Well I have been in Chicago for a little over a week and despite feeling overwhelmed at times, I have really enjoyed my time here so far. The food here is so incredibly amazing, and the people are even better. I have felt so welcomed here by almost everybody. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect since the biggest town I have ever lived in has 1,200 people; Chicago has almost 3 million. One of the first things that stuck out to me about the city was the diversity. There are countless cultures being mixed into one giant pot and it becomes a very beautiful thing. 

   Many of you may be curious about what exactly I will be doing with my year here in Chicago so I will try to explain it as best as I can. While here, I will be working at La Salle Street Church mainly working with kids, but doing a little bit of everything. One of the biggest parts of what I will be doing here is living in intentional community. I am living with five absolutely phenomenal people for the full year, so that could be pretty interesting. We will be living in intentional Christian community so we all have our own different job placements, we will have the shared space of our house to explore what it means to be a Christian in the city. I will also be involved in exploring issues with social injustice. 

    One theme of our orientation week in New York and a topic that has been discussed so far here in Chicago is social injustice. We have talked about ways that we can be aware of what is happening and how to contribute to a society that is welcoming and loving, not one that is oppressive. We have toured parts of the city and gone to many different neighborhoods. One of the things that stuck out to me about the neighborhoods was how almost segregated they felt. The city itself is very diverse but the neighborhoods themselves are not very diverse at all. 

   I haven't started working at my placement yet but I am very excited to start working with kids. I will try to keep you all updated on things that are happening and how things are going here in the Windy City. Thank you for reading. God bless