After only three months in Hyde Park we, or better Maja, has made it to a local celebrity! Even when innocently shopping on a flower fair, the paparazzi are not far. (Hyde Park Herald, May 23, 2007)

so.... we were in Wisconsin, America's dairy land. cows and milk and terrible cheese.
camping in pure nature. lot of water, the mighty Mississippi.mosquitoes. every time we met people on the way in the camp, they greeted. the photos are also here, in the left bar as usual: Wisconsin.
and some photos i named America. you will see why. most of them are from a small "town" in Minnesota, called Winona. yes, Winona. beautiful name, unfortunate life. empty streets, you can see on one photo where we stand in the middle of the quite big street, no fear of cars. not even cars. nothing. but when we entered Wallmarts to buy some food, the whole new world was in front of us. there was Winona, in the shopping mall. mostly white population, buying their coke and chips. and afterwards rushing to some kind of "church". i guess Britney Spears comes from a town like this.
enjoy!

We went to German-meeting (Deutscher Stammtisch) yesterday evening. And it was nice. Not that we did not expect it to be nice, but the last time was not that great; probably due to too many people present and us coming late and not having a chance to talk to many of them. Anyway, there was only ten of us yesterday and we were able to chat with some nice and interesting people. Really! I hope something will come out of that, you meet people, and they know someone and then you meet people they know... Or something like that.

Just to show where we live. Scary. But the text is in German:
http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,483215,00.html
and in English:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/383091,CST-NWS-bubba13.article

Here are some photos and more are in the bar on the left side in Menu, Bilderalben: Chicago spring. And some news from yesterday just below.

OK.... here a bit again. Some people were complaining that there was nothing here for a long time.
Summer reached Chicago finally! Last two weekends we made some summer-photos and they will be on this blog ASAP. And some from our flat that gained a form of home. Our home. Though I still think of some other places as home and one of them we will visit in July. And therewith avoid tropical heats usual for July in Chicago.
May is beautiful here. There are trees I've never seen in Europe, their blossoms of thousand different colors and smells. We even planted some flowers and herbs on our balcony and they were doing fine before the squirrels got 'em. These nasty little rats! They dig in your garden (or in our case plant-pots) and make everything vanish! All of your efforts and months of waiting in vain! And they are everywhere, like pigeons in many European cities. At the beginning you like them, they are kind of cute, with their fluffy tail and small "hands". But the second time they messed up your flowers, it is over with love.
Our social life moves in very small steps. I heard that from many people who came to the USA from Europe. Either you are a student living in student-housing, young and unmarried having a chance to meet others like you, or you just meet people that speak your language and some other souls lost in superficial friendliness of many, BUT NOT ALL, young citizens here. That is why we basically hang around with two guys and speak German all the time with them. And there is Deutches Stammtisch 1 a month, also Deutsch wieder! I will never learn English properly! Maybe when I find a job, but nothing new on than filed yet. Anyway, it is hard to meet new people here. Maybe because we are two, I do not know. But somehow I feel people have their circle of friends and think they don't have time for anything new. I hope I am wrong.
But I am not complaining. We are still in exploring phase, exploring Chicago, Chicagoans, America, Americans and new opportunities in our lives, and our life together.
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, I am sometimes so pathetic.
WAITING FOR COMMENTS, EMAILS.....
Ljove, unfortunately we haven't met Michael Jordan yet. But I will not lose my hope :-)

as promised
chicago train station. rest of the photos is on the left side in Bilderalben: chicago with mardzi!!! viel spass! i still don't know how to show titles with photos. i give them titles all the time but they do not appear!!! help!!! and here also one photo on the way to ikea!!!
it is great today, sun is shinning, it is warm 24 Celsius (F???)

I brought my camera today to finally show our photos, but I forgot the cable. Maybe I will be more clever next time.
Mardzi came on Sunday morning, it took us ages to the airport and that much back. And we had to go back home to leave her bags, because there are no lockers in the city of Chicago. Either they are afraid of bbbbbbombs or of thieves. Like our janitor Rajko said: some things are better here, but some things are worse! I just have to find better things. I know, i know, living in Germany spoils you, and living in Berlin even more. But many things here are still from the middle ages. They use checks to pay rent, we don't use them even in Serbia anymore (I think, or at least not many people). One day I will make a list of all the things strange to someone coming from Europe. Like, you have to pay minutes on your mobile phone when someone is calling you. Or if you receive a text-message.
But weather is great, sun is shinning, it was 20 degrees yesterday CELSIUS. And it is snowing in Berlin. Hi, hi!
Sunday we did a little walk through some "cool" parts of Chicago, in the north (we live in the south, totally uncool). Chicago's famous wind was blowing, it was freezing. We had good, big American Burgers for dinner (not as good as Tom's, of course). And Austrian beer, we only drink IMPORTED, mostly German, no American diluted... Sorry.
Monday Boris went to work, two of us downtown, it was hot and sun was shinning. We did a bit of architecture sight seeing, a bit of shopping. We have great photos from the US- second tallest building, where we had expensive beer and marvelous view at this beautiful city, great architecture, blue lake Michigan on a sunny day! And for dinner later we had one of Chicago's best ribs, hmmmmmmm, lecker!!!
Tuesday was Hyde Park walk, University of Chicago, and the lake, 20 mins walk from our home. And you are right at the beach! Then downtown, again a bit of shopping for girls, flowers are very in now, just a paradise for girls!
Next day Mardzi left.

I didn't have time to write before, Mardzi was here. And it was great! But now i am not really in a great mood, so more info next time.
Love,
M