New Faces and New Places: Orientation Week

Yes, I am not the only one starting on a higher education adventure. This week, the freshman set upon Evanston with their leggings, jersey-made EVERYTHING and flip flops (not too mention the embarrassingly short jeans shorts which apparently are all the rage at the moment). All over Evanston you can see frazzled parents and clueless youngsters clutching their Target accessories and IKEA furniture while praying a cop doesn't ticket them for double parking. I almost fell over when I saw oceans of students wearing Northwestern University Class of '14 shirts! Who graduates in 2014?!?! What does you mean you don't know what a VCR is or how to work a tape player?!?! Crazy.


In order to earn my stipend, I must fulfill my Graduate Assistantship which means I will work in a design shop (Lighting, Costume or Scenic). My GA will be with the Costume shop. Although I am not scheduled for assisting until Spring, I spent Orientation week learning hand stitches, how to use a sewing machine and the layouts of the various costume storage rooms. We also rented a van and drove to downtown Chicago to explore the many and vast fabric stores. I felt like I was on Project Runway even though my skill level barely qualifies me to sew on an ornamental button.







This is our lovely van that was rented for our adventure. The girl in purple is Sally and she is a 2nd year Costume Designer while the man barely seen in the van is David, a fellow first year director.

Fun at the fabric store!

(where did nothing but focus on not getting car sick and pet all of the softest bolts :) )

Be Cool About Fire Safety:

All 1st year Directors and Designers must take a series of safety classes including How To Use A Fire Extinguisher. Using a fire extinguisher is fairly simple although the thought of having to identify which fire extinguisher to use depending on the type of fire makes me nervous! Thankfully, there are only two kinds of fire extinguishers in our building so we only had to practice with those.

The various kinds of fire extinguishers (ooo! ahh!)

Me, using a fire extinguisher full of pressurized water.

Yu, 1st Year Scenic Designer, putting out a grease fire with a CO2 fire extinguisher. Since she is about 4' 11" and weighs close to 100 pounds in the rain, she had to drag the extinguisher Backdraft style to the flames.

Anya, 1st Year Lighting Designer, and John, 1st Year Director, teaming up to fully extinguish a wood pile. These pictures fail to show how extremely windy and cold the fire pit was that day so in actuality no one wanted to put out our only heat source!





The next day, we had a 4 hour CPR and First Aid Training session including how to use an AED machine (Automated External Defibrillator). It was very stressful and just another reminder why I worship the nurses in my family :) To make matters worse, the balloon lungs on my dummy were not hooked up correctly so the chest would not rise and fall. It was the only time I've ever been trained so I have to wait for a heart attack victim to fall before me in order to find out if I was compressing and ventilating properly. Thank God for the Good Samaritan Law! Eat your leafy green vegetables folks!

Day 2 Lots o Pictures Part 2

A short walk from my house (roughly 20 minutes) is the Northwestern University campus.

Along the way, I stumbled across this sign a few times and have no idea what it means (the one on the left, I know what 2 hour parking is. I AM in grad school for Gosh sake!) My heart sank when I saw this sign because I know its only a matter of time until I DO know what it means. However, it is lovely to know that I live in an area that cleans its streets weekly. It makes me feel like I was raised in a slum in Washington State since I believe we get our cul-de-sac swept about three times a year.

I plan to study, fall, drop books and generally hang out by this building as much as possible while studying at Northwestern. Who knows? I might meet the next Warren Buffet (MUCH younger I hope). So many people have insisted that I marry for money and shant let them down!

The fountain of wisdom flows through books

Deering Library, a modified Gothic structure modeled after King's College Cambridge Chapel in Cambridge, England. Completed 1933.

However...

With all of the Gothic beauty of Northwestern University, I will be spending most of my time in the Theatre and Interpretation Center. Yes the TIC. Which was completed in 1980 by someone who apparently once dreamt of a shoebox. But it is packed full of theatrical goodies like theatres and scene shops. We don't need the beauty on the outside since we create our own on the inside (still, a gargoyle or two would have been nice). I was stuck with the same jab of my pride at Trinity since the Samuel Beckett Centre was a "newer" building and thus did not have any of the historical beauty that was found in/on other buildings sprinkled across the rest of the campus. Although I am sure cinder blocks have played a significant role in history, I doubt it was for their aesthetic. Especially when painted mustard.




Finally, I leave you with this. Yes, the TIC is within a stones' throw of direct beach access! (Is it still a "beach" when the water isn't salty? Hmmmm.... shorefront?) Here I have really lucked out. At Trinity College Dublin we had TWO on campus pubs and now at Northwestern I have immediate beach access. At Western Washington University, I believe we had two Starbucks and a build-your-own-wrap bar plus they sold raw cookie dough in the campus store. I certainly have led a sweet and blessed life ;)

Day 2: Lots o' photos (and drat, more walking) Part 1

Day 2: A photographic documentation of my Evanston location. I fear I absolutely love all of the houses I see around here so expect more photos of random houses.








We start here with my house! My door is the blue door on the left. There are five 3 bedroom apartments in this house.




I walk about 5 minutes before...




Hello picturesque Americana!

The neighborhoods around Northwestern are gorgeous. So many different kinds of houses from the traditional barn like design to the more "Father of the Bride" stately American home.

This is my favorite that I have seen so far. It literally took my breath away when I walked past!

All of these houses are from the same street! I am amazed and appreciative of the many different designs. I wish we could revive this idea instead of cookie cutter grey housing developments.

Each house seems to tell its own different story. These English cottage style houses look like something out of a fairy tale.

I notice houses and little touches that look like this all over the area. It reminds me of a stained glass window we had at the Museum of Glass by Frank Lloyd Wright. Perhaps this connection is not unfounded since Wright worked in Chicago after growing up in Wisconsin. I think what I am actually seeing are many examples of Prairie School design (Wright being one of the most famous designers of the movement). According to Wikipedia,

The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament. Horizontal lines were thought to evoke and relate to the native prairie landscape.

Part 2 of my outing to follow!

(No more houses I promise)

Day 1: "Life moves pretty fast...."

I arrived very late on September 8th having just enough time before bed to have a great conversation with one of my new flatmates (Dorine from Holland!), unpack a little (I lined up all of my shoes in my closet) and dodge the question on Dorine's face ("Why do you get the largest bedroom?"). Thems the break, sweetheart.

On the morning of September 9th, I was roused from sleep by the gentle clomping of the French students above me ("French students" = people from the country of France not individuals studying the French language). One of them must spend all of his concentration on making sure he walks on his heels as much as possible. Grrr. I am debating whether to say something to them or simply leave some slippers on their doorstep with a dead frog splayed across the toes. Hmmm...

Seeing as I have no friends as of yet in Evanston and a few days before Orientation, I decided to walk the 3 1/2 miles to the nearest Target for some apartment necessity shopping and taxi back. My journey begins with a series of wrong turns that lead me through the truly beautiful neighborhoods of this college town. Every John Hughes movie I have ever seen now makes even more sense. At every turn I expect to see Long Duck Dong fall from a tree; Ferris Bueller run past; Molly Ringwald standing in a pink dress and peering cautiously at me through her deep brown eyes.

Each house is completely unique from the one that stands next to it. Some have a Tudor feel to them. Others have plantation house kinds of detail. Many have a large, expansive, airy look to them like a barn. I neglected to bring my camera but I will post some shots in my next entry (I just hope I am not arrested for being a Peeping Tom).

The walk was shock to my system. My legs have not walked so much since my days of living in Ireland. I considered it a necessary baptism by fire to let my body know we were back to student life. It was a very long yet very successful trek to Target. The rest of my night was spent cleaning my new dishes and silverware along with some of the family donated kitchen items brought by my other flatmate, Sara from IL, I have yet to meet. Some of the items must have been wedding presents at an Aunt's wedding in 1975. I was cleaning food from appliances that originally went in for a dinner when Reagan was in the White House. Gross.

Conclusion: I am now living in the Midwest. When I arrived in Ireland in 2002, I expected a shock to the system and was immediately aware of being in a foreign place from the moment I stepped off the plane. Moving to another part of America is more tricky. You are not given that immediate jolt so the inconsistencies sneak up on you and stare out eerily until you notice them. Example: What the Hell is a Jewel-Osco? Apparently it is a grocery store. There it was tucked into the same plaza with Target and Best Buy.

Moving to another region in America is like using left-handed scissors. I am American. I live in America. Scissors are not new to me. I understand the concept of scissors. But moving to the Midwest means rediscovering what I thought I knew so well and perhaps even took for granted.