wandering chinatown
I decide that Friday is a good day to discover. I have classes on Monday, but for the most part, I’ve done my work for the weekend. Earlier that day I had a lot going on, meeting up with some people for a group project, starting my first day at my new job. That was part of the mission: to get the rest of the pieces of my uniform for my job, and the other was to enjoy Chinatown with some friends.
4:07 pm
Kayla, one of my roommates and I, are leaving our dorm. We really like thrift shopping and have been saying that we want to go together, so we head off on a little trip, also planning on going to Aldi’s so we can go grocery shopping. Lydia told me about a really cool and cheap clothing store that we head to first, called Ragstock. We take the red line to Belmont and get off, but I take pictures from Fullerton first.
Then, we begin the walk. I’m really amazed at how Kayla can memorize directions so easily. She doesn’t check her phone at all while we walk.
4:17
It’s really bright out, and you can see the peaks of Chicago skyscrapers down the street. I’m amazed by it, but Kayla just keeps walking.
4:29
Eventually, we get to Aldi’s, and I only brought one bag, so my shoulder was sore as she dragged me through Trader Joe’s because Aldi’s avocados were too expensive for her taste.
5:04
Finally, we’re done with grocery shopping, and we retrace our steps towards the Belmont stop.
6:37
We walk out of Ragstock, and I have some better pants to work in. Kayla came up empty-handed. She was originally looking for workout clothes, but again, the prices weren’t to her liking.
Right next to Ragstock was a rolled ice cream place, which I cannot remember the name of. Kayla really wants ice cream, so I’m dragged along as she gets something with a lot of strawberries in it, something I absolutely hate (the video turned in on the submission tab of D2L is of the worker making her ice cream).
We had some really nice conversation with one of the workers there about clothing and thrift shopping, and then we leave once we’re finished.
6:55
I’m now at Brownstones, meeting the rest of my group from a club I’m involved in so we can go to Chinatown. We take the Red Line to Cermack, and when I step off of the stop I’m amazed. It smells like eggrolls, which smell exactly like my Lola’s (grandma) house.
I’ve never been to Chinatown before, so my head is spinning. My hometown is 89.9% white, and I was one of very few brown people in my high school. Wheaton has the most churches per square foot in the United States of America, so I feel suffocated there, with religion or beliefs being shoved down my throat at every opportunity. It’s impossible to walk peacefully down the street without seeing anti-abortion protests in front of churches ruining your day.
7:40
My food is served to me: Korean Beef with egg over rice. It’s amazing, but I can hardly eat a fourth of it, and i have to ask for a large takeout box for the rest.
8:42
At this point, our group is finally ready to leave. After drinking way too much bubble tea and stuffing my face with rice, our group knows it’s too late to venture out into Chinatown. We go back to the Red Line and take it back to Fullerton, and the day is over (after I walk up four flights of stairs to get to my room).
