Early this afternoon, Mom and my Laurie dropped me off in front of the Hotel Allegro for my first day of Chicago Semester Orientation. We said quick goodbyes as the porter collected my bags and showed me to the lobby. For some reason, many of the rooms were not ready for us students to check in. My dear Jacqui Rischer and I were both in jeans, thinking we would have an hour in our rooms to change. Other students were in casual clothes as well, but they were able to get into their rooms and change. But Jacqui and I waited in the lobby until about 5 minutes before our first session began, and our rooms were still not ready. So we had to gather clothes from our suitcases (which were being stored behind the front desk) and change in the lobby restroom. We felt so comforted by this great start! (sarcasm intended)
During our first meeting, we got our schedules for the week and were introduced to the Chicago Semester staff. After this, we broke out into small groups and each went to a different restaurant. I can't remember the name of the place where my group ate, but I had a great time chatting with some terrific girls and had one of the best chicken caesar salads ever!
On our way back to the hotel, I had yet another trial/adventure. Our group got split into two cars on the brown line, which was no big deal, until the girls in my car got off at the wrong stop. We got back on the L and went to the correct stop, only to realize we couldn't quite remember the way back to the hotel. We wandered around for a bit until some girls pulled out their smart phones and pulled up the GPS (so handy). When we got back to the hotel, the next session was about being safe in the city (which we found a bit ironic and funny).
Next we went over housing information, and were told we need to have roommates selected by 10am tomorrow morning. What?!?! Luckily, I was asked to live with two girls who I had barely spoken to before, but turned out to be really awesome! Kailee Adams and Cassandra DeVries are both from Dordt (but they don't know each other all that well, meaning I won't feel like a 3rd wheel). They are really nice girls and I think that living with them will be a lot of fun! We choose our apartments tomorrow and will sign our leases on Wednesday.
We also got out interview assignments. On Wednesday at 2pm, I will interview for an internship at the Lifeline Theatre. And on Thursday at 10:30am, I will interview at Chicago Dramatist Workshop. I am really hoping that these interviews go well. But I won't know my placement until next week Monday.
Needless to say, today was really busy. There was an overwhelming amount of information to cover, and there is still a lot more to come. I am struggling a bit right now to get a handle on my emotions since I'm really excited, but also very nervous and longing for the normalcy of home. Living in a hotel with a lot of people that I don't really know is not easy. There are parts of me that really want Friday afternoon to come so I can move into my apartment. But part of that longing is because I know that I will get to see my Mom and Dad that day. Part of me is so excited to start an internship in a theatre. But there is another part of me that wants to go back to Trinity and be in the Marge Kallemeyn Theatre with all of my friends. There is so much push pull right now, and all I can do is just pray that God will calm my heart and give me a sense of peace.
Tomorrow will be a long day, starting with breakfast at 7:30, and having meetings/activities until 10pm. I get the strange feeling that I won't be getting a lot of sleep this week. Haha.
I hope that all of you reading this are doing well, and know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. Know that I miss you all very much, and hope to see you as often as I can! I will hopefully write again tomorrow evening. Thanks for all your prayers!
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