Bucket List #6: Visit African Countries

(my orchid)

Yesterday, I took a 3 hour seminar class about Global Health and Humanitarian Relief. We covered Chernobyl, the genocide in Rwanda, and earthquake in Haiti. I'll be spending the rest of this week researching the Darfur conflict for next week's culmination session when we're presenting what we've learned about disasters, both natural and man-made. This is definitely an interesting reprieve from a lot of science-heavy courses, although I love science. I put this book, The Graves are Not Yet Full, on hold at the library. Just something I was thinking about yesterday and this morning.

Visiting some African countries is definitely on my bucket list. It would be completely different from anything I'd ever done or seen. This one is very vague for now, but with further research, will become more specific regarding exactly what it is I want to do there.

still too young to fail, too scared to sail away

Yesterday was Ghana Independence Day. Coincidentally, one of my favorite chocolates (ever) is from Ghana. It's called Omanhene. I received a package from Alex a few weeks ago before the big slew of exams and felt extremely lucky. I was first exposed to this chocolate at a local coffeeshop and instantly fell in love with it. They don't sell the bars anymore, although I think they might still use it in their mochas? I'm not sure, as I don't typically drink mochas.

The 48% Cocoa Content Dark Milk Chocolate is exactly my idea of chocolate that isn't too sweet or too bitter. I think I've tried the 80% before also, but after eating approximately 15 of these small bars, I can safely and definitively say that this particular one is my favorite. The other three bars can be accounted for as follows: one to my mom, one to my dad, and one uneaten. The uneaten one will probably be eaten today. I actually find it strange that they have lasted this long and must attribute it to my strong sense of will power. That is, of course, a joke, as I have on two occasions, stuck a bar in my coat pocket and whipped it out: 1) During an excruciating shopping trip and 2) During an excruciatingly long 15-minute-walk home.

These things have gotten me through some fairly tough (shopping) and extremely tough (walking) times. Thank you, Alex :)

Bobtail Ice Cream Company

I'm having a really hard time putting pictures up today for some reason, but today's 68 degree weather inspired me to share some (unfortunately, not all) of the pictures from our post-Crisp expedition to Bobtail Ice Cream Company. Embarrassingly enough, it was not 68 degrees when we went to get this ice cream. In fact, it was probably 30 degrees and snowing. Although my other pictures won't upload right now, I personally was comforted by the fact that there were many other people getting their ice cream fix in. Not that one ever needs to justify ice cream.

I ordered the Espresso-flavored one. Coffee ice cream is my favorite when done right. For some reason though, I'm a little bit picky about it. As in Saad-level picky. And Saad is the master of being weirdly picky about seemingly menial things. That's a post all its own. I didn't love the flavor, although the ice cream itself was very creamy and obviously very high quality. I did enjoy Saad's Cookie Dough ice cream. I can't quite remember what he said about it (Note to self: start recording Saad's hilariously strange commentary on food). I can't say that I know what Nitin ordered either, since he quietly/sneakily ordered a good five minutes before Saad or I even realized what sizes were available. This is what I'm saying about our pickiness. Perhaps Nitin has gotten used to our slowness (and we often wonder why it takes us three times as long as it should to accomplish any task). 

I thought this shop was adorable and would be so much fun to visit in the summer. It exudes carefree summertime that can be felt year-round. The ice cream had an amazing texture and weight to it. I'll be back.

Crisp- Korean

About a month ago, my friends Saad and Nitin and I visited Devon Avenue. I love that street. The tacky shiny nightlights remind me of Asia. It's perfect. Although I forgot to blog about it, I did take some pictures that I had forgotten about. We decided that night that we would try new cuisines of all different cultures. Shortly thereafter, Saad and I started a Google document to keep track of all the different countries' foods we wanted to try. The thing I love about Google Docs is that it is totally live and you can see as the other person is typing comments. This led to Saad and I commenting back and forth about different ideas (mostly unproductive ideas about how we should find a person of the same ethnicity as the food to take with us and explain to us what was going on- via Craigslist, obviously). But also to Yelp links of different possibilities. Nitin had been keeping his Gmail account a secret from me but eventually I was able to share the document with him and he thought that Saad and my comments must have been those of at least four people. That's pretty much accurate. He has been fixating over the idea of Vietnamese Pho. "Pho sho," he says.

Right after our Anatomy exams last Wednesday and too tired to research which Pho restaurant to try, Saad and I decide that we should try Crisp, a restaurant that we had frequently driven past in the Lakeview neighborhood. It's Korean food and absolutely delicious. We actually became a little suspicious of its absolute authenticity, but as we had no Korean counterpart to give us the 411, we went with it. The sauces and flavors for both the chicken bowl (chicken and sticky-ish rice) and barbeque chicken were amazing.

You can split wings half and half with different sauces- we decided to do that with the 10 wing set and got both the Seoul Sassy and Crisp BBQ flavorings. Although they both hold a dear place in my heart, I preferred the Seoul Sassy just a little bit to the Crisp BBQ and Nitin felt the opposite. Saad had a picky, nuanced opinion in his weird Saad ways that would take too long to explain here, as per most of Saad's thoughts and ideas.

We had a really good time here and accidentally stayed past closing. Nitin is using our cultural experience to search out good future date spots. I would be very impressed with any guy attempting to woo me if he knew of such delicious and unique places. Likewise, I would be very impressed with any guy I took to places serving food that he has possibly never tried before who keeps an open mind about it all. Very important.

Vienna Summer Black Tea

I went tea-shopping with my mom a few days ago and going through the tea shop and smelling all the jars of tea was amazingly fun. Note: going to a tea shop that has jars you can open yourself is infinitely better than one with jars behind a counter that you need to get someone to open for you. I believe this is because your sense of how annoying you are being overrides the sense of fun derived from smelling tea leaves.

I'm a coffee kind of person born of a family of obsessive tea drinkers, but I also love tea and on (very) rare instances, will order it over coffee. Like when I want to be able to sleep. Once. And this behavior can be explained thus: the tea's name was Iron Goddess of Mercy. But when I'm at home, I almost always make tea for myself, due to the fact that I may have ruined my coffeemaker and anyway it was making somewhat weird coffee before that.

My parents are tea purists- especially my dad- but I like blending in a few things occasionally (like mint, rosehips, or chamomile) with your typical black, white, or green tea.

Vienna Summer Black Tea
My ingredients for this blend is approximately a ratio of the following:
4 tbsp black tea
1 tbsp rosehip
1 tbsp mint

Directions: Add an unknown amount to a teapot (I feel that I always disregard the package instructions that say to add 1 tsp or so for an 8 oz cup... I feel like I add 3-4 tsp, perhaps because I enjoy existin at the peripheries of life... joke). Boil water at an unknown temperature (although I do think I can admit I know black tea is supposed to be steeped at about 202-212 degrees-is this pretentious knowledge?).

Very simple and very delicious. I like the touch of mint, whereas I know my friend Ashley likes drinking mint tea straight up. That much mint flavor totally overwhelms me though. I think a bit of it is perfect. And no more. Unless you're trying to not only clear your sinuses but also your entire brain of every cobweb that has ever occupied it.

I'm not sure what effect the rosehips has in terms of taste, to be honest. But they photograph really beautifully.

Next Door Cafe

I recently discovered this coffeeshop, Next Door, presumably whilst wasting time on Yelp. People (including myself) seem confused about this place because it is owned by State Farm and is in a large space, yet seems to give off a small, community feel. Multiple vibes leading to confusion=fair enough. I'm not here to end the confusion, only to suggest that they make delicious lattes (depending on who's making it, one of the best I've had) and chili caliente. They attempt to build a sense of community by offering free classes (mostly financial- and yoga-based), as well as things like Super Bowl viewings. These things are all displayed prominently on a huge chalkboard. In my eyes, such a chalkboard is getting pretty close to living the dream.

Also, these huge moving cubicles are awesome if you need a private space. Overall, the vibe isn't my favorite because there is so much white. But I like that it is airy and spacious. And did I mention the amazing coffee? It is really good. As in, impossible that it is from State Farm unless they hired some sort of coffee expert to handle this, good.

We are, however, not a huge fan of the hot chocolate. Saad, whose caffeine of choice is in the form of energy drinks, usually tries hot chocolate wherever we go. We have a running list of good hot chocolate places. Unfortunately, Next Door probably is at the bottom of the list.

The above is Saad's political statement. He was a very good sport in letting me take this picture when I noticed the bottom of the mugs.

My favorite moment was when the barista asked how the grilled cheese was. When we (truthfully) answered that they were amazing (at times, I'm prone to hyperbole; this is not), he responded totally deadpan "Oh, that's because I put crack in them." So smooth Saad didn't even hear what he actually said and, following my cue, pretended to laugh and only when the barista was out of earshot did he say, "Wait, what did he say?"

Conclusion: go here to study and enjoy delicious food and drink. Not the coziest place, but definitely a nice spot, especially to go meet people who are interested in exchanging ideas.

i met somebody, flirtatious socialite

I started out writing this as, "The past two weeks felt like..." and a bunch of words popped into my head. Words like "hell," "I got sucked into a gauntlet," "I was kicked to the ground and then was kicked some more (by someone wearing steel-toed shoes)," and "I was toyed with physically and emotionally. Repeatedly." All of these statements are not gross exaggerations and are completely factual. However, I think what feeling expresses the post-exams feeling best is that it was a little bit life-changing. In a perspective-shifting way. The other thought that comes to mind is "I have re-emerged!" But then I realize I should probably stop being so annoying.

The thing is, I realized that I could do it. Taking six exams in genetics, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and gross anatomy has a way of breaking people down. I think I best understood that I was on the verge of having an emotional breakdown when I was in the midst of telling my brother that the reason I treat him like crap was because I was trying to help him be a better person. I laugh at it now, but that was pretty much as low as it got. And then I studied. And succeeded.

Last night, I had a horrifying nightmare about trying to drive to a coffeeshop to study with my friend Ashley in a car that had brakes that didn't quite work. But if you pressed them really hard, and ridiculously early, like 50 yards before the stop sign, you would probably stop on time. So the effects of extreme testing are lasting and we do not escape completely unscathed. But many things helped get me through these few weeks.

Not low on the list would be coffee. About two or three years ago, I decided to go discover independent Chicago coffeeshops. I had nothing against Starbucks (at the time), but I had this idea that it would be fun to see what else was out there. What ensued pretty much opened my view of what Chicago had to offer. Before that, I thought there were a lot of places downtown, but I started taking buses and trains and had people drive with me when necessary. This process resulted in what I consider to be a very comprehensive outlook on what was going on in the coffee world. But at the same time, it also helped me discover the city that had always seemed big, almost too big.

Particularly, I got to explore the neighborhoods that I ventured into. I definitely have had a lot of adventures and formed many opinions along the way about where the nice baristas work, what spaces are conducive to studying and which to socializing. The best is running into a barista from one shop who is relaxing at another shop who tells me that the only reason that it's okay I'm there is because the other shop is closed. The thought of missing out on all the characters, ideas, and conversations I've come across is staggering. I'm possibly just waxing nostalgic because before today, I hadn't had coffee in 3 whole days.

I haven't been able to find a good resource for all the coffeeshops I've visited in Chicago. Most of them seem to have big gaping holes in them or perhaps I just haven't come across any, but I thought it'd be nice to have a good compilation of places and also to help me remember some things I've done. And I seriously need to make use of my obsessive Yelp-ing. That's my number one answer when people ask me how I found such random places. They don't seem random to me; they seem all interconnected somehow. But I know that can be hard to see. So I think I'll post my first look at tomorrow. Although it may be less useful in a practical sense to non-Chicagoans, hopefully it'll still be fun to see these interesting places.

P.S. I made some changes with the appearance of things around here. I liked the previous format because it was easy for me, but there were a lot of limitations to what I had control over in terms of how everything looked and it was starting to bother me. The picture I used in the banner is one that I took at Next Door Cafe. I thought this particular barista had brilliant designs in the lattes he made.

P.P.S. Phew, that was a lot of words.