Week 3 observations

I have been living in Chicago for 3 weeks. Throughout that time I've been observing what people do, what are their lifestyles like, their routines? I've never lived in a city, and have definitely never lived anywhere like Garfield Park. I've never felt so rich and white in my life. I'm going to mention some of my most profound observations these last few weeks, as basic as they may seem.

The first week I was here we went to a movie in the park. I was amazed by the culture of the neighborhood kids and families. The way families relate seemed so foreign, like I have no idea what these people are like.

My morning jogs are also great for observing people. Garfield Park is 1 block from my house, so I usually jog around there. On my morning jogs I see remnants of the night before. I dodge crushed alcohol bottles, notice the trash in the grass and shyly acknowledge the homeless man still sleeping on the bench. However, the last week or so, I've been jogging a bit latter in the morning and am part of a whole different world. I notice parents walking their kids to one of the 2 schools on our road. I wave to people on their morning walks, I see teachers hurrying to their classrooms, barely beating the kids. I see people biking to work, and even saw a man watering his small bed of flowers. These were normal people in their mundane routines.

This Saturday was also a great observational day. In the morning I gathered all my laundry, filled my backpack and small suitcase, caught a bus, and went to the laundry mat. I have to admit, I've only been to a laundry mat once in my life, but I think I did alright. Saturday morning is when people do laundry, so the place was quite busy. Again, I was struck by the black culture I experienced at the movie in the park. It was harsh, bossy, yet had some loving qualities, like bantering. TO top it off, people don't usually wear their best clothes on laundry day. You wash everything you ever wear, then pull out your oldest, ugliest, dirtiest, barely recognizable pair of sweats from the depths of the dresser to wear. I was definitely guilty of this also.

However, after laundry I dropped it off at my house and proceeded up the road to meet team members at an event going on. As I was walking, I noticed a little league football game going on in the park. There were cars lined up all along the street, and families with kids sitting on blankets watching the game. As I walked some more I noticed several gatherings in different parts of the park. There were people eating and talking together while playing horseshoes and Frisbee in the park on a Saturday afternoon. How picturesque! I felt like I was in suburbia!

I love seeing things like that, because so often I have trouble relating with what I see. Houses 2 feet apart, no yards, locked fences separating the house from the street, trash everywhere, urban people. But then I see those urban people playing horse shoes, walking kids to school, and think that perhaps their lives aren't so different.