Part 2. Chicago.

JFK again, everything is clear again. Departure, an hour of chatting with my neighbor in economy class, and I'm there. Chicago didn't welcome me with good weather... it was cold, a fine, terribly nasty rain was falling, and my rather large body was being blown away by gusts of wind. Well, that's understandable! Windy City, duh!)) And since Her Carefree Highness Hera didn't bother to check the weather in the arrival city beforehand and dressed in shorts and a tank top, she unpacked her suitcase right at the airport to get warmer clothes. In the Chicago subway, for some reason, I felt a pleasant sensation of traveling alone for the first time. That feeling when you realize you are alone on another continent, with not a single Russian speaker around you... it's an indescribable feeling. And yet, you feel completely safe. As one guy said later: "This is America! What is there to be afraid of?!" - and that's true!

I only had one incomplete day in Chicago, and it was wet and cold. So I left my things at the bus station and quickly trotted to Lake Michigan and back, just to catch a glimpse of the great lake. At the station, I met some girls from Kazakhstan, and I spent the day with them. By the way, we are still in touch!)

I returned here on my way back and fell head over heels in love with this beautiful city of skyscrapers, trains rumbling overhead, metal curbs, and a fresh breeze.

When my bus arrived, and it was 5:40 AM, it was starting to get light... I, as a person not on friendly terms with common sense, tired, frozen, with all my belongings, firmly decided to watch the sunrise on the shore of Lake Michigan. And so, this frozen, homeless-looking girl drags herself across the entire Loop to watch the sunrise! I will never forget this sunrise!! It was probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! I watched as the sun slowly rolled out from behind the horizon, illuminating the coast with a reddish light, while the seagulls, in their characteristic manner, walked around with an impudent look and disturbed the dawn silence with their cries... it was delightful.

Afterwards, I wandered to the hostel, finished all the formal business, and went for a walk again. I will say it again, and perhaps a thousand more times, THIS CITY IS MAG-NI-FI-CENT!!! With its architecture, its rhythm of life, its air!! People here have a spark in their eyes; they are different from New York residents! After watching the locals, I wanted to have lunch not in a cafe, but on the street, well, in a park, for example. I took my lunch and went to the coast, and just as I had settled on the lawn under a tree and started devouring my delicious meal, I was attacked by geese!!! GEESE, Karl!!! (Beautiful ones, black and white) A horde of geese surrounded me and filled me with fear! A minute later, miraculously not pecked by the birds, I was already running for my life to a safer place.

Evening Chicago is a different story. The lights of the high-rises here replace the stars, which, like in any metropolis, are practically invisible. You can look at the coastline in the evening endlessly. Well, you'll see that in the attached photos.

The whole next day I wandered around again, and in the evening I had a trip planned to probably the most famous landmark in Chicago - Willis Tower (Skydeck). You have to see it!! A panoramic view of this wonderful city from a height of 412 meters! The emotions there are just off the charts!

I was very afraid that I would be sad and bored when I was going to Chicago, but this is not the kind of city where moments of sorrow can strike... here you enjoy every minute spent on these streets and every breath of always fresh air.

So, let's get back to our sheep... that is, to my further journey to the workplace...

I waited for my bus, loaded into it, and we headed towards Minneapolis, where my employers were supposed to pick me up in the morning.