Last Friday, my boyfriend and I went on Chicago Food Planet's Near North Walking Tour.  Strangely enough, most of the people on our tour (including us) were "locals" looking to explore some new neighborhoods and sample some typically Chicago cuisine. In addition to walking for three hours and hearing about some architectural history, we sampled ( Read more... )

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I am safely in Costa Rica. I meant to write earlier in the week, but I got really absorbed into reading and taking vocabulary notes on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Spanish. That, and last night I had to prepare for the 40 minute exposition I had to lead today on problems with the US school system.


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You know how when you're planning something for a long time, the planning sort of becomes the thing itself? And how after that, approaching that date on your calendar feels unreal and kind of scary?

I've been saying, "I'm leaving for Costa Rica on May 21st" for probably two months. Now, the 21st is this Saturday. Now, there are only two days ( Read more... )

I love saving money.

My sister and I saved about $800 choosing Taca over American Airlines. We will be leaving on May 21st to take classes for two weeks at the Conversa Institute in Santa Ana, followed by one week of travel. We discovered that her American Airlines miles can be redeemed at hotels, as can my CitiCard Reward Points. We checked a few ( Read more... )