As I write this blog I am sitting in my amazing hotel room
in the windy city of Chicago! Our last week at MSU was incredible and as much
as we didn’t want to leave, we couldn’t wait to experience this beautiful city
for a few days before we all began to head home, and onto new destinations.
Last Saturday brought the opportunity to head to Kellie’s
hometown, Muskegon, for a day trip to the beaches of Lake Michigan. While I
wasn’t feeling well that day and disappointingly couldn’t go, everyone came
home exhausted, looking like lobsters, and very happy. Needless to say, there
was a lot of aloe vera circulating the dorms that night. Sunday brought our
last free day in East Lansing, and a chance to head to Meridian Mall, the local
shopping centre that housed a Macy’s, and other bigger shops! Most of us spent
the day participating in a little bit of retail therapy, enjoying the air
conditioning while it was sweltering outside.
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| Muskegon beach photo |
Monday arrived, and so began our last week of classes for
the Social Media Marketing course. It was hard to believe that it would be over
so soon, and especially hard to believe that we were sitting an exam on the
Thursday! The week went by quicker than I think we all hoped, with lots of
study and panic evident in Gilchrist Hall pre-exam. I think I speak for
everyone when I say how much of a relief it was to finish that last question on
the exam, but it really made it settle in that we were leaving so soon.
Thursday night brought a farewell dinner at Brody with
Kellie, Dr. C, and the 3 staff that were joining us on the Chicago trip. We had
some laughs playing Kellie’s ‘tweet’ game, and we all got to walk across the
front of the room to get our certificates of completion, just like a real
(mini) graduation, shaking Dr. C’s hand and getting a picture taken. Following
this, we all sat down together and enjoyed our final meal at Brody as a group on
our last night in East Lansing.
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| Perry and Dr. C. |
Our farewell dinner on Thursday night was the beginning of
everyone’s last opportunity to head out to the local bars, and in the spirit of MSU,
we collectively organised to get dressed up in bed sheet toga’s to have a photo
with Sparty; the Michigan State mascot who has a very large statue right near
our hall. Everyone was excited, and we got some great photos of the group that
we will all cherish I’m sure.
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| Getting our Toga gear on in true Sparty style |
Friday morning came, and it was time for us to embark on the
Mega Bus trip to Chicago for the weekend. With our masses of luggage, we all
checked out of our rooms and headed down to the Amtrak station in anticipation
of our long bus trip ahead. Might I take a second to mention that the taxi some
of us took to the station included a karaoke machine, and everyone in our cab
enjoyed a loud and obnoxious sing-a-long to ‘Yellow Submarine’!
The bus trip went relatively quickly, and before we knew it
we were in the big city, Chicago. We made our way to the hotel, struggling with
luggage, and checked in, finally, safe and sound. That evening, my roommate and
I headed to the Willis Tower Skydeck to enjoy the scenic views of Chicago city,
103 stories up. It was scary, but well worth it for the beautiful view and
photo opportunities!
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| The dizzying sites of Skydeck |
On Saturday, we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted,
and once again Cecilia and I set out to explore some of the touristy
attractions that Chicago had to offer, as well as fitting in some shopping on
the Magnificent Mile here and there. We firstly headed to the Lincoln Park Zoo,
a free, and absolutely beautiful zoo located in the huge Lincoln Park just
north of the city. The animals were amazing, and we were sure to buy some
merchandise at the store! After the fun at the zoo we headed to the Navy Pier, which
was absolutely incredible! We got lunch on the pier, and went on the gigantic
Ferris wheel and got some great shots of the city and the surrounding area.
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| The Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier |
After experiencing some of the touristy elements of Chicago,
we couldn’t resist going shopping, and consequently we spent the rest of the
day doing just that before we headed back to the hotel in the afternoon to get
ready for our ‘last supper’ with the group. Kellie organised a great dinner at
a restaurant called Uncommon Ground
as a farewell to all of us, and we enjoyed some great food and drinks together
for the very last time. It was a great opportunity to say our goodbyes yet
again, and after dinner we all headed back to the Comfort Suites to have some
drinks and a further farewell party in one of the boys’ hotel rooms.
On Sunday, it was time to check out of the hotel and be on
our way to independent travels, or the beginning of a journey home for some. I
was headed to my own hotel for 2 nights to continuing exploring Chicago a
little more with some of the people I had met on the trip. Sunday afternoon
consisted of more shopping, before I had to say farewell to Cecilia, who had
been my roommate for the past 3 and a half weeks! It was sad to say goodbye,
but I am sure we will all see each other again in the future.
It is now Sunday night, and as I sit here writing this, I am
planning my final days and all that I would like to see in this beautiful city
before I head back to Australia. It is sad that the adventures are all over,
and I am sure we are all going to miss each other when we return back home to
different cities, and even different countries. This trip has formed some
incredible friendships and memories that will last a lifetime! However, it’s
not goodbye, just a ‘see you soon’.. :)
Natalie x
Natalie Miller is participating on our New Media for Business and Digital Marketing
program at Michigan State University, USA. Natalie is in her second
year of a Bachelor of Media and Communications at University of Canberra
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