睽違五年的返美之旅-行程速記

• 6/2 noon SJC arrival, Google HQ lunch and tour(MTV), a walk in the beautiful Shoreline Park MTV, dinner w/ Emilie & Ruby at Choi's Korean restaurant (Santa Clara) 
• 6/3 Alcatraz Island day tour, quick glance of Pier 39 sea lions, dinner w/ Ambrose at Kal's BBQ (Sunnyvale) 
• 6/4 California Academy of Sciences day tour, small walk at Golden Gate Park, dinner w/ Vince. at Left Bank, Santana Row (San Jose). 
• 6/5 EA office visit thanks to Tina(San Carlos), Bart ride to Berkeley for half-day tour, public concert at Memorial Park(Cupertino), dinner w/ Tina at Yiassoo the Greek restaurant(Cupertino) 
• 6/6 San Francisco cable car ride: Powell-Hyde, Lombart Street, Hyde Pier, Ghirardelli Square, Cable Car Museum, San Francisco cable car ride: Powell-Mason, Union Square, Littlejohn's Candies, San Francisco City Hall & UN Plaza, dinner w/ Annabel at Straits (Burlingame) 
• 6/7 dim sum brunch w/ Emilie, Paul, Elise & Yun-da at Yank Sing, Sausalito tour, Battery Spencer photo shoot for the Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point national historical site, dinner w/ everyone at Mandaloun (Redwood City), evening chats at home(MTV) 
• 6/8 Wine tasting in Ceja(Napa downtown), lunch w/ Emilie, Paul & Vince at Gott's Roadside(Napa downtown), Winery tour in Artesa Vineyards & Winery, Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, Cline Cellars, Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves(Sonoma), dinner w/ everyone at The Girl & The Fig(Sonoma) 
• 6/9 Coit tower, Fisherman's Wharf, lunch at Boudin Bakery, Aquarium of the Bay, Palace of Fine Arts (only the architecture), Alamo square, dinner at home in MTV 
• 6/10 Interview in MTV, Bike & View to rent a bike, ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, short stay in Sausalito, ice cream at Lappert's(Sausalito), ferry back to Pier 41, return the bike, go back to MTV to prepare flying to Chicago at 23:45 
• 6/11 arrived at O'Hare, Chicago at 5:50am, Rotary breakfast gathering w/ Joan at the Yacht Club (Wilmette), back to Joan's beautiful house for a rest(Wilmette), lunch w/ Joan at Chop It Up(Glenview), cookies and grocery shopping, visit Joan's new house in Kenilworth, visit the church O'Neills go to and visit Pat, dinner w/ Andrew at Found Kitchen and Social House(Evanston), beer w/ Andrew & Steven at World of Beers(Evanston) 
• 6/12 Lunch at Purple pig w/ Kristine, Millennium Park- the Bean, the Lawn, and the Crown Fountain, Skydeck Chicago, dinner at home in Wilmette 
• 6/13 Coffee at Cosi w/ Zheng(Chicago), Magnificent Mile walk and shopping(Chicago), first time paddling at Lake Michigan w/ Joan around Montrose Beach(Chicago), dinner w/ Amy, Mark & PuiPuii at Kafein(Evanston), true-story-only storytelling night plus marvelous music w/ Joan, Jenny & Lisa at 27 Live!(Evanston), see my apartment on 1121 Church from 10 meters away! Oh I miss you all my lovely roommate/neighbors Nina,Zhenxing, Zhaoyang, Annie! 
• 6/14 piano morning w/ O'Neill's, visit Marian's place, Trader Joe's shopping and then went to Adler with kids, shopping near water tower place, dinner w/Zhenxing & Tian at Gemini Bistro(Chicago near Lincoln park) 
• 6/15 Brunch at Deleece w/ Chrissy(Chicago), Blues Festival at Grant Park, Blue Man Show at Briar Street Theatre(Chicago) 
• 6/16 NU campus tour (Engelhart, MTC) & Norris Center shopping, short talk w/ Prof. Tom Collinger , talk w/ Jenna, lunch w/ Jenna & 4 IMC'14 TW/CN students at Koi(Evanston), tea w/ Kerryat Unicorn Cafe(Evanston), dinner w/Eileen at The Celler(Evanston) 
• 6/17 Coffee w/ Nancy at Peet's(Evanston), NU campus tour, Noyes apartment check, tea w/ Zack at Panera(Evanston), deep dish w/ Charline at Giordano's(Chicago), million dollar night view 
• 6/18 ORD-SFO, take Bart+Caltrain to MTV, take VTA to Cisco to meet Cynthia, surprisingly meet Sylvie last minute & office tour, Stanford University tour, super surprising meetup w/ Annie during her short US visit, dinner talk at Baidu office in Sunnyvale. 
• 6/19 15:00 SFO-TPE

First John Hancock Signature Lounge "Skyscraper" with Tracy

From Post-NU Life- "Skyscraper" @ JHC, $11.50

Maybe this sounds unbelievable, but it is my first time drinking at the Signature Lounge on the 96 floor of John Hancock Center! Luckily I was not alone! I got Tracy Tseng, my NTU classmate, with me! Tracy came to Chicago for a conference and I thus got this wonderful chance to meet her after such a long time. Thanks to her visit and the clear sunny day, I thus proposed to stop by John Hancock for a drink to appreciate sunset and to see the night view of Chicago. Besides those updates we shared with each other, as a semi-local, I shared so many things I knew about Chicagoland with her. At the same time, I deeply realized how much I love this place and how much I will miss this city.

I will miss the Blues, the architecture, the Lake, the River, the cool wind in summer, the Bean, the Park, the shining night views, the random walk, the boat tour, the breeze of freedom, and even the lousy CTA.

From Post-NU Life- Tracy's visit April 1

One's emotion and memory about a city could be this complex. You might not notice it until you have to say goodbye to it for a long time (or for good?) Thank you Tracy for offering me this opportunity to review my city again. :)

幸運偶遇Buddy Guy+有你救真好

From Post March 20

應該很多人都不知道畫面中這位老伯是誰，更不清楚他的來路。你並不孤單，我也是很最近才聽說他的大名、才認識他的藍調音樂、才認知到他在當代藍調音樂中無法撼動的地位。他是Buddy Guy，我是在去他經營的藍調餐廳/酒吧Buddy Guy's Legends Chicago聽音樂時非常非常偶然的碰到他本尊在店裡，透過Andrew提點才知道眼前這個不起眼的人就是鼎鼎大名的Buddy Guy。話說在這張照片拍下之前才剛剛發生了很蠢的事情.......

我昏倒了。沒有騙你，我真的昏過去了。我們到的時候早已經沒有座位，我和Andrew於是選了個視野很好的位置站著聽音樂，一切都很正常很好，晚餐在煉瓦亭吃的所有餐點都令人很滿意，剛點的Taquila Sunrise沒有任何異狀，我這兩天也沒有身體不舒服睡眠也沒有嚴重不足，整個人精神也非常好，今天的任何一個時點裡我也沒有見過血。但　是！我忽然就感覺到了眼前的一陣閃光一陣黑，經驗豐富如我完全知道這是昏過去的前兆。還在思考到底怎麼回事也在努力鎮定的同時，我已經發現狀況不妙恐怕免不了一昏，剛轉過頭搭著Andrew肩膀告訴他「我不是在開玩笑我可能會昏過去」的那一秒，場地中的音樂沒有在我腦海間斷，Andrew連扶住我的機會都還沒有，我整個人（據說）已經瞬間軟到地上，等意識稍微回來的時候我已經被扶到一旁的椅子上，模模糊糊的應了要喝水的問句，眼前的世界還沒有恢復平衡，腦子裡也還只剩很有限的嘟噥性中文字可以用，涼水入口、深呼吸了好一陣子、把不知道哪冒出的滿頭汗擦一擦，我終於又恢復了力氣和語言能力，緩緩起身跟週邊（應該）被我嚇壞的朋友們道歉暨道謝，我乖乖聽話出去走走透透氣。

推門出店前我還小心亦亦的跟站在門口櫃台附近、上圖的這位大叔（我應該會被一些人劈）傻傻的問了：「憑著手上這個印章我可以出去再進來齁？」然後他用黑人牙膏廣告裡面那種最閃亮的笑容回答我「是的，你可以。」

到了冷颼颼的街上整個人終於清醒不已沒兩秒，Andrew從後面追出來敲我「你知不知道那個人是誰？那是Buddy Guy本人ㄟ！」

冏很大、冏不用錢.....

好吧，一切都是冥冥中天注定，如果我沒有昏過去沒有需要出門透透氣，我們可能根本不會知道Buddy Guy今天根本就在店裡，也就不會換來這張寶貴的合照。

目前為止我的敘述都跟當晚的表演一點關係也沒有，我道歉.......不過看倌你懂的，以上發生的兩件事的確有這個價值讓我洋洋灑灑寫這麼久.....回正題！這個晚上表演的團是來自South Dakota的Indigenous，主唱兼吉他手是美國印地安人，團裡還有另外一個超強吉他手、一個base，一個keyboard和一個鼓手。根據專業音樂鑑賞家Andrew同學的評價：「如果你從此以後再也不去聽其他表演了，今天晚上的這兩個吉他手大概是你這輩子遇過最猛的兩個了。」其他的現學現賣還有：他們的音樂型態是Blues-Rock，偏Blues一點的部分我都很喜歡，太rock的部分在我心裡OS「這真是有點吵」的沒幾秒過後Andrew就會神來一筆的湊過來說「你大概會嫌這個太吵」。知我者莫若你啊～

也是在他們的表演裡面，我偷學到了另外兩小件事：另外那個吉他手有時候左手無名指上會戴一個小鋼管，這種演奏現在已經非常少見，會的人很少，而且很高難度喔！還有，原來彈吉他的人有時候製造出來的那種「哇哇哇」聲音來自一個謎樣的踏板，他們一邊彈一邊踩，觀眾就會聽到「哇哇哇」的效果了～

總之，在Buddy Guy's Legends Chicago聽音樂的經驗除了單純的把一個我還沒有去過的芝加哥寶地打勾勾以外，我不但非常享受那裡的音樂、氣氛，也非常享受我博學多聞的藍調家教老師說的每一個故事和教我的每一件事。

至於我們為甚麼會有此雅興跑去聽音樂呢？起因是我心情不好....原因略，總之我在那個陽光普照的下午在家悶頭哭了一陣以後我發現自己想要1.兜風去看美景 2.聽好音樂 3.有人靜靜的陪。尤其第二項，很難找到比Andrew更合適的人選來找好音樂給我聽，所以苦命的他硬被我害得提早下班，開車帶我去吃了日本料理煉瓦亭（又一個我沒去過的地方，Check！），聽我講一堆無聊不痛不癢的廢話任我無理取鬧，再好心讓在芝加哥白活了的我終於踏進Buddy Guy's Legends Chicago去朝聖洗耳朵。

我們在煉瓦亭的晚餐真是十分讓本人大心～然後看倌們你們可以再一次開始射我飛鏢了！因為我忘記照相....我點了壽司B套餐他點了比我豪華再多一點點的壽司C套餐，套餐皆附味噌湯和沙拉，Andrew還另外叫了油豆腐，餐後又點了芒果口味的冰淇淋麻糬來吃，還有好喝不是雷的日式煎茶不斷refill～

在煉瓦亭的開心可能也從一開始就可以跟在門口接待的婆婆講日文有關。比起其他客人，可以用日文直接跟她溝通的我（自以為）好像就佔到了一點點便宜，在她的英文明顯比較不輪轉的狀況下，我至少有信心她跟我解釋的狀況比他能跟其他客人解釋的狀況詳細清楚多了　:)　好難得好難得，Andrew小朋友要倚賴我告訴他一些他不懂的事啊～（誰叫他知道的事情實在太多了.....）

媽咪～能講日文真好哪～

時間序再亂掉一下，回到Buddy Guy's Legends Chicago。我們的幸運還有兩個：（一）等我回魂回到店裡，被禁酒的我（可憐西西）拿著可樂發現有兩個人要起身離開，過去詢問是否可以讓我們入座的時候被告知前面正中間的位置有兩個他們的朋友想換來後面，要把正前方搖滾區的座位給我們。何樂而不為？

Andrew叔叔曰：「你是走了甚麼運？我來這麼多次從來沒有坐在正前面這麼好的位置過」

（二）當Andrew還在說既然Buddy Guy今天在店裡，看待會有沒有機會拱一下要他上台唱兩句，ㄜ....心想事成，大師真的在Indigenous其中一首歌的間奏自己跑上台玩了！

Andrew叔叔再曰：「你到底走了甚麼運？還正以為你剛巧去上洗手間會錯過的時候你就殺回來了」

聽完音樂之後已經是兩點多，可能是那一昏把我搞餓了，方向盤一轉，我們繼續往南到Chinatown的旺角小廚吃了點消夜：雞肉沙嗲、炸鰻頭、瘦肉清粥，才滿足的上了高速公路，一路往北，回家。

謝謝你的音樂，謝謝你的陪伴，謝謝你救了我（這個真的具有雙關語的潛力XD）


Buddy Guy's Legends Chicago

754 S. Wabash

Chicago, IL, 60605

(312)427-0333
S. Wabash & 8th St.交叉口，近Red Line紅線Harrison站
入場需備Photo ID(21歲以上方得入場)，入場費一般$15，遇大團表演價格會較高。我們昨天聽的這場$20，每年一月份Buddy Guy自己駐場的時候他的表演都是$45，為該場地最高的入場費。入場費可以刷卡。
備有餐點、飲料，皆另外收費。
表演通常9:30 p.m.開始，想要有座位需要六、七點就抵達，假日很容易人潮洶湧，Buddy Guy自己在的時候據說人肯定是從前面滿到後面從左邊滿到右邊。

煉瓦亭Renga Tei (on Yelp)
3956 W. Touhy Ave (between Crawford Ave & E. Prairie Rd.)
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
(847) 675-5177
大熱門日本料理店，敬請預約以免向隅。願意坐在壽司吧的話比較有機會不用預約也不用等位置等很久。
難得一個日本料理店讓我可以用日文跟接待人員和店員溝通.....

Chicago River Turned Green for St. Patrick's Day!

How green? This green:

From 090314-St.Patrick's Day

Jeez, how come? They dyed it. Yes, they dyed Chicago River into this Irish green for one day. Every year, the Saturday before the actual St. Patrick's day, Chicago has the St. Patrick's Day parade and at the same time dyed the river. I did not have the chance to see it myself last year, because I was too busy working on my finals. Luckily this year, thanks to my roommate's invitation, I got the chance to step out and step into the crowd downtown Chicago for the greenest day ever in a year. How green again? This green:

From 090314-St.Patrick's Day

So many people on the street put together all the greenish clothes, hats, scarves, gloves, hair bands, socks, glasses on them for this day. I felt sorry for having no green on me anywhere (I just seriously do not have any green clothes or accessories with me). Coming back to the parade: frankly it was so so. Maybe it was also because my friends and I failed to squeeze ourselves into the front rolls to enjoy it, and unfortunately we were too tiny to see anything from the back end. We did try, and we purely enjoyed the atmosphere to be in the crowd with this crazy celebrations. We also ate lunch at a famous Irish restaurant/bar called The Gage after we thought that we have seen enough parade. My Fish & Chips didn't let me down, but serious NOs for their sandwiches. Some Guinness is good, some Irish Ale is good, too, but watch out for those over drinking pals on the street~

Oh well, I still love this sunny green day :)

About St. Patrick's Day celebration in Chicago: http://www.chicagostpatsparade.com/

The Gage
24 S. Michigan Ave,
Chicago, IL 60103
(312)372-4243
Will check photo ID before entry. Have bar and restaurant. Very easy to find across the Bean in Millennium Park

Happy Chinese "Moo" Year~

From Post-NU Life- from the 3rd party at the evening....

This year, my Chinese New Year celebration came with series of events. I went for a dinner with Taiwanese American Chamber of Commerce senior fellows at Friday night, which was also the send off party for Ambassador Thomas Cheng. Great wine and cousin, valuable advices and warm encouragement, I seemed to see some light ahead gradually.

Saturday evening, the night before Chinese New Year's Eve, ROCSAs of Northwestern University, Illinois Institute of Technology and University of Chicago jointly hosted a get-together dinner with 140 participants in Chinatown. Most of us, upon request, dressed something red and/or gold to highlight the feeling of celebration. That's why you can see such a bright photo above.

Stories continued. At the same night, I went to two Karaoke parties also in Chinatown- one with mostly Chinese IMC students/alums, the other with mostly Taiwanese IMC + tech students. Many songs mingled to form a colorful night of fun. Similarly, many emotions mixed to form a bizzard night.

Officially, it's Chinese New Year's Eve here in Evanston. I joined Leo, Daphne G., Daniel and Andrew for a dinner at a Japanese restaurant KUNI, and moved for some drinks at Andrew's. We also saw one Nip/Tuck, played Wii tennis and Wii bowling, and watched some Australia Open with Cindy's attendance. On the ride back to my place, Leo, Andrew and I passed the moment when the clock hit 12.

"Happy New Year, guys! It's official now," I said when I opened the door.
The second one without my family, down.

Random Meetup, Unexpected Happiness

I met a new friend last night at a dinner, and we gathered for a Swedish brunch at Ann Sather around Belmont station today. This was totally unplanned, but it ended up as a very pleasant meeting.

After hopped on the L, I bumped into another surprise: Joseph in the ecom PhD program. We chit chatted about my current status and about some friends. As a Belmont resident, he also suggested me what to try in Ann Sather (although I still followed my heart to pick a Swedish Bagel Breakfast instead :P) Anyways, I was so grateful of talking to him and of being cared and valued. Also thanks to him, the journey to Belmont was shortened.

I was quite on time, so was my new friend. The interior design of Ann Sather was quite Scandinavian style (please forgive me of not brining my camera....) and quite cozy. According to Almond, it was frequently crowded, especially on weekends. "Waiting in the long line outside in this kind of winter could be quite killing, you know?" Fully understandable. My Bagel Breakfast was quite different from those I've tried before- it was stuffed with egg, bacon and other ingredients. Additionally, it came with a fresh fruit bowl (healthy!). I liked this new discovery, and felt bad about failing to finish the entire serving. Well, I will be back! (with camera!!)

Unplanned again, we headed downtown for a movie: Slumdog Millionaire. Frankly, I got little clue about what that movie was about before I went. I just followed my guts and instinct. Some little more: his taste. The storyline of this Indian movie was mostly sad and pathetic, however, luckily, the ending was warm. For so many times I asked myself: "So, where's your right to complain? There are SO MANY PEOPLE living in such bad condition and they are not complaining..." I was so glad that I followed my intuition and took some risk. Otherwise I might never see Slumdog Millionaire in my whole life. Moreover, if I chose to stay home instead, none of these feelings and pleasure would come enrich my day.

From Post-NU Life

Thanks for the kind invitation. Thanks for the unexpected happiness. Thank you Lord, for reminding me of your greatness and your gifts along the way.

Ann Sather
909 W. Belmont Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 348-2378
(Very close to CTA Red/Brown line Belmont station, 3 min. walk)

Rock Climbing in Naperville. How Familiar

From 090103-Rock Climbing

Purely by accident, I knew about the opportunity to go for an indoor rock climbing in Naperville from friends. Since I've not been on the rock for some time since September '08, I joined them for the first rock in the US. "Vertical Endeavors" located in Warrenville inside the Lifetime Fitness. It has various routes for all age groups and levels, which is quite impressive. This is my first time to try the way with automatic rope to hold me on the rock. I didn't really like it because it limited my control over the pace and did not allow me to rest on the go. Up, or down. I believed I could finish most of the routes I tried yesterday if I could stop in the middle for a while to rest, and to continue. Anyways, I like the experience to climb again.

Interestingly, the entire experience kept reminding me of the quote in Y17: "It is a belief to climb up(向上爬，是一種信仰)" It also made me think about my lovely climbing friends in Taiwan- Chi-yu, Johnny and Howard.

Where is the next rock?

Vertical Endeavor (Inside the Lifetime Fitness building)
28241 Diehl Rd.
Warrenville, IL 60555
(630)836-0122
Entrance fee $15.
Full package rental (harness, climbing shoes and the powder) + $10; harness rental only +$4

Wendy E-News- [Wendy, happily with my master's in IMC, wishes you a Happy New Year 2009!]

Dear my friends,

Long time no see~ Time flies, it's almost the end of the year 2008, and the new year is around the corner! Also, I would love to happily announce that I have received my master's degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University. Congratulations to myself :D

What's next? Everyone's curious about this. After consulting with some alumni and senior friends, I decided to stay in Chicago looking for job openings within the U.S. I have applied for the OPT(Optional Practical Training) and will be able to stay in the U.S. for at least 3 months after graduation to look for a job. If I am lucky enough to get an offer by April 1 and to get my H1B working visa sponsored, I cannot leave the country till around October, due to regulation limitations. Otherwise, I will return to Taiwan after April and end my journey in the U.S.

Dad flew to Chicago for my graduation on December 13 and made me one of the happiest international students who was accompanied by family. He brought so many gifts prepared by Mom to share with those who have been a blessing to me during my stay. Dad didn't spend too many days in town, but I made it to take him visit the Millennium Park and the Bean、to appreciate night views from John Hancock Observatory、to visit the submarine and coal mine in Science and Industry Museum、to taste the famous Deep Dish Pizza of Chicago. Popular Dad was also invited by my host family mom- Joan to try the famous pancake at Walker Bros. in Wilmette, and he enjoyed great coffee talk with Kerry as well as happily joined my graduation ceremony. I was also blessed to receive graduation gifts from my uncle's family. Two little girls spent two hours to make a card for me! How sweet!

Thank you for loving me! Thank you!

My busy life continued after graduation, because I moved again. One of my original roommates and I left the apartment we subleased for fall and moved into another one bedroom apartment. This new place is spacious. She will use the main bedroom while I use the living room temporarily. We are short of some furniture, but I think I am fine with it- This space will accompany me to fight for the great job hunting battle!

And here's the new address- postcards welcomed :D
Wendy Chen
1121 Church St. Apt 312,
Evanston, IL 60201, US

The next day of my moving, I rolled on to the sunny trip in southern California. I just got back to Evanston and did not finish my stories during the trip yet, but I could not help thinking of the unexpected elementary school friends reunion, the sunshine in Santa Monica, the ski trip in Big Bear Lake area, the reunion with university friends Lien and Cynthia, the pleasant trip to San Diego Sea World for dolphin and Shamu shows with IMC classmate Ann, window shopping with Serena in Fashion Island, the breathtaking beach view at Dana Point, and the warm, cozy Christmas afternoon with Serena's relatives: watching Boston Celtics vs. LA Lakers and eating tons of great food......

Danny Sun, Serena Sah, Li-Chih Hu, Lien Chen, Cynthia Hsu and Annie Kuo- THANK YOU ALL! You made my journey complete and colorful. I could not imagine this trip without you!

This rest recharged me. So, get back to reality, I will keep an eye on job opportunities in mainly big cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Marketing communications positions that utilizes social media, digital marketing and online marketing in high-tech, consulting, travel and restaurant industries are my main target. I am open to both corporate and agency side of opportunities. My longer term plan is still to work in Asian countries, especially greater China area. Some working experiences in the U.S., I believe, will still be very valuable to me. Let me fight for it now~ Wish me luck!

Hope you have a wonderful New Year 2009! Be Happy!

Love Always,
Wendy

W報報之【取得碩士學位的Wendy祝大家新年行大運！】

敬愛的前輩、親愛的朋友們：
好久不見！一不留神2008年火速就來到了末尾，嶄新的一年即將降臨，而我在西北大學整合行銷傳播所已經悄悄取得IMC的碩士學位了。恭喜我自己　:)

下一步呢？大家都很關心。我幾經轉折問過好多學長姐及前輩的意見，決定暫時要繼續留在芝加哥尋找在美國各地可能的工作機會。目前我已經申請了OPT(Optional Practical Training)的身份將得以在畢業後待在美國至少三個月尋找工作，如果有幸在4/1前爭取到工作offer，約到10月前我都將因法規限制不便離境美國；如果在4/1前沒有找到機會，與在台灣的各位會面之期就近多囉～

我於今年12/13畢業，而且非常幸福的讓爸爸為我的畢業典禮飛到芝加哥一趟，並不多國際學生在畢業典禮的這時候有家人親自到場參與喔！我是最幸福的那幾個之一。爸爸帶了媽媽精心準備的好多禮物來讓我分送給這段時間以來照顧我的師長同學，讓他們都感受到台灣人的熱情與貼心。爸爸來的期間雖然短暫，我還是趁機帶他逛了芝加哥的千禧公園看大豆豆、上John Hancock賞夜景、到自然與工業博物館看潛艇探礦坑、吃芝加哥最有名的Deep Dish Pizza，大紅人爸爸還在我接待家庭媽媽Joan的邀約下到Walker Bros.吃了遠近馳名的鬆餅、芝加哥熱心爺爺Kerry的陪伴下一同參加了我的畢業典禮。更幸福的是，我還收到了三叔一家人託爸爸帶來美國給我的畢業禮物，包含一張小朋友們花了兩小時親手製作的卡片，讓我看到感動得都要哭出來了～

真的，謝謝你們那麼愛我！

我的忙碌在畢業典禮後繼續，因為我又搬家了。原來住的地方因為是sublease需要還給原租者，於是我跟其中一個還留在美國的室友火速打包搬到了鎮上另外一個寬敞的one bedroom，我住在客廳的空間讓她住在主臥室，這個臨時的家將成為我找工作的戰備基地，雖然缺少了很多家具，可是湊和湊和總是過得去的。

新家的地址即刻啟用，歡迎你們寄明信片來喔～：
Wendy Chen
1121 Church St. Apt 312,
Evanston, IL 60201, US

搬完家的隔天我立即踏上了加州陽光之旅。
剛從加州回到芝加哥的我還沒有機會把我所有的奇遇寫完，可是我現在滿腦子裡的還是那意外促成的小學同學會，Santa Monica的陽光，Big Bear Lake的滑雪之旅，好不容易約到的兩個大學同學廉方和昕昀，跟碩士班同學Ann一起開車前往聖地牙哥海洋世界看海豚的興奮，和百玟在Fashion Island的閒逛、在Dana Point雲破日出的美景、在百玟親戚家吃大餐看NBA湖人隊比賽度過的那個平靜溫暖的下午......

謝謝Danny Sun、Serena Sah、Li-Chih Hu、Lien Chen、Cynthia Hsu、Ann Kuo。是你們讓我的旅程完整，是你們讓我收穫滿行囊。

休息，是為了走更長遠的路。我回到現實了，鎖定芝加哥、洛杉磯、舊金山、紐約等大城的工作機會，我要在這個短暫的放鬆過後開始尋求與社交媒體social media, 數位行銷digital marketing, 線上行銷online marketing有關的職位，至於產業方面則有傾向尋找科技、顧問、旅遊、餐飲業的傾向，而且不排除到公關、廣告、媒體購買公司磨練的機會。中長程說來，我依舊是期望回亞洲、大中華地區發展的，不過在美國如果能夠有些歷練，相信對我來說會是一大加分，且讓我努力試看看囉！祝我好運 :)

且讓我借用三叔最愛的三個字為這封報報作結：幸福了！

最愛你的
Wendy

Dad's Visit- Graduation + Science & Industry Museum

It has been confirmed- I got my master's in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University. Everything felt like a dream.

From 081211-1214-Daddy@Evanston for NU graduation

Our morning started with a coffee meeting with Kerry, and I left Dad with Kerry to go for the ceremony rehearsal. Everything about the ceremony went fine, though a little bit chaotic in the end, but I was truly delighted to shoot many pictures with classmates. And you know: hugs, kisses, goodbye.... It is really hard to imagine that we will soon scattered around the country and even around the world again. The panic, seriously, stroke me hard silently yet fiercely every single moment...

And, if you were there.....

我還是貪心的。我有爸爸我有朋友我有好多愛我的人的祝福了。
任性如我，依舊奢求那多一點點的甚麼。

We headed south to Science & Industry Museum with Kerry around 2 p.m. With Dad's company, U-505 submarine got a richer story to tell, so did the old style gas train. Dad used to be a navy so he knew a lot about ships. Grandpa used to be a driver for trains, so Dad also knew well about gas trains as well as electricity trains. "This visit is indeed a good pick!" I told myself. It kept Dad in high spirit, and accidentally linked several parts of the memories in my extended family (Dad, grandpa, and uncle's family). That again proved my earlier feeling about life: What I desire most is a simple "home." Better than gold, better than anything else. It provides the pure joy for life, indeed.

From 081211-1214-Daddy@Evanston for NU graduation

Due to the jet lag, Dad was exhausted after we visited the coal mine inside the Museum, so I decided to take him home and prepared food myself for him. It was hard to describe the feeling of preparing dish for Dad here in the U.S. Guaranteed, it was a delicious meal. What made it so tasty was the feeling of sharing, the love between families, and the happiness of making some real contribution to my beloved one.

Dad went to bed shortly after the meal for a nap, and I worked on something else when I waited him to wake up again to help him packing. Unbelievably, yes, Dad was going back the next day.....

I don't wonna you leave, Daddy...... Stay with me.......

Daddy + Wendy in Chicago. Happy Graduation!

Please share with me the great joy of graduation from the Northwestern University, and the great joy to host my dad in this amazing city of Chicago and Evanston!

Dad's Visit- Walker Bros, NU & Downtown Chicago

We started out morning with breakfast at Walker Bros with Joan. It's dad's first official day in Chicago, and he excitedly went downstairs to "try the outside temperature" first. He rushed back within 5 minutes with a pale and speechless face- oh ya, he was freezing XD

"I told you! Don't under-estimate the cold in Chicago, and don't believe in the sunshine!" I knew I should not tease Dad, but I couldn't help it while he finally listened to my advice to put his snow coats on.

Generous Joan followed Dad to my apartment within 30 seconds, and then we went to Walkers Bros together. Adventurous Dad ordered one of the most famous pancake- Apple Pancake- and was totally impressed by its real size! Well, I should have warmed him about the servings in the U.S.....

From 081211-1214-Daddy@Evanston for NU graduation

We had great talks about my plan, dad's naval experiences and more about my family at Walker Bros, and Joan loved the gifts Mom and Dad prepared: tie, scarf, VCD and bookmark from National Palace Museum and an aboriginal magnet for Alexie. I also got a pretty purple necklace from Joan as a graduation gift, which I chose to wear on my graduation day. (It looks nice!)

Then, Dad and I started out Northwestern campus tour from the North. Joan dropped us at the Gym and so Dad got the chance to see the welfare to be a wildcat. Not to my surprise, Dad desire to take a look at the "academic" side of NU life, so I decided to bring him to one of the lab inside Tech Building- where Andrew was probably pretend-to-be working hard at :P Guess what? I thought Dad was quite satisfied at what he saw and felt at Tech.

Following along the Sheridan Rd., I took Dad to visit Kellogg building, the NU Library (Mom's great guess! Dad loved to see the library) and of course my department building- where I was pretend-to-be studying hard at. :P We were lucky enough that Prof. Tom Collinger was in his office, so we could talk to him in person for a quick moment and presented him the hard-copy Cheers magazine. I could see Tom's delight upon seeing the real pages. For that short moment, yes, I felt proud of myself!

From 081211-1214-Daddy@Evanston for NU graduation

Also for the first time, Dad hopped on eL and went downtown Chicago with me. We first went to Macy's inside the Marshall Field & Company building to buy Frango- the famous mint chocolate of Chicago- to treat people in Taiwan. Then we walked against typical Chicago wind to visit the Bean, the Pavilion and the Crown Fountain in the Millennium Park. I later took Dad to appreciate the best view in the world at John Hancock Observatory.

From 081211-1214-Daddy@Evanston for NU graduation

"Are those real view?" Mom questioned me upon viewing those photos.
"Indeed! You can see dad in some of the photos, and that proves everything." I replied.
"(speechless and astonished)"
We were really lucky that it was a very clear and sunny day when we headed for the visit. God knew our needs!

This day ended at Giordano's when Dad tried another kind of famous Chicago food- Deep Dish Pizza. I was delighted to find Dad with great appetite and talked a lot about everything. I knew I have to cherish every single moment like this and to pay attention to all those murmurs, because this might not happen too often in the months to come. Seriously, I valued all those moments with Daddy....


Walker Bros Original Pancake House- Wilmette
153 Green Bay Rd.
Wilmette, IL
(847)251-6000

Giordano's
730 N Rush St.
Chicago, IL
(312) 951-0747

Neil Young, Life Rocks

從上午11點一路Clinique馬拉松忙完後，還穿著business casual蹬著高跟鞋的我神奇的在平常不會有收訊的地方接到了通電話，然後off we go- Neil Young live concert。要說我衝動過分我一點也不會否認，$75的票啊～而且還是我在跳上車前完全不確定是否一定買得到票的狀況下.... But I did want to follow my instinct and did desire a celebration- a big, memorable one. 推辭了別的邀請，延後了另一個會面，唯一改變的就是我那陰錯陽差備著的平底鞋，走！

快速買了把傘、八塊雞塊、偷了一疊餐巾紙，我們的車在瘋狂的雨雨雪雪中駛向Allstate Arena。雖然三不五時有drift，車主還是在車陣中解決了雞腿、雞翅、高難度雞胸肉，同時很忙碌的挑音樂、講話。我們抵達的時間算早，莫名的又是靠車主去搞定多出來的那張票然後我們才歡天喜地進場－－當我心底小小怨恨平底鞋在水窪處處的雪地中踩踏實在濕的有點煩的時候。

暖場第一個樂團的音樂還不錯，主唱自己先招：I'm from Los Angeles, California. It's cold here! I wear scarf because it's too cold! It's not for fashion! 第二個團是New Orleans 的Dr. John。用鋼琴、風琴和一堆奇特樂器弄出來的funky music有好些讓人很享受很搖擺；我還記得自己一直想著：這樣的老頑童好可愛，如果我以後年紀大了也還能有這種這麼有特色的可愛多好！

時間踢他到了九點左右，Neil Young老爺爺本尊終於出場啦～開場的Love And Only Love很快的已經擄獲我的耳朵，雖然我之前並沒有聽過這首歌。後來我聽過的肉桂姑娘和牛仔姑娘都有出現啊XD，瞬間被戳戳："有沒有很耳熟的感覺".....。其他我明顯有共鳴的包含了環保意識濃烈的Mother Earth、Rockin' in the Free World和我的本日最愛Old Man，回程車上聽故事的時候才發現原來我明明就有聽過Old Man，可是因為編曲不一樣而現場演奏的時候歌曲魅力才爆發衝擊到我，所以聽起來跟沒聽過一樣。(話說最厲害的真的是車主，聽我不負責任沒有章法形容完喜歡的歌後居然認得出是Old Man，而且還記得有把歌丟給我聽過。強大！)

Mother Earth另外一個讓我印象深刻的原因是因為Neil Young當時悄悄的跑到了舞台較後方坐在管風琴上演奏，有時候配合吹口琴，有時候唱歌。Organ和harmonica的結合加上Neil充滿豐沛感情的嗓音，我靜靜的、靜靜的不自主隨著樂音澎湃。

Mother Earth (not the version we heard live, but the style was the same)


"Rockin' in the Free World 在香港場有唱過喔！200X年我有去聽。"有人很High的分享。
我政治人的神經立刻sense到了一點甚麼，忍不住想確認"真的沒有被禁唱嗎?!"好啦或許我的反應有點太欠揍了些，有這樣的反射動作也正常吧？這個部分的討論除了演唱會進行期間有幾個conversation 來往，當11點多表演結束後我們也小小的在車陣中繼續了一下。

"這樣就禁也未免太慘啦～不過之前Rolling Stone在中國要開演唱會時的確有被禁唱過四首歌....."
"是因為有敏感字眼吧.....AC/DC去中國巡迴過嗎？如果照你說他們的團名本身就inappropriate...."我問。
車主並不是全能有問必有答的，不過根據印象，AC/DC是真的還沒有中國經驗啦～

這天，還沒結束，車轉進了IHOP，一杯熱茶、一杯橙汁，說說笑笑間牛排、鬆餅、草莓可麗餅被狠狠瓜分。（我本來想點兒童餐的！可是menu上面明寫12歲以下適用，而我就算臉蛋可以騙人，臉上的妝和一身business casual實在是.....）不知道為甚麼，那樣的場景很快的讓我想到了一部日劇中提到的大眾食堂，和他們不知不覺續到第32杯的咖啡......

吃飽出門，再度駛進積雪的伊利諾州。我慶幸於因為放寬心而重新回到生命中的驚喜，

when I least expected

爆肝芝加哥走透透之行

其實真的很累ㄟ XD
可惡......等我衝完再來PO照片寫心得！
已經綜衡芝加哥南北了，殺！！

如果不要同時在晚上回來看到白目人留言，
打開資料又發現白目人幹了不負責任的事情屁股拍拍就消失，我應該會更開心一點

息怒～

Uncle's Family Tour Map in Chicago

View Larger Map
WUHUU~~

異鄉的母親節晚餐

我與Joan媽媽、Pat爸爸與Alexie弟弟一同到芝加哥的Chinatown萬壽宮Phoenix用餐度過。

這一天對我來說真是個追趕跑跳碰日。我從早上開始行程滿檔，起床後趕快去World Market挑給Joan的母親節禮物==>趕去上課==>聽Pizza Hut到系上八人大陣仗的經驗分享（President、CEO、CMO級人物及四位IMC系友一位Kellogg校友，陣仗夠大吧！）==>上課==>Laptop ER 搶救Toshiba==>開會討論報告==>晚餐之約。

人的潛能無限。瘋子（我）的潛能尤其無限.....

白天的事情就略過了吧.....整個進行下來是夠精采的，可是我最期待的真的是與「家人」在Phoenix共度晚餐的部分。第一次見到的Alexie才20歲，是Joan和Pat在他約莫六歲時領養的俄羅斯男孩，負責開車的他是典型的一邊開車一邊瓜瓜叫人，跟我一起坐在後座的Joan一度忍不住用很頭大的表情告訴我"I should have warmed you about Alexie. He's always like this, super energetic." 他穿耳洞他抽菸，他有時候出言不遜動作比較粗裡粗氣，這對啦！標準的（美式）青少年！相較於妹妹Stacy的異常穩重乖巧聽話（有看過我形容她的人應該就想得到了），Alexie貼近現實多了:P

塞車塞塞塞到終於抵達後，我自然的擔負起了點菜的責任。根據網路上面的資訊，Phoenix是少數還有推推車來送飲茶小點的餐廳，可是當我這麼問服務生「推車會不會來」的時候她卻睜大眼睛的告訴我哪有推推車這種事......Well好吧，那我們就乖乖從Menu上點菜也OK。Alexie興奮得吵著要海鮮炒麵，Pat說要試試沙茶牛肉，我看菜單上只有酥炸燒賣所以問了問服務生有哪幾種可選，她居然告訴我「就只有一種。不過也有蒸的可以點」.....我另外叫了一份豆腐煲一份時菜蝦仁，大家最關心的「到底好不好吃？」如果五分滿分我給四點五啦～

用餐當中當然不只是悶著頭吃，我也會跟大家介紹我們在吃甚麼和相關的飲食、文化資訊。Alexie其實也常常主動問東問西，問我我們在喝的是甚麼茶，喝茶是不是真的那麼受歡迎。我很享受聽他講話的感覺，因為雖然他從小在美國長大，可是他的口音很明顯還有濃濃的俄羅斯腔（不誇張！真的有！！！）超妙的～Pat和Joan更是會深入的問我更多關於食物本身、飲食習慣、與亞洲區其他食物或者他們所試過的其他食物的異同，關於我的學業、生活、計畫等等。Joan無意間提起了珍珠奶茶bubble tea的問題，滿臉問號的問我那到底是甚麼東西，說她最近剛剛讀到這個東西的資訊非常好奇，我解釋這個what is it的同時當然也不忘驕傲的告訴他們「珍珠奶茶是台灣的發明，後來風行日本、韓國、東南亞、中國等地然後風行世界」。那個當下我真的很驕傲耶！然後想當然爾，既然我們身在Chinatown，用餐下一秒立刻就帶大家直殺珍奶店去買兩杯給他們嘗鮮，Alexie愛死珍奶啦！

酒足飯飽之際我拿出了早上買好的禮物送給Joan，除了祝福她母親節快樂，也告訴她在台灣的我們也在同一個周日慶祝母親節，而且今年的這天也恰恰好是我媽媽生日。我很遺憾沒有辦法在家裡幫媽媽過生日，可是我很感激她能讓出門在外的我覺得總是有個媽媽在身旁照顧、關心我。我看得出來Joan很喜歡我送她的漂亮乾燥香精禮物，她的神情，讓我更想念媽媽......

買好珍奶、小逛了一下Chinatown，我們在櫥窗裡面看到弄紅龜粿的木模我於是也藉機跟他們介紹了一下這個器具與食品，看到一家還沒打烊的傳統糕餅店Pat進去挑餅乾的時候我也於是多補充了一些食材、口味等等的資訊。然後也順便提及了我手藝超群又會弄糕點又會包粽子的祖母。哎呀～我果真想念家鄉的口味啊.....

總歸而言，這天是過得很充實很幸福的。晚餐能跟「家人」共度共享，果真才是世界上最甜蜜的事情啊～

媽媽，母親節快樂！生日快樂！
等我回家，等我回家陪你吃晚餐喔～


萬壽宮Phoenix(就別再考我中英文餐廳名字到底有甚麼關係了吧.....)
318 West Cermak Ave, Chicago, IL 60616
CTA Red Line Cermak-Chinatown St.附近徒步五分鐘範圍內

愛的代價 Price of Love- Second Story Festival@Webster's Wine Bar

I went to the Second Story Festival with Ann tonight at Webster's Wine Bar to meet two of her long time great friends. One of them is a warm, talented black woman she worked with in Washington DC, and one of the storyteller tonight; the other is Candy, a Taiwanese girl Ann knew since young in Texas.

The appetizers we had there were all amazingly tasty, but unfortunately I only remember one of the dish's name- Pate. I also loved their coffee moose, our desert. It made me feel like in heaven~ However, what touched me most tonight was the stories told by the five storytellers. Their story ranged from lesbian issues, break-up couples, father and daughter, and love affairs outside of marriage. To me, every single story centered one very basic, important yet complicated theme: LOVE.

"To love," I couldn't help but toasted my second wine with the girls.
I wish I could write down my feelings at that very moment, really!

And on my way back, this famous song- Price of Love- hit me, echoing in my mind again and again....

Let's go, let's go, you have to learn how to grow up
Let's go, let's go, you have to undergo some pain, some struggle in life sometimes anyways
Let's go, let's go, find a home for your own heart
You've cried, you've gotten broken heart
But that's the price of love....

Webster's Wine Bar
1480 West Webster Street
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 868-0608
Close to Metra Clybourn station. Direction from Clybourn to Webster's
No Photo ID check, no entrance fee for the bar
For the Second Story Festival show, we paid $15 each including 4 red wine tasting.
Food was FANTASTIC, but the charge did not include in our $15.

愛的代價 　唱：張艾嘉　作詞：李宗盛　作曲：李宗盛
記得年少時的夢嗎　像朵永遠不凋零的花
陪我經過那風吹雨打　看世事無常　看滄桑變化
那些為愛所付出的代價　是永遠都難忘的啊
所有真心的　痴心的話　永在我心中雖然已沒有他

*走吧　走吧　人總要學著自己長大
走吧　走吧　人生難免經歷苦痛掙扎
走吧　走吧　為自己的心找一個家
也曾傷心流淚　也曾黯然心碎　這是愛的代價*

也許我偶爾還是會想他
偶爾難免會惦記著他
就當他是個老朋友啊
也讓我心疼　也讓我牽掛
只是我心中不再有火花
讓往事都隨風去吧
所有真心的　痴心的話
仍在我心中雖然已沒有他

*

W報報之【芝加哥也到春暖花開的時節，Wendy報報又來囉~】

各位敬愛的前輩、各位親愛的好朋友們，好久不見！

沒錯，我在美國雖然天天累到劈啪喘但是依然活力十足的活著。
距離上次與各位連繫以來，我在團團轉的究竟是甚麼事呢？

首先，學業。
第二個學期（2008年1月底至3月底）早就過完了，現在的我已經在第三學期（2008年4月初至6月初）的掙扎裡打滾。

第二學期的「資料庫處理」與「行銷經濟學」一如所預料佔據了我大多數的時間，另外的兩門課「媒體經濟學」與「股東關係與社群經營」的後期發展則與前述兩科結合讓我陷入了空前恐怖的期末團體報告+期末考試風暴！還記得有個周六我從上午九點連開三個會到晚上十一點，而環顧四周同學，人人都有滿手這樣讓人連抱怨的力量都沒有的經驗。最後一個資料庫的報告我們還有馬拉松式15小時討論的歷史紀錄！期末考完的那剎那，大家真的抱起來大叫慶祝地獄生活的結束啊~~~

結束了前兩個學期的所有共同必修，第三學期開始我們各選專門開始客製化自己的課程。
我最後還是選擇了Brand & Communications（品牌與傳播）而不是資料導向的Analysis & Insight（資料分析與洞悉），所以除了一門共同科目的「傳播法規倫理學」以外，我另外選了兩門「品牌與廣告決策」、「行銷公關學」及一門稍為資料導向的「行銷組合」。上了三周課程目前為止的心得是：學得真痛快！雖然地獄般的期末報告風暴又已經開始響起警報（這次有三門課的案子都是企業委託案），老師們「分散風險」的教學風格更讓我從這周開始每周有至少兩個報告截稿，但是看在學費都已經花了這麼多的份上，咬牙，也是要過啊！

如果你又好奇我是否還有再參加甚麼其他的大型會議，感謝西北大學Kellogg商學院的豐沛資源，我這周末剛剛參加完大中華區商業會議，讓自己雖然人在美國，也能了解世界另一端大熱點中國市場的動態，划算！

接著，玩樂。
我的春假很悠閒的在芝加哥度過。三月底的芝加哥還下過兩場大雪，我於是在那樣的時候乖乖待在家裡看日劇、煮好吃的、上上網寫寫生活心得純放鬆。中間當然也有朋友來訪的時候，也趁春假的尾巴跟朋友開車去芝加哥南邊一點健行。那個假期裡我更體會、更珍重生活中平靜、安穩的價值。
就算只有我與一兩個朋友待在Evanston，生活也還是很美麗。

最後，大家最關心的實習。
我的暑假計畫已經大勢底定了，我參與系上新規劃的Global Residency(國際實習)計劃，將在6/16-8/29期間用部分的時間在美國上課、準備，部分的時間前往上海某家公司與當地員工一同工作。
6/16-7/06 我在芝加哥上課、準備文件、透過視訊等與上海端通聯
7/07-7/18 我在上海Yum! Brand 負責KFC肯德基的夏日飲品推廣案
7/19-8/29 返回芝加哥，持續與上海端互動，準備期末提案報告
我們整班80人中有20人參與Global Residency計畫，共分四組人馬(四個專案)為三家美商企業工作。
我的team裡面有兩個台灣人(含我)、一個俄羅斯人、一個美國人，未來可能還會再多一位夥伴。
這樣的機會聽起來很有趣吧？
這會是我第一次前往上海，第二度踏上中國的土地(前一次去北京)，
歡迎各位經驗豐富的前輩不吝賜教分享您的心得與指點，我一定虛心受教。

講到暑假，想必大家同樣會關心「那你會不會回來台灣過暑假？」
我預計在8/29實習結束過後返台，將會停留約三周到西北再度開學前。
雖然時間不長，我在台灣的時候會十分期待能有機會與各位親朋好友碰上一面，
日期更加確定以後再向各位補充報告囉！

芝加哥的春天還在攝氏6-15度間徘徊，不過晴朗的天空已經讓每個人的心情都愉悅起來了。
希望在你那一端，也是春光明媚，讓你心情保持輕鬆愉快 :)

大家保重！

Wendy

生命，就該花費在美好的事物上-P.F. Chang's & Prairie Moon

禮拜五的傍晚，我漂漂亮亮的出門到downtown Chicago參加系上的Happy Hour，在大好人Aping車上聽了很多有趣的故事一路塞車塞到城裡的結果就是其實Happy Hour都要結束了我們幾個傢伙才剛剛到:P不過High 咖總是有地方可以去，於是跟著ChienYi、Aping、Evan、Andrea一行人跑到附近不遠的P.F. Chang's餐廳大吃九點鐘的周五晚餐。

跟這群人一起的行動真的很歡樂耶！不但是吃了很棒很豐盛的一餐：

CHANG'S CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS==>
BEEF WITH BROCCOLI
SPINACH STIR-FRIED WITH GARLIC
CRISPY HONEY SHRIMP
CHOW MEIN BEEF
還有很多Paul Wang與班上一群每上課每笑倒人的東倒西歪故事。而且沒想到我自己也在席間成了大家努力「教育」的下個焦點：「妳！現在開始不准說 完整句！年輕人要跳tone、每句話不可以超過十個字，現在開始練習！」CheinYi非常認真的宣示我的訓練計畫 :P

讓我們來猜猜這個計畫能不能成功吧，各位看倌～


禮拜六的故事則是與完全不一樣的一掛人一起譜寫的。因緣際會下我接受了Martin(DE)的通知與Briana的邀請在晚上十點跟他們及朋友們一同出門到Evanston南端的Prairie Moon參加G-Salsa Party。我那年久失修的舞藝啊.... 在跟Martin跳一支舞以後瞬間漏餡，果真跳舞這種事情是需要持續練習的！不過這個微醺的夜最好玩的部分其實是跟新朋友舊朋友的交談。上次一起去hiking的Soren和Rishi這晚都有出現，我另外又多熟悉了來自加拿大東邊的Derm和來自巴西里約的Eduardo。跟Derm不是第一次打照面了，卻到半年後的這天晚上才真的熟悉起來真是可惜（早一點熟就可以強迫他教我Finance XD），他是一個很健談很友善的大男生，在我第一次倒啤酒出糗後非常大方的教我「課本裡面不會教的正確倒酒方式」而且幫我續杯，同時堅持要我練習倒一次給他看；Eduardo更是不用說了，光是因為他從里約來我對他整個人的形象就「登登登登登」加爆炸多分！沒辦法，誰叫我骨子裡就熱愛巴西、熱愛巴西人！

於是這時候可能又有人要問啦～到底聊甚麼東西可以聊這麼久，從晚上十點多聊到一點多啊？簡單評估一下，我就得到本人的屢試不爽聊天鐵則了：聊我的旅行故事　：）　從我去過巴西這件事==>必聊模聯==>必聊德國、埃及行==>還去過甚麼歐洲國家？==>在瑞士的三個月==>倒推回突尼西亞行==>童軍活動==>日、韓、馬來西亞......你應該感覺得到坐在我旁邊找我聊天閒不下來的狀況了吧？呵呵

兩杯Blue Moon下肚，時間不知不覺「踢答」到了一點半，跟大家一同步出Prairie Moon的時候Derm把左手拱成了圈要我搭著他走，我於是大方的配合，就這麼嘻嘻哈哈的和Derm、和Rishi一路走一路繼續聊，直到除了Martin以外的幾個男生經過1800 Club禁不住誘惑又進去續攤為止 :P

媽媽，你女兒到底是哪根筋不對勁，反而是在這種奇妙的場合奇妙的設定下才覺得放鬆、自在？
You know what I mean.


P.F. Chang's China Bistro(Chicago)
530 N. Wabash Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 828-9977
CTA Red Line Grand St.
這個連鎖中式餐廳在很多城市都有分店，我們五個人平攤當晚費用每人$13吃很飽又很滿足！大推！

Prairie Moon
1502 Sherman Ave.
Evanston IL 60201
(847) 864-8328

Happy Spring Hiking at Starved Rock Park!

It's an amazing trip, a very sunny and joyful one.

Martin and Briana started to have this thought on planning a hiking for the spring break, so I asked Kerry and Joan for some information. Eventually, we decided on going to Starved Rock State Park for a one-day trip. Eight of us showed up and joined the hike yesterday, including people from Economics, Math, and IMC programs; and from a country in Caribbean, China, Denmark, Germany, and Taiwan. Sounds cool? I think so.

We drove for 2.5 hours to get there and directly started our hiking. Frankly, the Starved Rock hiking routes are quite easy for everyone to go. We saw many families go there together, and I felt like "taking a walk" throughout the period instead of "hiking." There were limited hills to challenge hikers, and the stairs there were neither too long nor too steep. Anyone can enjoy this place, truly.

I like the waterfalls and canyons we visited yesterday, but it was a pity that some views would definitely look prettier when it's summer or fall time. However, instead of complaining, I chose to appreciate the desolate beauty of Starved Rock. To be frank, I felt satisfied about going back to Nature already, which was very rare for my current life here. This also brought me back to my sweet Swiss memories when I had a bunch of friends who went hiking together, cheered for the sunrise/sunset together, and celebrated for our achievement together.....

Yes, I missed you all- Andrea, Chris, Julia and Teddi. I miss you all a lot!

Luckily, new friends here gave me some other inspirations as well. I enjoyed talking to Martin, Briana and Soren on our way. I loved their silly jokes and behaviors. I loved our pleasant pace. We were all good company to one another for this beautiful sunny day.

Five of us ended our day with entertaining hot pot in Chinatown in the evening. It was Martin, Soren and Rishi's first time to try it, and they not only enjoyed the food but also enjoyed the way to eat it. They refrained from using the net spoon to get their food and insisted to use chopsticks to pick up tofu, fish balls, pork balls and other ingredients. "We are fishing!" they said, while breaking tofu into pieces and making the fish balls rolling around the pot for still another round.....

Well, since everyone had great fun, we had nothing else to comment~

080329-Starved Rock Hiking

Starved Rock State Park, Utica, Illinois
Driving direction: approx. 2.5 hrs from Evanston to get there(Rte 178 & 71, Utica, IL 61373)
Trail Map is available HERE.