2009. Print.
Turnbull, Giles. “Handheld Time Machines.” The Morning News, 2011. Online Article.
Hollis, Leo. “Cities Thrive When Public Space is Open to All .” 18 July 2013. Aeon. Online Article.
