Departure: moving through the city with luggage is always a fun task...the process is never identical to previous trips... Last year on this immersion experience, traveling to the hotel from the airport was a daunting and undesirable task. With many errors in routes and trying to keep our large group together, we quickly came to the realization that this is what you have to realistically do if one were to live in the city for let's say graduate school. Hailing a taxi every time is a luxury and is not practical for a college students budget. The experience of hauling luggage is a quick lesson in organization, efficient packing, and really adapting to only carrying the essentials with you.
Last years Immersion Experience trip 2013:
To the hotel- a very confused journey filled with awkward encounters, dealing with the initial culture shock, having to understand the subways systems quickly, etc.
From the hotel to the airport- the route was navigated prior and it seemed like an efficient one. However, it was determined early on that no matter how fast we hustled we possibly would not have made it to the airport in time so we hailed a taxi. When the taxi driver took off he announced that he had no idea how to get to the airport so he insisted that he knew which taxi the other part if our group was in so he followed it. I have never prayed so hard in my life that I would make it to a destination safely and on time. But thank goodness we did!
This years Immersion Experience trip 2014:
To the hotel- this year the journey from the airport was much nicer than the year before... However, we did get off with a comical start. We crossed the same street about 3 different times before we all agreed where to go to catch the bus. The trip to the hotel took about an hour. The only ways in which it was stressful was due to small delays that happened during our flight. Regardless, we were very fortunate to have landed safely while avoiding the incoming snow storm.
From the hotel to the airport- yay! We did it! We gave ourselves just enough time and we didn't have to rely on a taxi. Throughout the week all of us did a great job learning how to comfortably navigate around the city. Our flight into Chicago was smooth and now we
are waiting for our connecting flight to Minneapolis. This trip was outstanding but I grew rather homesick and I am looking forward to reuniting with my family. The trip felt so long yet it went by so fast. It was amazing and I can never articulate enough how impactful this immersion trip is. Not only is it a great learning tool but in my opinion it is absolutely essential to becoming a great performing artist in such a fast paced and demanding environment.
Kayla Shoemaker
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