Our Crowded Mantel: Chaperones

Yesterday morning Ryan and I took the METRA train down to Chicago with a group of high school Model UN kids who are participating in the 2010 University of Chicago Model UN conference. I've enjoyed my time with these youngsters so far. On the whole, they are well-behaved and our chaperone duties have been very light. I like to sit back and watch them interact, usually I find myself giggling under my breath or sharing a discrete smile with Ry. I can see the very clear differences between this age group and the college age group I work with daily. These are extremely bright kids, but they have not yet been exposed to many things my college students have, nor have they been given the opportunity to experience a significant degree of independence.

We took a small group of kids to the Mexican Fine Arts Museum in Pilsen yesterday. It is amazing and free - if you are ever in Chicago, visit this museum! With eleven kids in tow we hopped on the El and I gave impromptu lessons on public transportation. I showed them how to use the card purchasing machines, how to insert their fare cards into the turnstyles and how to read the transit map.

We had lunch at a great little counter service Mexican restaurant across from the Damen El stop called Abuelo's. I had a burrito El Abuelo (marinated skirt steak with avocado, red cabbage, cilantro and beans) and a mandarin Jarrito's, yum! Ryan munched on a torta pibil (marinated baby pig sandwich with avocado and cabbage). We sat with two boys who discussed the merits of trying new things (or the inability to do so), the details of kosher food preparation and Judiasm. We took a short walk to the museum, which was featuring a special exhibit on the Women of Juarez. Powerful, powerful pieces in many mediums about the femicide that has been taking place there and growing exponentially since the mid-1990's. Ry and I also toured through the permanent exhibit remembering the last time we'd been there - just a week after we met and fell in love.

I bought these Virgin De Guadalupe earrings from the gift shop:

When we came back to the hotel I conked out for several hours. I find a good long nap is usually in the cards for me on the first day of a get-away weekend. I know no one will bother or call me and I just want to rest in a sterile hotel bed. The Model UN Conference takes place at the historic Palmer House Hitlon, but we are staying at the Hampton Inn around the block, connected to what used to be called the Majestic Theatre. Our 20th floor room is comfy and has fifteen-foot ceilings.

Our room in the afternoon:

View from our window in the afternoon:

After my nap I watched some public television syndicated European Journal news show that was doing stories about societal issues in small towns along the coast of Northeastern Greenland and an animal behavioral clinic where meds are given to depressed dogs in the Netherlands. Ryan and I snuck out for a pub dinner and made our way over to the Palmer House to watch the kids in the UN Committee Time.

Committee time consisted of moderated caucus meetings where "countries" discussed issues related to their assigned topics and attempted to pass motions. We traveled from ballroom to ballroom identifying the kids from our school and watching these massive group activities unfold. I was incredibly impressed by the Palmer House and all of the historical decorative touches. Nobody makes buildings like this anymore.

I was also flabergasted by what some of the young women participating in the conference thought passed for Western business attire. Modesty, modesty! Call me old-fashioned, but I think it's important for us to teach young women that their bodies are not commodities and that they are not going to be taken seriously if they dress in such a revealing manner. I honestly think some of them are not even aware that they look totally inappropriate.

Some shots of the lovely details in the Palmer House, the second largest hotel in Chicago and a historical landmark.

Tiled ceiling detail in the main lobby: