This semester about 10 of us from FYS took a fieldtrip to downtown Chicago. The point was to see all the different towns and to see their culture. We went to Greektown, Chinatown, the Pilsen area, and we also drove through the Ukrainian area. We arrived at Greektown first, and we went to eat at a place called Mr. Gyros. (Notice "entrance" is not spelled right on the sign.) It was really good, I think I was there once a long time ago. Since I am Greek, I already knew most of the things that went on in Greektown. I explained the music, the dancing and the religion.
(Picture taken by the "Interesting Ideas Staff" at http://www.interestingideas.com/roadside/names/MrGreek72.jpg)
We talked about the Greek Orthodox Faith and what it means to be Orthodox, as compared to being Catholic. I think everyone enjoyed the food and shopping we did. Next we drove through the Ukrainian town. Although we didn’t get off the bus, we all enjoyed the really beautiful churches that we saw. A lot of people in the class had never seen all the great architecture in the Ukrainian village before. Then we went to Chinatown. That was the best for me, because I had never gone there before. I actually felt like I was in China. The shops were really nice and everything was in Chinese. Last, we went to the Pilsen area and stopped in a Mexican museum. We learned about Day of the Dead and the other rituals performed at Halloween time. That was great too. We all had a good time on the fieldtrip, and I really enjoyed the sights and sounds of the other cultures in Chicago.
