Remembrance
My experience with Immersion Week has been incredible. As I go to class every day, I grew accustomed to noticing the little things that make up the personality of a street, a store, and even the city itself as a whole. I also realized that everything we see has its own reason of why it is there. That everything has its own history, representation, and also its own stories. Not only that, but the amount of connections that I have made with my classmates have been amazing to watch. Without the first week, I would have probably never been able to meet some of my future best friends who would hopefully continue the purpose of this class with me; to get lost and mindlessly walk.
My favorite day of Immersion Week would definitely be our trip to Pilsen. It started with getting off the L train and being greeted with murals painted onto the stairs, which gave us a sense of welcome and already a bit of what Pilsen has to offer. Then, our small group scurried off to the National Museum of Mexican Art, which has the largest collections of Mexican art in our country, to be introduced to our tour guide for the hour named Luis. And I just want to say right off the bat that he was the best tour guide I have ever had. One of the reasons being that you could tell how much he loves his city by the way he explains its history in depth. Also, it seemed like he knew everyone in town, which exemplifies the town’s profound value for community. With regards to this, the sense of community resonated with me since I felt like I was taken through a time machine, back to when I was a little kid in my old and small town in the Philippines. I remembered how great of a feeling it was to just know everyone and connect with people who share a common area. And that’s a rare characteristic to see in a city in America since it seems like everyone is just doing their own thing (ie. the Loop).
Pilsen has many interesting characteristics that tell us a lot about its history and personality through graffiti and murals but the most memorable that I have learned is with its struggle with gentrification. For example, Luis mentioned that the people of Pilsen are being forced to leave their homes due to the increase of wealthy companies buying off residential/commercial buildings that are specific to their community. He also mentioned that real estate is systematic rather than a natural process. And so with that in mind, Pilsen continue to express their struggle and pain through mediums, which are mainly murals, graffiti, and posters. All in all, the town’s method of expression is not only a way to remind the community of their oppression, but also a way for the people to disregard any stories from outsiders and to tell their own representation of their town.
It was also great to see the community’s faith painted onto the walls of its buildings. All over the streets, La Virgen de Guadalupe is either plastered on the exterior of buildings or on posters hanging on windwos. Luiz explained that when people want to show their pride for their current home and country where they come from, La Virgen de Guadalupe would always be in between flags. This type of love for their faith shows how differently they take on their patriotism compared other countries.
After class ended, I had a sudden realization of where I currently am in life. It hit me that I am (mostly) finally on my own. That this year is the year where I start to become an adult and that being responsible for my own studies, health ,and being are my top priorities. But also, I could not help but be sentimental for the family and friends that I left behind. Even though they are only a 40 minute train ride from campus, it felt like they were a thousand miles away. And so, I knew I had to keep myself busy which is what the city and the university constantly accomplishes. Not only that, but I was also lucky enough to quickly find a close knit group of friends that I met through this class. We connected and bonded so quickly that on the fourth day, we have already exchanged cheesy confessions to each other about how happy we were that we met. Nevertheless, a person can not compare the immensity of Chicago to Pilsen. However, through the work of art and stories, Pilsen’s ability to force us to remember and critically think about the problems happening around us is a beautiful experience.
