Back in Chicago

Being back home is great and weird at the same time. I knew it would be this way, but wasn't sure how it would play out. I've been dreaming about the food I would eat when I came home for months. Now I'm totally overwhelmed by it all. I've been to 3 grocery stores in 4 days, and pretty much bought out Trader Joe's yesterday. My mom and I cooked kale with raisins garlic and quinoa last night, and I fried up some tofu and put that Soyaki sauce from Trader Joe's on it. Delicious! I can't tell you all how much I've been craving kale.

But anyways, when I was in Caputo's supermarket with my mom, I suddenly became overwhelmed. Seeing all the produce made me think about all the things I wanted to cook, and made me jump back to my life of last summer, suddenly. Chicago summers are so amazing, so much going on, and I was feeling like I wouldn't be able to do everything. But I think I've chilled a little since then, and realized that I can just do what I can fit in, and I'll be back here next summer.

Great things about Chicago...

1. Hot showers!!!!

2. My bike

3. Kale

4. being able to talk to people on the phone whenever I want

5. the weather... who thought I'd ever say that? but it's been 80 degrees sunny and perfect!

6. green leafy salads

7. soul and hip hop music

8. parks

I'll probably think of more...

La señora next door

(The photos are from Doña Telma's birthday)

My neighbor is crazy. I think she's probably diagnosably schizophrenic. It can be endearing, entertaining and infuriating sometimes. I actually have no idea what her name is. But she owns about 7 dogs, all of which are tiny and bark a lot. She spends most of the day screaming at them to get in the house or to stop making a mess, and threatens to hit them. As if they were little children. Let me set the stage. You're sitting peacefully in the hammock in your front patio reading a book, when suddenly 3 dogs start barking and the señora starts screaming. She also likes to play her music really loudly. Usually the music isn't bad... ranchera, bachata, even reggaeton. The problem is the volume and the time of day. She often starts at 6:30am, waking up my poor roommate who's window opens onto her porch.

Yesterday, she started talking to people who weren't actually there and laughing hysterically when she found a fallen branch from the mango tree in front of our house and brought it into her house. I have no idea what she wanted to do with it. She also has a fun habit of calling the police whenever someone she doesn't know walks by the house. One time, a guy wanted to pick some of the mangos from our tree, and we said sure. She got in a fight with him, saying he shouldn't be there, and proceeded to call the police. The police must know her phone number and ignore it. I usually find her to be entertaining, but my other roommates think otherwise...