An end to the long trail has finally come. What better way to end it than in the windy city that will soon be my home. We have a long way until Match Day (it's in March) so until then, the future is unknown. There were no real farewells as we left the city because I'll be flying back next week for a school-related event that includes mock lectures, tours, and a search for a place to live. I'm keen on meeting more of my future classmates and hopeful that I can form a close-knit group of friends.

Anyway back to the trip. Our first day was spent unpacking and looking for food. The cold weather makes one less inclined to venture out but I brought my strongest winter coat, blanket scarf, and thermal leggings underneath my jeans for the trip so I felt mostly prepared for the chill. We weren't ready to venture into the heart of the city so we looked for food close by and found Shawarma Inn—what a treat!




I ate maybe a third of my meal before boxing it up for later since we had plans to eat at Peqoud's Pizza for the dinner before Ben's residency interview. I had only eaten one other Chicago-style pizza (Giordano's Pizza!) so I was eager to compare the two. Pequod's was definitely tasty but I think I'll tip my hat over to Giordano's for my favorite Chicago-style.

As for the company, it was pleasant. After meeting so many EM-hopefuls, I would've thought to pick out a type. I figured the EM-candidate would be jovial, maybe even hyperactive, and dinner would be loud and fast-paced. While there have been a few instances of people like this, the majority of them seemed more laid-back and world-weary from all the traveling. I suppose that could apply to all the 4th years who are going down the interview trail. As for the first-, second-, and third-year residents that we met at these dinners, I noticed an air of relaxation about them. Not as though they lacked any hardships in their respective programs, but as though they had acquired an intrinsic calmness, a quiet surety that I would imagine you could only gain through a grueling process.



The next day was Ben's interview so I had to find something for myself to do. It's easy to sleep in and skip the complimentary breakfast but I decided to work against the habit and get myself moving. My expectations weren't high but I was pleasantly surprised to see an assortment of breads, pastries, eggs, fruit, and other delicious breakfast options. I usually drink a ton of water when I travel but I've started drinking cranberry juice with my water for breakfast times. The tartness just cuts through the heaviness of breakfast meals for me. The photo below shows the snow hadn't diminished overnight. Need to get used to seeing this, don't I?

I've been on a ramen kick since Hao introduced me to delicious ramen close to my hometown. Once Ben got back from his interview, I had to find my coveted food! A place called Ramen Misoya was highly recommended on Yelp so we headed there. Ben was a huge fan of the spicy tonkatsu, while I enjoyed my regular tonkatsu (also added chasu and miso boiled egg). Both were Hokkaido style ramen so if I get a chance, I would like to try the other styles. Looking at the photos again makes me long for another bowl of ramen!




We stayed a different hotel, Hotel Cass, which was right in the heart of the city. There was a Trader Joe's next door and plenty of Starbucks to keep us walking through the night. I resisted the urge to take too many photos but I snapped a view from our floor and the street later at night. I wondered if the more native Chicagoans would not be similarly attired but I found that my heavy parka fit in nicely. Just need some duck boots and maybe a long puffer jacket!




There were a lot of food options to pick from but I didn't want to be driving around all over the city so we settled for finding whatever was within comfortable walking distance. It's humorous but when I saw Waffles Cafe, I thought why not? There was a steady stream of customers so I knew it wasn't terrible choice.

The picture on the LEFT is the Waffles Flight. Starting from the left side: Liege Waffle with apple compote and whipped cream, Matcha Green Tea Waffle with ground pistachio and lemon ginger cream, Red Velvet Waffle with strawberry compote, walnuts, and whipped cream cheese, and lastly, Mexican Chocolate Waffle topped with cocoa powder and orange vanilla cream.

The picture on the RIGHT is a Blueberry Wonut with lemon sugar and fresh blueberries. Don't they look delicious?! Our love for breakfast food for lunch or dinner is still going strong.



We also stopped by Garrett's Popcorn for Ben's favorite style, the Garrett Mix, otherwise known as Chicago style popcorn. I wonder if this style originated at this gourmet popcorn shop...? In any case, picked up a medium bag and munched on that on our way back to our hotel. I didn't want the night to end so quickly so we stopped by Trader Joe's and picked up MY FAVORITE chocolate chip cookies. We stopped at a Starbucks for the usual chai tea latte and spent a couple of hours in the hotel lobby asking each other questions from Arthur Aron's study about falling in love. I had read about in a NYT article last week so I thought this would be the perfect time to try it out.



And so ends our brief stay in Chicago. We'll be back next week but in the northern parts of Illinois. We made plans with Hao and others to watch 'American Sniper' but that didn't pan out due to poor seating arrangements. We ended up playing buzz word at Boba Zone so the night wasn't lost. After a long day of flying and playing board games late into the night, I pretty much passed out as soon as my head touched the pillow. A splendid way to spend the past three days.