My Uncle Ralph

When asked of someone I'm thankful for, the first person that came to mind is my uncle Ralph. We don't have that big of an age gap, so he is more like my big brother.

Ralph and I have gotten a lot closer over the years. I was really sad when he got married 2 years ago because I thought I would not be able to see him as much again, but he really goes out of his way so we can hang out more often.

            If there is one thing you should know about Ralph, it is that he LOVES designer clothes. He used to be an entrepreneur and owned a clothing store in Chicago a while ago, before he started working as a barber with my 2 other uncles in their shop in Harvey, Illinois. Over break this one time we went to the shopping mall together and looked at shoes. It was very fun.

            One memory I have of him is when we went to to this Arabic store in Chicago and got mango juice on the way. Their mango juice was really good there and we just drove home sipping mango juice and listening to music. It seems so insignificant, but those were honestly some of the best times.  

            A while ago he went to the Weeknd concert with his friends. He knew how much I loved the Weeknd, so he brought back an XO sweatshirt. I still wear it today and every time I do, I’m reminded of what an amazing uncle I have :)

Istanbul, Turkey

When asked to think of a place that makes me feel peaceful, my first thought was of my family's apartment in Istanbul, Turkey. 

I have gone to Turkey over my summer vacations in previous years, and honestly those trips were some of the best experiences I have ever had in my life. Life is very different in America compared to the Middle East, and being able to connect with my culture, family, and friends there was an amazing feeling.

In the morning, we would wake up very early to go to the street bazaar in the center of town. Basically, people from all over (nearby towns and villages) would come and set up their own stands where they would sell things. People from the villages would bring fresh produce they grew on their farms, and artisans would sell their pottery and jewelry they made by hand. A friend of ours is a seamstress, and sold beautiful hijabs and clothing.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was going sightseeing; I got the opportunity to see Turkish architecture and famous tourist attractions, and the aura overall was very peaceful. 

For instance, we went on a boat ride on the Bosphorus Sea. The Bosphorus Sea connects Asian Turkey to European Turkey, so tourists frequently board it to get from place to place and see all the tourist attractions. My cousins came along with me and my sister, and we took pictures of the shimmering, cerulean water from the terrace of the ferry.

The ferry had a little restaurant on the first level, so a lot of seagulls would come and circle the boat, hoping to snatch some food. I fed the birds some of the food from my plate even though technically you’re not supposed to do that, since they’ll just keep coming back for more (This I learned the hard way).

In the distance, we saw dolphins leaping out of the water. The sea was glittering under the sunlight, producing a beautiful, breathtaking sight. The ferry ride was one of the most serene experiences I had in Istanbul and I would love to go back just to do it again.

The ferry made multiple stops at the many islands off of Istanbul, so we got off at the biggest one. The island was very vast, with a paved, mountainous region. In this area, there were masses of horse-drawn carriages going up and down the hills, and tourists would rent out these carriages to ride throughout the whole island.

My cousins and I rented out bikes and rode up the mountains, which was a very arduous task but a good experience nonetheless. It took us hours to go up the hills but I loved every second of it. The weather was breezy and perfect, and even though it got tiring biking for so long, the ambiance was peaceful.

Sunset at the island

On the ferry

Nostalgia in Nature

Last weekend, our Field Bio class went on a trip to Kickapoo park to catch bugs for our Arthropod collections. In the beginning, we went to a vast meadow to capture pollinators. Walking through the trails in the meadow -- flat beds of grass walled by tall yellow flowers -- was a truly relaxing experience. Its nice to wander off in nature and be in your own zone once in a while. I personally like to do this because it is my opportunity to unwind and just forget about all the stressors in my life and just be in the moment, taking in the view around me.

We were able to catch pollinators -- honeybees, wasps, and butterflies -- in these flowers in the meadow. After about two hours of catching critters in the fields, we headed off to a river to collect Dobsonfly larvae -- black, aquatic insects, living in temperate areas -- from under the rocks in the water. Literally, all you have to do is wade in the shallow parts of the water, try to find a large flat rock, and turn it over. You're bound to find a bunch of the larvae; they like to rest under these rocks.

Wading in the water was relaxing as well. After hours of collecting in the fields under the hot sun, it was very refreshing to jump into the cool stream. While splashing in the river, I saw something small and greenish-looking scurry under a rock in the water. I scooped it up with my aquatic net, and when I got a closer look I saw that it was a Crayfish. It was green and cream-colored, with a bit of orange at the tips of its claws and head. It was very cute but sadly they are an endangered species, so I took a quick picture with it and placed it back in the water.

Anyways, these moments I had on this trip reminded me a lot of my childhood. My grandparents used to own a summer house in Rockport, Illinois (a really small town in the countryside, with a lot of farms and fields), and all of my craziest childhood memories are from the times I spent there. I recall early memories of coming home with all kinds of critters -- frogs, snakes, and baby birds. We even found 5 kittens one time and my Aunt let us keep them. There was also a stray dog we found one morning snoozing on the porch but it ran away after a few weeks.

My grandparents had a prairie in their backyard that was a lot like the one we found our pollinators in at the Bio trip. Wading in the creek at Kickapoo gave me a lot of nostalgia, too, because when I was little I would always go to this river across the road from my grandparents house, and my cousins and I would catch things like toads and turtles.

The sold their house a couple of years ago, and it was sad because I loved going there every summer since I was little and going on crazy adventures. But the trip to Kickapoo was like a little throwback to those good times.

(A moment with the Crayfish prior to release)

Downtown

The pictures I have chosen to write about are from my trip to Chicago two weeks ago. My sister took me to see Downtown for the first time, and above are the photos we took in Millennium Park & on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower.

That weekend was definitely an indelible one, as there were many things I got the opportunity to see for the first time, such as the Art Institute of Chicago, the Bean, and Navy Pier.

The highlight of the trip was definitely going to the Sky Deck in the Willis Tower. I had a lot of mixed feelings going to up Tower; I'm kind of afraid of heights so it was a bit scary, and the 103rd floor is made of glass so that you are able to see the city below you when posing for pictures at the Sky Deck. But it was worth it!
It is a very popular tourist attraction so it was pretty crowded in the area & the wait was long, but finally being able to go so high up was pretty awesome.

You can see me in the picture looking down at the city below, anxiously tiptoeing on the glass hoping it wouldn't break. (It wouldn't have actually broken -- it is constructed so that it is perfectly safe to pose on top of it with a group for the pictures. But when you're actually on it looking so far down its pretty staggering). The experience altogether was pretty exciting though, and I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking into travelling downtown!

Going to Navy Pier was fun, too. We went cruising on the boats at Lake Michigan later that evening, and watching the sun set at the water was absolutely breathtaking. Not many other people were on that cruise so it was nice to have to boat all to ourselves. It was very peaceful and quiet, and we took lots of pictures of the water streaked with the bright colors of the evening's sunset.

I especially enjoyed the time I got to spend with my older sister. She is in college now so I don't get to see her as much, but this trip was a great time for us to bond and have fun in the city together. At the end of the night, we rode the Centennial Wheel in Navy Pier and went to a small cafe downtown.