Chicago, Mount Pleasant, & Grand Rapids

21 Days and counting until I lift off for the Peace Corps and I am really enjoying the time I am getting to spend in and around W. Mich. This weekend I made trips to Chicago, Mt. Pleasant and Grand Rapids. I managed to get myself invited to go to Chicago last Thursday with Ms. Ensink’s AP World History class. Our resident Korean Max Kwon is in the class so I was going under the auspicious label of “chaperone,” although I was more interested in talking with Thelma Ensink and seeing the Art institute than monitoring fifteen mature high school students. On Thursday morning we carpooled to Michigan City and caught the commuter train into town. The day was thankfully uneventful and after a morning in the South Asian and East Asian collections, we were released to explore the museum at will. Although I have an undying interest in world history, my favorite gallery in the art institute is the modern art gallery.
A lot of modern art I don’t understand. For example one artist chose to place bags of kitty litter throughout the room. Another artist spent millions having a bunch of Japanese guys carve a life-size replica of a dead tree trunk he saw in California out of stucco. The fun of modern art for me is that you never know what you will find when you walk into the next room. Although I may not understand a 2 ton carving of a decaying log, it certainly was a surprise to see. There were a few pieces in the modern art section which I did understand were incredibly interesting and powerful. It is like the artist and I are tuned to the same channel mentally so that he can send messages to me through his art. This is also why I prefer to go through the galleries alone, so I can be taken by what I enjoy and not feel the need to explain my fascination.
On Saturday Mom, Dad, Alaina (Aaron’s significant other), and myself piled into the fun bus for a day of athletic spectating. First up was my sister cross country meet in Lowell. Lauren Beth Westendorp is gradually becoming a great cross country runner, and she got her time down to a 24:39 5K. The course was soggy and the air was damp for the entire meet which bore bad tidings of things to come later that day. After packing Lauren back on the bus to Holland we continued on to the fun and excitement in Mt. Pleasant. Central Michigan University is located out in the “Deer & Beer” country of Michigan, a region of the state with which I am only vaguely familiar. While the natural scenery was quite attractive, I felt as though if we broke down we may be eaten by a roaming moose or polar bear. Arriving at CMU’s large and lively campus was a welcome sight. We stopped to stretch out and wait for Aaron to meet us at a 7-11 where various Central students were making their pre-game alcohol selections. Miller Light appeared to be the beverage of choice. Aaron appeared from a building in short order and showed us to his dorm where he needed our help hack-sawing the chain off his bicycle. He also gave me some official team merchandise to sport during the game which was really cool.
Central Michigan has a really cool football program going on in Mt. Pleasant. They have a medium sized but comfortable stadium with lots of fan support. It is a good experience without becoming too overwhelming. Mom had brought up helmet-shaped Jell-o and a pasta salad for tailgating with team parents. Other team moms had brought fried chicken, casserole, and other feast-like dishes. We left tailgating early, however, because warm-up is the only time when Aaron is actually on the field with a football. It was at this point I remembered my best friend from middle school was going to Central for meteorology and after a few well placed phone calls (thanks Obed) I managed to get in contact with him. Cort showed up just after the game started and just as the rain began. As a meteorologist, Cort corrected me as the precipitation we were experiencing was technically “drizzle” not rain. Regardless of what it was, it “drizzle down poured” for a good part of the first half and we all got soaked. The game itself was over before it started. Central was playing Akron, a team from Ohio with a pathetic looking kangaroo for a mascot and an inexperienced quarterback. The game lost its tension when Akron had negative total yardage in their first 4 or 5 drives while Central had racked up 14 points. The final score was 48-21, but the play on the field suggested that Akron should be thankful for losing by a mere 27. After the game Cort left and we met up with Aaron for some late Applebee’s and pleasant family conversation. I spent the drive home using my mother’s phone to send text messages to my little sister demanding that various chores be completed before our arrival. Overall a great day.
On Sunday I took Sally to Grand Rapids for the Artprize contest. I picked her up at the Janssen’s house where she had been enjoying a Sunday meal. Once the Janssen pet cat had been successfully located and returned to its cage we continued onto Grand Rapids. Downtown G-Rap was packed. One artist had just dumped 100,000 paper airplanes off 6 downtown skyscrapers much to the delight of the 20,000 people gathered below. Sometimes places were too crowded to actually enjoy the art that was on display. We located Sally’s restaurant pal Maude and walked through the un-crowded DeVos Place while Maude told us a story about flooding 7 stories of the Days Inn. Hilarious.
This week I am back at Habitat, but at a different house, this house was just started and still needs a roof on top of it.