“Wintering” in Chicago

Meriam-Webster defines “wintering” as “to manage during the winter”. That definition gives the idea that winter must be endured, na kailangang pagtiisan.

Which is not the case with me, as you probably already know. Winter is actually a very nice season in my opinion. Masarap matulog, lalo na pag weekend. You can justify taking more than one cup of coffee, extra large if you want. Masarap humigop ng sabaw ng extra maasim shrimp sinigang. At, and… uhmmm… you can get away with not taking a bath every day.

Christmas in Chicago

Uy ha, I take a bath every day!

But it’s not the case for some people around here, though. Marami hindi naliligo araw-araw. Hehehe.

Anyway, that’s what I learned here. That’s why I love traveling and lakwatsa; you learn lots of things, even the customs, traditions and hygienic habits of people. You lose your tunnel vision as you gain understanding about other cultures. And you become more patient… more tolerant…

Pati body odor na umaalingasaw sa loob ng bus natitiis mo na.

Kasi matagal dumating yong susunod na bus. And walang ibang alternative kundi taxi, which you wouldn’t want to pay dahil ano pa ang saysay ng Monthly Metro Pass kung magta-taxi ka…

Speaking of traveling, the recent one that took me outside Canada was my trip – my second trip – to Chicago, Illinois, where I spent Christmas with my sister’s family. I recounted in my previous blog how I spent the night at Lester B Pearson International Airport. Too bad I couldn’t take pictures. Didn’t want to risk having my camera confiscated (regalo kasi yon and all gifts are as precious as the ones who gave them – parinig ko yan sa mga nagre-recycle ng gifts. Hahahaha.) for security purposes, so I kept it inside my carry on bag. Pearson doesn’t look like it’s well guarded, but I wasn’t fooled. I am certain there were cameras hidden everywhere, surveying all angles of the airport.

My flight going to Chicago was uneventful. Everything was fine. No stops by customs official. All my liquids less than 100ml were all in a transparent plastic bag, as instructed, my luggage weighed just right, and I didn’t look suspicious. And because I wore clothes that didn’t have zippers or buttons (no red socks this time), I passed soundlessly by the detectors manned by eagle-eyed officials.

That was boring, but a big relief.

Because I didn’t get any sleep the night before, I was snoozing by the time my plane went airborne. I kept myself awake until then. I didn’t want to miss my favorite part of the ride: the take off. Feels like coming down a roller coaster ride, pero pataas, hindi pababa. And because I snoozed all the way, I missed the special snack offered by Air Continental: peanuts and water. Ugh!

By the time our plane touched down in Midway Chicago Airport, I was ready for breakfast.

Family time

My first three days were spent catching up with my sister and Kuya Adrian and AJ. We went grocery shopping for noche Buena (Monee has this big Filipino store that has about all you would need for your favoruite Pinoy dishes), watched our favourite movies on DVD, and played around the house. AJ and I loved playing hide and seek. And when we got bored inside the house, we went out playing in the snow. A couple of days later, the snow melted and out came the green, green grass of Chicago. Except for the bald trees, you wouldn’t know it’s winter in Illinois.

Navy Pier

Because of strong winds (Chicago, after all, is called the Windy City), we did not push through with our plans to go to downtown Chicago after the Sunday service. AJ, who had been looking forward to the hour-long train ride (I’ve never seen a four-year old so obsessed with trains!), was disappointed. We went to the movies in the evening, instead, and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks.

The following day turned out to be a lovely day. The wind mercifully settled down, allowing us to go to downtown. Millennium Park was out of the question, of course. Who would want to walk in a park close to Lake Michigan in the winter, in the Windy City, no less? Manigas kaya ako duon sa lamig!!! So we opted to go to Chicago’s Winter Festival at the Navy Pier.

The Navy Pier is a 3,300-foot long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. When it was built in 1916, it was the largest pier in the world. It was originally designed as a shipping and entertainment area, but it was named Navy Pier sometime in 1927 in honor of the World War I veterans. Meaning, pa-cute lang yong name na Navy Pier kasi hindi naman talaga Pier yon ng mga Navy. But, when WWII broke out, it served as a naval training facility, finally earning its given name.

Pero ngayong walang world war, it has reverted back to its original purpose, a shipping and entertainment attraction. This was the site of the winter fest, and other special family events in downtown Chicago during the year. Attractions include: a 148 ft ferris wheel, 44 ft high musical carousel with 36 hand painted carousel, a seven-storey Shakespeare theatre complex, an 18-hole mini golf course, at marami pang iba!

Museum of Stained Glass Windows

What I love about the Navy Pier is the Smith’s Museum of Stained Glass Windows. Absolutely gorgeous. Okay sanang tumambay dun at titigan bawat exhibit, but it was impossible with a 4-year-old in tow. But I managed to take some photos, for the sake of this blog.

Bubba Gump Shrimp

Lunch was at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. I heard that Bubba Gump Shrimp Company was the first themed restaurant inspired by a film. The film was Forrest Gump.

Kung hindi ninyo napanood ang movie na ‘to, you should! Very inspiring. Bubba Gump is a combination of Forrest Gump’s name and his fellow Vietnam soldier, an Africa-American guy named Bubba. Bubba, while they were in training camp, talked nothing else but shrimps and the many ways to cook it. Sadly, Bubba died in action and when Forrest came back from his tour of duty, he established the Bubba Gump Shrimp.

And because it was inspired by this movie, the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co restaurants have all sorts of knick-knacks related to the movie. Like ping pong racquets, bottles of Dr Pepper, and wise Forrest sayings carved on wood like, “My momma said that stupid is as stupid does.”

I also find their paging system very original. Each table has two licence plates marked “Run Forrest Run” and “Stop Forrest Stop”. The blue “Run, Forrest Run” sign means that everything is well while the red “Stop Forrest Stop” signals that a table needs service. The servers are very well informed about the movie. I suspect that before they get hired, they were required to see Forrest Gump at least 10 times! They knew every question about Forrest Gump and they even quiz customers about the movie! We got a perfect score, but not without some give-away hints from the helpful server.

Good ambience (all Forrest Gumpsy), good servers… and the food… even better. I love shrimp, and Bubba Gump didn’t disappoint me.

Noche Buena

According to our family tradition, we celebrated Christmas on the night of December 24. True to my words, I cooked our noche Buena “feast”. My sister wanted Pinoy noche Buena, so I made pansit bihon – the maputla style (no soya sauce but equally tasty) – menudo, and sabaw. Another family joined us; they brought litsong manok and nilagang baka. Dessert was fruit salad and cheesecake (pansin nyo ba na parang di magkakatugma ang mga handa?).

Sa North America, pansin ko, kapag magkakasama na ang mga pinoy, mauubos ang panahon sa kuwentohan. Para bang sabik sa social life. Pano naman kami, before they get together, kailangang may appointment. Mga busy kasi sa work. Walang tambay. Magkakalayo ang bahay. So when they get together, they waste no time in catching up. It was about 11pm when we exchanged gifts. Of course, AJ got most of the gifts. I got lots, too, mostly from Nang Jean and Kuya Adrian. That time, I was seriously thinking how to fit all of them in my small luggage.

After cleaning up, we all decided to take a drive to see this famous mansion decorated with lights about 10-15 minute-drive from my sister’s place. The night was cold, but we bundled up to see this beauty that was the talk of the town. After driving for about 10 minutes, we entered a street obviously populated by wealthy people. But only one mansion stood out: the one that we came to see. I heard that people trek from neighbouring states to see this mansion every year. I saw why.

It was a dreamy place. Tiny lights outlined the whole mansion, from the base to the roof. Even trees were decorated with these lights, giving the ground a sort of wonderland look. There were no fences blocking the visitors, but none dared step on the private property. Besides, the whole scene looked better from a distance.

After taking pictures, hugs and kisses were exchanged, and that was how the Pinoy noche Buena in Chicago ended.

A quiet Christmas

I woke up late on Christmas day, having stayed late the night before. I remember waking up with sunlight peeking between the thick curtains in my room. It was a beautiful day.

I stood up and padded barefoot to the window, threw open the curtains and soaked in the sunshine. But I wasn’t fooled. The sun may be shining outside but I knew it was very cold. No snow on the ground. No clouds in the sky. A perfect cold winter day. I hoped for a white Christmas but it won't be this year.

Standing there, I had a quiet moment with the Giver of Christmas. I recalled the Christmas celebration the night before, and all the Christmases I shared with my family in the past. My heart was full and all I could say was, “Thank you, Lord. You’ve given me Your Son, Jesus Christ – and He should be enough – yet You chose to bless me with more.” Family, friends, new clothes, new experiences, among other things.

I’m glad I had that quiet time, which ended as soon as I heard the pitter-patter of small feet created by my nephew.

Shopping!

My sister and I got some serious girl time after Christmas. As early as 7am on December 26, even before we had breakfast, we were already on our way to the mall. That’s because after Christmas, most items in the mall would be on sale up to 70%. The mall that we went to (forgot the name) opened as early as 6am. I wasn’t used to that, since malls in the Philippines don’t open until 10am. The earliest is 9am, even when they have big, big sale events. They do have midnight sale, which we don’t have here in Toronto. However, Canada has this one-day sale which we call Boxing Day. It’s the day after Christmas, and all the malls open early, all the shops have big, big sales. The malls are packed and a lot of items from clothes to electronic stuff can be bought at unbelievably low prices.

Anyway, my sister told me that she would often buy Christmas stuff after Christmas, because that’s when they go as low as 70% off the original price. By next Christmas, she would be ready.

But, I wasn’t thinking of buying Christmas stuff. Who needs them when Bath & Body and Victoria’s Secret are having sale!!! Kaya nga lang, I had to control myself for two important reasons: 1) my already bulging luggage (I don’t want to pay for excess baggage) and 2) my budget (didn’t want to exceed it and end up working to pay the credit card company).

Most of the things I bought ended up as pasalubong and belated Christmas gifts, anyway. Pero nothing beats the joy of seeing your friends appreciate your pasalubong.

New Year’s Day Hike

I went home the afternoon of December 26. Napaaga na naman sa airport, as I was there 2 hours before departure, kaya I roamed around the Midway Airport. I found a souvenir shop, bought several souvenir key chains using what was left of my US$ baon. I also found a card shop, bought some postcards and mailed them to some very special people in the Philippines.

I greeted the New Year with a two-hour urban hike with the Toronto Outdoor Club. It took place at the Etienne Brule Park, which runs along the Humber River situated on the west end of Toronto. Jenny, who was a guest in the Labyrinth Walk, joined me, this time as a new TOC member.

To get to our meeting place, we passed by the Old Mill Inn & Spa where my housemates were married about six years ago. The building has this quiet English country look. It looks like a perfect place to go have some quiet time and relaxation, read books and do a lot of nature tripping.

What made the hike special was the weather. It started snowing the night before, so by the time we started our hike, the snow was about 10-20 cm high. Everything was white, making the park look like a winter wonderland. We passed by families with small children, carrying sleds and skis; people with dogs (wearing knitted sweaters with hoods!); and lopsided snowmen.

Jenny, who I discovered was a fellow nature buff, and I enjoyed every minute of it, although we wished we didn’t wear too many layers of clothes that day (I was wearing four!). We were practically sweating after a few minutes of walking. Because it was snowing, it wasn’t too cold that day. It was a perfect day for a hike.

So many things to write, but that’s all I can share for now. It’s just the start of the New Year, and I’m sure it’s going to be another year full of adventure and new experiences.