Surprise!

Last Friday night, after a long shift babysitting, I was exhausted from the week and was glad to finally have the chance to lay down and watch some TV. I was in my friends apartment watching “The Grinch” when all of a sudden I had people jumping on me!

It turned out to be three of my best friends from home who came to Chicago to surprise me for my birthday! I had no idea they were coming so when I realized who it was that was jumping on me I was pretty much speechless. It was great timing because another friend, Tyler, was in town for a Skrillex concert. And his dad has an awesome apartment right down on Michigan Ave where we got to hang out Friday night. His dad’s apartment is on the 13th floor and has a balcony! Being in the middle of downtown Chicago on a balcony at night is an amazing experience. All of the lights and city noises made me feel like I was in a movie. I loved it!

I wasn’t sure how my friends managed to surprise me, but apparently they had been in contact with my roommate for weeks. Even though they all go to different colleges they were able to meet up in Michigan City, Indiana and take the Metra all the way into the city for only $8.50! My roommate even told them how to take the ‘L’ up to Loyola. Once they got downtown, they easily made it to my room without me ever expecting it.

Saturday we woke up and went downtown to shop. We ate at a great food court in the Water Tower mall called Food Life for lunch and had Giordano’s pizza for dinner. Yum!

The best part about our Saturday shopping trip was that I got to see the Occupy Chicago protesters for the first time. I have to be honest, they were not as big and noticeable as I expected them to be. I did not even see them until my friend pointed them out as we walked by. Their message Saturday was that “Occupy Chicago stands behind Egypt.” Even though they were not the big presence I was expecting, it was still cool to see protesters for such a big movement in person.

Getting around the city with my friends was so easy with Chicago’s public transportation. I had the season pass (called the Upass) that Loyola provides for their students. And my friends each paid under $15 for a weekend pass. Once we had our passes in hand we were off to explore and conquer the city.