Gettin’ Carried Away

When I went to the Big Apple for the first time, I fell in love with it. The bright lights of Times Square and the bustling crowds on the city streets were part of a world I had never been exposed to. Sure, I already lived in Chicago while attending Loyola University. And I frequently shopped on Belmont and strolled down Michigan Avenue. But New York is just… different. It’s bigger. It’s brighter. It’s busier. So when I was given the chance to go back, I was lucky enough to visit for four months!

I consider one my greatest achievements in life to be getting accepted into New York University during my senior year of high school. However, since the tuition was so very expensive, I had to put my dream of living in New York City on hold for awhile. The school liked to torture me with newsletters about 4-6 week summer classes. I had always dreamed of taking a class there, but where was I going to find summer housing?

One summer day, I received yet another newsletter from NYU. I was just about to throw it in the garbage when these words caught my attention: Spring in New York. As I read the tiny brochure, suddenly jam packed with TONS of useful information, I began to set my sights on heading to the East Coast to be part of a brand-new, four-month study abroad-like program.

Once again, I had to apply to NYU. I nervously awaited a second acceptance letter. When I got it, I felt just as good as I did back in 2003. Except this time, I was finally going to live in Manhattan! And I am so proud to say that I am one of the original 20-something students who participated in the first Spring in New York. On January 11, 2005, I packed up a few suitcases and moved to the Big Apple.

Here are some of the things I did during my four short months of living in New York City.

• Attended Opening Day 2005 at Yankee Stadium: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox.
• Went to several other Yankees games against the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays, the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays.
• Saw many Broadway musicals and off-Broadway plays: Phantom of the Opera, Rent, The Musical of Musicals, Good Vibrations, Movin’ Out, Spamalot, Doubt and Julius Caesar.
• Caught a glimpse of celebrities: Tim Curry, Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Christopher Sieber, Brian O’Byrne, Cherry Jones and Denzel Washington!
• Stood in a torrential downpour to see Kelly Clarkson at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
• Strolled through Central Park to see Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates project.
• Acted as a tour guide to friends and family who visited me.

Stay tuned for more detailed posts about my New York life!

I feel very privileged to have lived in several different locations over the past few years. My first home away from home was situated in Rogers Park, on the North Side of Chicago. I was attending Loyola University, and I was living on my own for the first time. I may not have trekked across the ocean for my first year of college, but I was stuck a good hour or so away from my hometown, and I found myself lost in an unfamiliar place. Since I came home every weekend, and I only went to Loyola for one year, I have always considered myself a visitor, rather than a resident, of Rogers Park.

While the area might not be the highlight of the North Side, it is still a very well-located community, full of college-aged kids who are always looking for something amusing to do. The neighborhood is nestled in between the C.T.A. Red Line Loyola and Granville stops. Nearby, there are well-known grocery stores, chain restaurants and, best of all, little hole-in-the-wall shops and bistros that you would otherwise never know about unless you spent a great deal of time in Rogers Park.

My favorite restaurant near Loyola happens to be a yummy pizza joint by the name of Carmen’s. It’s just a three-minute walk north of the Loyola Red Line stop! Because the station is across the street from the college campus, I never would have found Carmen’s if I didn’t venture down the west side of Sheridan Road one day after class.

If you want to try some authentic Chicago-style pizza without emptying your wallet, this is the place where you want to dine! Located in downtown Evanston, Carmen’s specializes in making one of the Windy City’s most significant dishes.

Although the exterior is a little run-down, you must venture into this cozy restaurant to truly experience fine, yet inexpensive Chicago/Italian dining. More often than not, there is rarely a huge crowd, so at any given time, the place boasts plenty of space for you and 20 of your closest friends! The gleaming wood tables are intimately lit by soft glows emanating from charming green and gold sconces.

My usual order is a thin crust, sausage pizza. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get from the oven to your table, which isn’t bad at all! The cheese-to-sausage-to-sauce ratio is perfect. There is also just enough crust at the edge of the pie for you to easily hold each delectable slice. Side note: if you eat your pizza with a knife and fork, you might as well forget about coming to Carmen’s with me!

Thin crust. Stuffed Crust. Small. Large. Pepperoni. Sausage. Green Peppers. etc, etc, etc! You can order your pizza any way you want it! And if you have a hankering for other Italian favorites, the place also serves a variety of pastas and sandwiches. Dessert is an easy choice: cheese cake or a cannoli. YUM!

It’s time to check out the coveted colleges of Boston! We first hit up Harvard.

I have to say that I expected more out of this school. Some of the campus is very green and some of the old buildings boast classic columns and ivy-lined walls. However, most of the area is made up of a huge empty quad, surrounded by bland buildings that pretty much sit on top of each other. My favorite part of the campus was the bookstore.

I love books. I could have spent hours inside the Harvard Bookstore. I gave myself 20 minutes, since I had other places to see, and I ended up purchasing one book. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a very eclectic taste in music. I love it all: classical, country, rock, hip-hop. I also have a certain group of friends, who are very dear to me, that love everything metal. So when I saw the book All Known Metal Bands, I just had to buy it! Author Dan Nelson lists every known metal band up until the year 2007. In case you were wondering, my friends back home got a kick out of the book.

MIT was nothing special either. There are a few interestingly designed buildings, but most of the campus is pretty much just a bunch of buildings in the middle of the city. I did buy a math-related birthday gift for a good friend, though, so the visit wasn’t a total loss.

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Aside from the Fenway Franks, we had yet to enjoy any of the typical Bostonian delicacies. We decided to dine at Atlantic Fish, which is situated in the Back Bay. I’m not a fan of clam chowder, so I opted to try something brand-new. We ordered quahogs for an appetizer. But let me tell you, those things are not appetizing! Quahogs are clams. And these particular clams were cooked with chorizo (Mexican sausage), gorgonzola (Italian blue cheese) and corn. I’m not sure why this combination even sounded tempting to me, but at least I tried some of the freshest seafood in the country. Next time, I’ll stick with shrimp.

At the end of the night, we headed back towards Fenway to find a place to watch the second game in the Red Sox/White Sox series. We ended up back at Boston Billiards, which was just as crowded as it was the night before. However, it had been suggested that the place would clear out about 15 minutes to game time. And it did! We ate some savory popcorn chicken and salty fries. We sat on am extremely comfortable, chocolate-colored leather couch that faced a huge projection screen. It was one of those couches that just eats you alive! While the White Sox lost (AGAIN), I still enjoyed my time at Boston Billiards as I sprawled out on the cozy couch as I sipped my ice cold Stella.

Beer. Baseball. Beantown. What a trip!