First Week in Chi-town!

What a week it has been! Monday through Wednesday were full of orientation stuff-- meeting other students and the CS staff and having classes on city safety, public transporation, roommates, and internships. Thursday and Friday were my first two days at Rice. :) After a tour of the facility, I learned more about the programs and services offered, met the staff, and spent some time on the unit getting to know the boys. There are 5 units at Rice and I will primarily be working on the unit for 10-13 year old boys. There are 9 boys on the unit. All of the kids have some type of mental illness or severe behavior problems, so I can already tell that this is going to be a challenging internship and that I am going to learn a lot. I am very much looking forward to it and am excited to learn and grow. I already like the kids and the staff I will be working with. Much of my time will be spent directly on the unit with the boys, but I will also be sitting in on group therapy, including art therapy. This coming week I will be taking Therapeutic Crisis Intervention training, which will involve learning about how to de-escalate situations when a kid is having a crisis and how to safely restrain a kid who is out of control. Hopefully it is training that I will not have to use very often.
Yesterday I finally moved into my apartment! :) I am living in a studio apartment in the Gold Coast area with one roommate. It feels good to be settled in and no longer have to live out of a suitcase. The apartment is very cozy; our closet is bigger than our kitchen and our beds fold into the wall! :) I really like where we are at--the CTA and many stores and restaurants are within walking distance and my roommate is great! It is going to be a great semester...

The beginning of a new adventure...

As a senior in high school, I was on my first college campus visit at a strange reformed school in the middle of a cornfield in northwest Iowa. I remember meeting with the head of the social work department and learning all about the program and why I should attend the Dutch school. During the meeting, I asked the man: "Are there any off-campus programs in a big city?" He told me that, in fact, the school does send students to Chicago each semester to learn and work and grow. I told myself at that time that if I chose that school, I would do the Chicago Semester.

Here I am, a little over four years later, laying in my hotel bed in Chicago after my first lond day of orientation for the 2010 spring semester of the Chicago Semester Program! :D I can't believe it is finally here! It seems like it was just a few months ago that I sat in the social work pod for the first time, learning about Dordt; but at the same time, it feels like it was lifetimes ago.

All that said, my first day in Chi-town has been long and fun, full of new people and experiences. My parents drove me here on Sunday because I had some appointments this morning for my internship. Orientation started this afternoon. I have already used the CTA several times, walked down the Magnificent Mile, eaten awesome ethnic food (Middle Eastern--really good!), and been solicited for money. I love the diversity and busyness that I have seen already.

Tomorrow is another big day of orientation stuff. The biggest thing is that we will figure out who we are living with and where. We are currently staying at a hotel and will move into our apartments on Saturday. There are 88 students participating in the program, from 12 different schools (13 students from Dordt). Wednesday we will visit our apartments, sign our leases, and finish up orientation. I start my internship on Thursday! I am very excited!

That is all for now. I will try to keep this thing updated, at least weekly. Love and Prayers.