All of Katya's belongings, packed nice and neat :) |
Before heading to my final destination of Moscow, Russia, I have a few stops to make along the way. First and foremost: Chicago, Illinois. Specifically, De Paul University.
Here in Chicago, the difference from California is felt immediately. Sixteen-degree weather feels more like four degrees with the wind chill and the long, puffy parka my mom and I purchased a few days ago will certainly come in handy.
I am staying in Katya's dorm at De Paul University with the mission of packing up all of her belongings and moving them to a nearby storage facility. Upon my arrival in the afternoon on Thursday, January 16th, Katya's roommate Maggie meets me outside of the residence hall and helps me up to the room. Maggie is such a sweetheart - to friendly, caring, helpful, and talkative - that we hit it off right away, which makes my stay here that much more pleasant and easy. (Maggie is so great - no wonder Katya says Maggie reminds her of me......hahaha jk)
As not to waste time, I begin evaluating all heaps of clothes and other things Katya has managed to fit into her dorm room. Turns out, it's not too much and I manage to fit all of it in four boxes, two duffel bags, one soccer bag, and a bin.
I have talked to the storage facility workers and they graciously lent me a dolly to use to transport all of the boxes to the storage unit, which is conveniently located not even a half-block away from the campus.
In the morning, after two trips using the dolly and the third trip rolling the duffel bags, I have successfully braved the cold and secured everything in the storage unit. (see picture above)
Now, it is time to repack my own belongings and get to the airport to fly to my next destination: Washington, D.C.
Since I have two heavy suitcases (for my 4 month stay in Russia - not my day and a half stay in Chicago!!), I decide to take a taxi. But in order to do so, Maggie tells me that I need to stand on the correct side of the road, the side that leads towards the highway, and hail a taxi myself. Now, you would think that this wouldn't be a problem, but I've only hailed a taxi once before - in New York City, where they surround pedestrians like fruit flies. Here, on a street where they come by only once a minute, the situation is a bit different. After standing and waving (not enthusiastically, apparently), about seven taxis have passed by in ten minutes and only two of them waved back apologetically because they were already driving people. Then, I hear honking from behind me and when I turn, I see that it's one of the taxi drivers that had waved earlier. I run towards him, dragging my suitcases behind me, and he gets out of the taxi to help me.
"How long were you waiting there? I saw you earlier?" he asks - very jovial and warm in his demeanor.
"Yes, thank you so much for coming back for me! I was waiting for about ten minutes," I reply.
"Wow - and no one stopped for you? Wow."
He puts my suitcases into the trunk of the car, asks if I can pay in cash, and we leave for the airport.
Half way through the ride (he had been talking on the phone to his friends, making plans for the evening) he starts talking to me - asking where I was from, saying he was jealous I was from California where it currently is 70 degrees during the winter, asking where I was headed, and then, most interestingly, telling me how I need to be more aggressive when hailing a taxi. I need to stand away from the building, he says, closer to the edge of the sidewalk and wave vigorously, aggressively, authoritatively. Make eye contact, and be aggressive. Or else no one will know that you are looking for a taxi and no one will stop for you. Aggressive.
With a big smile, as though he has unlocked the secret to life for me, he tells me to take this as a very important lesson - it'll help me later in life - and chuckles.
So I thought I'd write this down to never forget: the day I learned to properly hail a taxi.
We arrive at the O'Hare Airport in high spirits. I say a mental goodbye to Chicago and head for the check in line. Now, I'm off to Washington, D.C. - my second stop.
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