Immersion Week
In the past, I viewed walking as a mode of transportation or solely for exercise. My Immersion Week experience has altered my opinion about walking and forced me to consider walking differently. While I still believe walking is a great form of physical activity and an environmentally friendly way of transportation, the insights and knowledge one gains from walking exceed these surface level benefits.
Despite already visiting a few of the places we walked through before, I saw each of them in a new light as we walked, stopped, and truly immersed ourselves in our current environment. By allowing ourselves to reflect and consider what we saw, heard, or felt, forced us to think about walking deeper than just taking steps. For example, if I had merely passed by the Maypole Garden I would’ve thought, ‘oh that is a cute gazebo’ or ‘this could be a nice place to read’ but I wouldn’t have realized the time, thought, and effort Ms. Smith has put into that garden for longer than I’ve been alive. In addition, hearing each detailed story of the murals in Pilsen allowed me to not only understand the artwork itself, but helped me understand the community’s values and traditions.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience walking in this nature, but feel that it’s important to remember that as we become encompassed by our surroundings, we must remain aware of where our feet are going, especially if they are heading towards wet cement. Unfortunately I was so infatuated by a mural during our Pilsen walking tour that I accidentally submerged my foot in cement. While initially I was embarrassed that my peers and a construction worker saw my mistake, I realized that this could be a learning experience. At that moment, I was focused solely on what was in front of me and I missed what was right below me. While it’s important to view our surroundings it’s also essential to be aware of where our feet are going. Overall, this slightly embarrassing experience taught me to find a balance between the awareness of the walk itself and experience the aesthetic elements of the walk.
After our walk on Tuesday, I spent the rest of the day fixating on the numerical aspects of the day. For example, that we walked over 10 miles, or that the day lasted 9 hours. However, I realized that these were insignificant aspects of our class. For example, the breathtaking view at the observation deck and the Puerto Rican flag sculpture adjoining two streets together surpasses the fact that we walked 20,000 steps. Each of those steps showed a new piece of Chicago where there was a story to be told. Whether there was a plaque explaining the significance or if it was the walker’s responsibility to discover the story, there was an abundance of history and culture that unfolded with each step. Although Immersion Week was one of the most tiring and lengthy weeks I’ve endured this year, the experiences and valuable lessons made each day worthwhile.
