Andrew McFarlan

Caledonia

Dear blog,

Sorry for not posting this earlier but fortunately, my experience has not yet come to an end. I am currently sitting in Arlington House Hostel with Iain from Bellingham and Euan from Indianapolis as we try and soak up as much culture as possible before heading home.

On Friday I finished up work at the Illinois Saint Andrew Society, compiling the information from 71 interviews that I conducted over the last few weeks into a final report, delivered to the Board of Governors. The report was...well, long - 2 hours to be exact. I came across the issue that all the information and recommendations I came up with could be applied across so many cross-sections of respondents - age, gender, membership, Scottish heritage, you name it. However, the report was very well received and I am assured that it will play a large part in the strategic plan to be formulated in the next month by the Society. It's great to know that all the work I have done over here will play such an instrumental part in the goings-on in Chicago in the near future. As for the job I have been doing, I have learned so many valuable things over here, from how to formulate questionnaires and process information, to simply dealing with top businessmen and women from all around the world. It really has been a massive learning curve in many different respects, and I feel that I will be returning to Scotland (albeit reluctantly!)  with great business and people-to-people skills that I feel only this internship could have offered.

On the play side, the last couple of weeks have been great. As the reality is setting in that the novelty of the Scottish accent will soon be a thing of the past, it has leaped out on many more occasions and with greater enthusiasm than ever before. The culmination of this was a couple of nights ago, where we bought a football (soccer ball) for a kick-around on the beach. Unable to drop it off before we went out for a few drinks, the night soon turned into a game of street football with a bunch of Chicagoans right off North Clark Street, one of the main streets in Chicago. Even when finally asked politely to stop playing, the policeman extended a friendly hand with the introduction "Hey, my dad's Scottish!". Weird how small this world is sometimes...

On Tuesday the three of us took the Architectural Tour along the Chicago River and along Lake Michigan. Spectacular views, great overviews of the history of Chicago and a bunch of new friends made thanks again to the Scottish novelty. Upon being asked to take a photo of a man and his wife, we were soon hearing about how the man had been to Scotland before and people treated him just great, thanking the three of us on behalf of those he met. Having been over here now for 9 weeks, I am pleased and proud to say that I have heard only great opinions about Scotland and Scots around Chicago. Everywhere you go, the fact you are from a small country with a big personality and a big heart really makes you stand out and stand tall in the minds of many people. Although, the conversation on the boat was telling of another popular perception of Scottish culture. I offered "So, how did you know we were Scottish? Was it the pale skin?", to which he replied, "No, it's the fact that you're drinking beer at 3 o'clock in the afternoon".

When I think over all the things I have done over here, it does make me sad that I am going to leave in only 3 days. I have walked the streets of Chicago every day and experienced a different side to US culture on each occasion, experiencing both the love of America and the respect for other cultures. I have eaten cotton candy and drank Bud at Wrigley Field, cheering on the well-supported but notoriously faltering Cubs. I have watched the horses thunder by at Arlington Heights racetrack, placing optimistic but ultimately unreturned bets in the company of friends and top businessmen alike. I have kayaked down the Chicago River whilst conducting an interview and learning about the history of the city and watching turtles and herons climb the riverbanks. I have discussed US politics in the home of the former Consul-General and close friend of Barack Obama...

I have shaken hands with Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon and found out that he drinks rum and tonic, as well as doing a mean Scottish accent. I have met Jeff Sluman, Ian Baker-Finch and Peter Jacobsen, and attended a golfing demonstration where they carved out impossible shots and unthinkable strikes. I have been to concerts seeing Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails, John Butler Trio and Phantom Planet, and sang along to "California" like my life depended on it. I have been to the great areas of Chicago and the bad areas, and talked to people from all sections of Society, from CEOs and astronauts to those with nothing to their name but great stories and a warm heart. I have watched Rangers play at 6.30am with fellow Scots, and seen Scotland close Iceland out whilst eating a Scotch pie and beans.

I have made great friends over here, firstly with the Media Bridge high-school students in my accommodation and then with Columbia students as they embarked on their Orientation Week. I have sung and played guitar for a number of people, and offered the kilt for anybody interested to try on at will. I have played golf three times, each tome with new players and with different stories of Scotland and how badly everybody wants to go there. I have lived in great accommodation funded by Saltire Foundation (thank you!) and some pretty rough accommodation funded by the Andrew McFarlan Foundation, which has considerably less financial clout. I have listened to Pat Ryan appeal to the Chicago populace as to why the 2016 Olympics must come to Chi-city and listened to others who are more concerned about where on earth the money is going to go...

But more importantly than all of that, I have realised that whatever you do, whether it is being a Saltire Foundation intern, the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or Tray, who shines shoes for pennies on Michigan Avenue, if you go for it in Chicago with a real grit and a balance of work and play, you can have the best time of your life. And in essence, that is what I have had. A fantastic social, professional and cultural experience that has meant the world to me and has given me the confidence to go ahead and do whatever I want to do. And I guess you can't put a price on that confidence.

So I guess all that is left now is to thank everybody involved for this experience. The Saltire Foundation for providing more than financial assistance, but great support in terms of encouragement and making themselves available wherever possible. The Illinois Saint Andrew Society, for giving me huge support in effectively taking on my own project and turning that into a rewarding project for all. Jim and Gus as well as other over in Chicago, for easing me into a position that was daunting at the start, and extremely comfortable by the end.

Thank you all, and I hope that I can go on from here to make sure that my contribution to Scotland is anything like the contribution that the Saltire Foundation has made to my experience in Chicago.

 

"I don't know if you can see the changes that have come over me...Caledonia, you're calling me, and now I'm go-o-ing home..."

Goodbye from Gotham City!!!

That's Amore

Dear blog,

I thought I would update you on what I have done recently and my exciting plans for the next few days.

After a brief period spent in the darkness of my chambers I have embraced the light once more and set about trekking the city to explore its many delights. Unfortunately due to my being ill I had had to cancel a few of my interviews over the week, and I think the fact that I had been flying around the city at 100 miles per hour in a million different directions didn't help. But seeing as I now have only two weeks left in the city, what's the point in resting up? My wings have regrown and I'm all set for some more high-speed travel.

So on Friday I ditched the opportunity to take a half-day and decided to slog it out, compiling more reports and arranging more interviews. A great decision, I must say, for it gave me the chance to meet a certain Caroline Cracraft, a former school historian, British Consulate-General and close friend of Barack Obama, no less. You must understand, for a student studying International Relations and US Foreign Policy, I felt as if I had stumbled upon the Holy Grail. Caroline invited me for some afternoon tea and cookies, to which I duly obliged. Conversations of US politics, British emigration to the US and the current situation in Georgia were on the agenda, and although some people's idea of a fun Friday afternoon may have involved heading down to the beach only a stone's throw away from Caroline's apartment, mine was being involved once again in some current affairs! I am getting old...

After this, it was straight out to the suburbs again to meet up with Amy for the last time before she headed back to St Andrews. For some reason, and I'm sure the other SF interns feel the same thing, heading out to the US suburbs, regardless of where you are, gives you a really warm feeling. I think it's the personalized stand-alone mail boxes, the kids riding the bicycles up and down the cul-de-sacs and the picture perfect lawns and gardens that really give you the impression you are in the middle of a Little Rascals film or an episode of Desperate Housewives. So I have been taking every invitation coming my way to be Alfalfa for the day and roam these neighborhoods. And I must say, I have not yet seen an unkempt garden or single house that doesn't ooze warmth and welcome. Equally sadly, however, I have also not yet spotted Eva Longoria.

Amy and I took a trip to Giordano's, the number one place in town for some deep-dizza super-sized ultra-loaded and perfectly baked pizza pie. This thing was enormous, and I failed even to manage two pieces. So much so we ended taking home even more than we had managed to eat. The drive back was accompanied by some Hakuna Matata and a slight detour to catch a college football game and some tea with Amy's parents and friends. Once again, the Scottish accent leaped out from nowhere and became another talking-point for a good half-hour.

At this point, I am not ashamed to say that I am using the accent to my advantage. When unsure of what to order in a store, I will simply say "I am so sorry, I have never been faced with some many great choices before. We don't get this much choice back home". Such a statement always prompts the "Oh, where are you from?" question. And I promise, to any Scots traveling out to the US in the near future, if you answer that question by saying "I'm from Scotland" in an accent as close to that of Sean Connery's as possible, not only will you get a smile in response, you will also get as much time as you want to make your order. Is this manipulation? I'm not sure.

When you are feeling lonely, all you need to do is go to the nearest tourist hot spot and say "Excuse me, I was wondering if you could point me towards the Buckingham Fountain". Now you could be asking for directions to McDonalds or the moon, it matters not - you will always get the same response - "Waw, you have an accent". An instant talking point and a new friend quicker than you can say "Shaken, not stirred".

After Friday's pizza pie, high tea and neighborhood stroll, I decided to take a walk up Michigan Avenue to the high-end shopping precinct. Saks, Macy's Bloomingdales, you name it - I visited them all. The highlight of this was a conversation I got into with the guy who works in the toys section of Macy's on State Street. Surrounded by giant stuffed dragons, giraffes, elephants and T-rexs, I loved this guy's attitude towards his job. He wore a porter's uniform and approached each customer with a friendly tone and warm smile. It looked like the best job in the world (apart from being a full-time Saltire Foundation intern) and so I asked how one may go about applying for the job. His response was great: "If you want my job, all you need is a friendly face and a happy personality". Even better than that was his response to my following question: "So what animal is your favorite around here. Is it the dragon? I think my favorite is the dragon", to which he replied "No, I'm more practical than that. I am more likely to choose the giraffe". I think this guy is my new favorite person in Chicago. Needless to say, I took a photo of myself and him so I can always remember that it doesn't matter what your job involves, whether it's analysing numbers or selling enormous stuffed toys, if you learn to love it, it becomes the best job there is.

My shopping spree went something like this: Stores visited: 20. Average number of items contemplated to buy in each shop: 5. Money spent in total: $2.44. And that was on a coffee. It was kind of like a Mastercard advert in reverse, where I started off looking at things that might as well have been priceless, and then finishing with a $2 dollar coffee. Priceless.

And that brings me to today, where I am just back from a stroll along Lake Michigan, a snooze on its banks and a visit to the superb Adler Planetarium. 3D shows, 4D Planet Earth expeditions, a ride-in digital planet containing a representation of every star in our galaxy, this place really has got the lot!

I shall be getting in my third round of golf tomorrow morning (well, it's a big part of business over here, I have to think of my career!) and then onto writing the final presentation. I have a lot of information to summarise, but I'm confident I'll get everything I want out of the report and be able to deliver my findings in a thorough way. I will be getting reacquainted with PowerPoint over the next few days then - I will do my best, unlike school, to refrain from spending all my time trying to move new captions in at high speeds from impossible angles - although fun, it eats up the time!

Well, I hope this has provided some information on what I have been up to of late. I'll write back when I've delivered my final report to the Board - wish me luck!

Breakfast in America

Dear blog,

I would firstly like to apologise for my previous blog. I was recently struck down with a bad cold and that seemed to imflame my temper briefly, but I am glad to report this has now disappeared and my lazy blogs have come to an end. If anybody wants to throw me a "Welcome back" party, feel free!

This week has been a very good one for me and very very busy. I have been continuing with the interviews that I have set about appointing and have now completed somewhere in the region of 65, with a total of 70 to be completed by the end of the week. Once I have done this, it is back to the drawing board and a case of finding out what people have been saying, what they like/don't like about the Society and how this can be positively managed into making the Society a better and more relevant organisation for promoting and celebrating Scottish culture. I have certain things already formulated in my mind, but these must be grounded in hard data and specific suggestions if they are to fly. So that's my job for this week and next!

This weekend I met a whole bunch of new students from around the US. One guy tried my kilt on and did the Carlton dance from the Fresh Prince whilst wearing it (this is my new favorite dance move and looks great in a kilt), another simply tried the kilt on (and would'nt give it back for some time!) and a couple of girls kept asking me to say "I don't know" in a Scottish accent. I love it how the Scottish thing is an immediate start-up point for a conversation anywhere in the world at any time. We decided to watch the fireworks down at the lakefront and even grab some cookie dough ice cream. Perfect.

On Saturday, Euan from the Saltire Foundation came up for the day from Indy with a couple of his frineds. Nothing like a bit of mini golf, Navy Pier and some serious humidity to remind you you are no longer in Scotland. Sears Tower too came-a-calling and we traveled up the tallest building in the US, originally designed from a handful of cirgarettes. The view from the top, we agreed, was a little disappointing due to the cloudy day, but wow - certainly gives you a different perspective next time you're on the ground looking up. 103 stories tall, and as the man in the Tower told us, still the highest building in the world when you take th antennas into account!

Sunday I was out in the burbs meeting up with Amy again. I think this was the most American day I have had over here. We started off at Blueberry Hill, a great breakfast bar in LaGrange. I resisted to ask "Can we have kippers for breakfast, mummy dear, mummy dear?". Instead we chomped on some crepes with strawberries and bananas. Well, I did. Amy thought it would be more fun to stare at the menu for an hour before asking for a combination of some of the regular items (actually, this was quite fun, as it gave us a chance to muse over some of the stranger food combos, of which Amy's favorite was the sausage pancake). But wow, the food was good and we even got so sing happy birthday to an elderly man we had never met. I'd say that's a pretty classy morning. Although we did have the token embarassing moment in the song when you don't know the recipient's name. Happy birthday, Mr. Nah-nah! Hapy birthday to you!

After this, we hit the road to go play some ball! Firstly some football as I was given the how-to on some elementary throwing methods; secondly some rugby as I demonstrated how an oval-shape ball is thrown in Scotland; and thirdly (and most importantly for the ultimate American experience) the batting cage!

Question: How does it feel never to have faced a baseball pitch before, only to throw yourself in at the deep end and face a 95mph-ball straight off?

Answer: I have no idea, I instead opted for the softball and the rather less-menacing 54mph ball. Which way to the gun show?

To cap the afternoon off, we played "The Game of Life" which i lost, perhaps only so Amy could tell me that I lost at life. And then onto a Mexican restaurant for some proper Mexican nosh. Again, this exceeded my expectations and once again marked Chicago as the place to meet if you need to eat.

After Amy and Andy's Day of Fun, which i have just decided to call it, I took rather ill and spent the next few days either in the office not talking to anyone (having lost my voice) or in bed. Not a whole lot to report there then, although I am pleased to admit that the spider who seemed to revel in my fear as he suspended above me just below the ceiling has now got bored and moved on to terrorise somebody else with his wicked ways. And the paint in my room is somewhat drier than before.

I am glad to say I am on the mend so I am storing up my red paint to go and decorate the town. Euan and Iain from the Saltire Foundation are coming up to Gotham for the last few days so that will be a time to remember. If anybody has any suggestions (and I include friends, family, all the good people I have interviewed so far, Society members, non-members and even the good folk at the Saltire Foundation) as to how we could make the most of our time here then please let me know via the comments. I propose that we spend an afternoon walking around promoting the Saltire Foundation, and in exchange we get an extension. That seems fair, right?

Space Odyssey

Ground control to Major Tom...

It's been a week or so since I've written so this promises to be full of highlights and star-studded events of the last seven days.

I last left the blog on Friday evening, before heading off to the west suburbs on Saturday morning, where I watched Rangers play Falkirk at 6:30am kick-off in a place called Duffy's Tavern in Forest Park. To get to Forest Park, you need to go through some pretty dodgy areas such as Austin, Harlem and Pulaski. Not the prettiest places I've seen in my life but definitely gives you a feel for just how segregated this city is. On the North side, you have the pubs and clubs, with beautiful hotels and restaurants in areas such as Wrigleyville, Lakeview, Andersonville and Lincoln Square. On the South side you have some pretty bad areas, stretching from just south of downtown to 100th St South (about 15 miles south of the city). On the west side you have pockets of both, including the worst areas in the city, such as Austin, which are situated right next to some of the best areas, such as Oak Park. In these areas, you really feel the seclusion, as highways literally define where you can walk around freely from where you should hail a cab. Anyway, I got the train through these parts to meet the Rangers Supporters Club of Chicago, and the five of us watched the game and talked a little about the Society and its relationship to the Club. Needless to say, I probably should have stayed in bed, as the game failed to encourage any of us about what the season may hold for Rangers, after getting knocked out of Europe by Lithuanian minnows Kaunas. However, I'll be going along to the games on Saturday mornings now so it's great to have somewhere over here to watch them.

That afternoon, I managed my first game of golf over here at Arrowhead GC, a public course that seems better than a lot of the private ones we see at home! Myself and Tony Kinnear (a local hotel manager from Edinburgh) managed to close out Gus and Jim in the end - I must have skipped the lecture on letting your bosses win at golf. It was a great day and the dinner afterwards was pretty incredible, followed my some much-missed European beer. Gus dropped me off downtown and I snoozed away the rest of the evening having been well-fed and watered, looking forward to the Sunday I had ahead - pretty much the forst day since I started working that I had no plans, except to laze away the whole day.

I fell asleep in the park for two and a half hours whilst listening to classical music, got up, ate a huge meatball sub with jalapenos and melted goats cheese, bought a couple of books and fell asleep for another considerable while. Only when I got back to the Center did I realise the results of this: the sunglasses tan. Never to be encouraged, the sunglasses tan rears its ugly tentacles when you least expect it, giving you the perfect shade-shadow around your eyes. I haven't worn my sunglasses since, and I'm proud to report that this monstrosity had levelled itself out somewhat since.

The next week was great. I was up in Lake Bluff for a golf tournament on Monday (watching, not playing!), where I'd been invited by a Society member. I met Ian Baker-Finch, Craig Stadler and Jeff Sluman, all of whom were playing for charity and held a demo at the end. But the highlight of Monday was meeting (at some length!) one of the most famous men in the world. Standing at the bar, Jeff Durkes (who invited myself and Gus up) asked us: "Do you know who the gentleman on you left is?". Neither of us had a clue, and I was astonished to find out it was Neil Armstrong. I approached him and asked how the bar was, and it turns out that Neil Armstrong drinks a rum and tonic. Gus proposed, and I agree, that the Saltire Foundation drink should now officially be the "Neil Armstrong" - a rum and tonic on the rocks. Anybody? I have the pictures and will get them up today!

Well, the rest of the week was hard to live up to after that. I was out in the suburbs again to some beautiful areas in the north of the city, I met up with, listened to and dined with a touring  Scottish band, Bodega (look them up on MySpace, they're incredible), I went out and drank far too much with some guys I met at a whisky tasting event, and last night went out to watch the Air and Water Show at the lakefront, followed my a ferris-wheel sightseeing of Chicago with Amy and a not-so-pretty walk down Lower Wacker Drive (affectionately nicknamed Lower Wacko Drive by the locals, I hear), not the place to be on a Friday night but my sense of direction again decided that I had not seen enough of the world and proceeded to screw me as I once again got very, very lost.

In terms of work, I now have only two more weeks of collecting information and meeting with Scots in Chicago before I write and deliver my report to the Board. Things are certainly becoming clearer now and trends developing while will allow me to deliver some strong conclusions from what I have heard so far. Onwards and upwards I guess!

I was at the Rangers game again this morning and I'm glad to report a well-fought victory over the Jam Tarts. I've been invited over to Alan Jackson at the Bank of Scotland's house for dinner with him and his wife, Angelina, on Wednesday, and I've promised not to gloat too much about the result of the game. Aside from that, I have a number of interviews lined up for the week , the most interesting of which I'm sure will be with Liam Durnan, another local Scot who owns a watersports business. After figuring out if a face-to-face interview or a telephone one would suit best, we compromised that a kayak down Lake Michigan on Tuesday morning would suffice. All aboard!

I'll write back when I have enjoyed much more fun and met more astronauts. I hear Buzz Aldrin lives in the area...

Blinded by the Lights

Hi blog,

This week started with a bang. Well, several actually. I went to Lollapalooza on the Sunday, a huge festival in Grant Park, right in the downtown area of Chicago, hosting bands such as Kanye West, Gnarls Barkley, Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails. I managed to sneak a peak of a few bands early in the morning, such as SmallTown DJs (pretty incredible if you ever get the chance), Newton Faulkner (a solo acoustic guitarist who I am certain will be the new big thing on the soft rock scene), Flogging Molly (an incredible Irish ceilidh slash rock band who look less like musicians than a leprechaun lookalike convention but were great nonetheless) and of course Kanye at the end of the evening. He sort of stole the show but, being from Chicago, he would do that! I think my highlight was an unexpected appearance by Phantom Planet with one of the smaller bands, and they went on to play "California". Pretty amazing if I do say so myself. Yes, I realize this is a very feminine song but what are you gonna do.

On the Monday I continued with my interviews and took a trip out to the suburbs to meet an ex-pat and a fellow Rangers fan, Craig Adams and his wife, Emily. His house was decorated with Rangers memorabilia, including a shirt worn in the 1972 Cup Winners' Cup Final. I was finally home. Craig and Emily invited me to stay for tea (to which i duly obliged) and I was given a crash course in Scottish life in the States. After a few beers, we tuned in to an emergency weather forecast...Here comes the bang.

Tornado warnings for Chicago. Severe thunderstorms on the way. I had seen thunderstorms before. I had been in Florida for a few weeks where thunderstorms were more common than the Mitchell brothers, and had seen storms in Bordeaux cut half of the city off from the other. I knew what a thunderstorm was. Safe in the knowledge of my experienced weather-conscious ways, I proceeded to board the train back into the city with a false ease, watching the gathering clouds without a clue as to what was to happen next. A thunderous bang halted my previous sense of security, as passengers boarding the train screamed in fear - the lighting overhead had struck a nearby object and send a huge clang around the train. As we traveled towards the city, things only got worse and the storm more intense. By the time I had reached Union Station in Chicago, the rain was pounding the streets and the thunder and lighting seemed locked in a battle to see who could outdo the other.

At this point, I must track back to a couple of days before. I had been watching a video of skydiving attempts and thinking "You know, I don't really do anything crazy anymore". "I really should".

So, upon seeing the thunder and lighting and ignoring my instincts to hail a cab to take me the mile or so to my accommodation, I decided to whip out my  5 dollar umbrella and take on the weather. The umbrella only covered half of my head, and I proceeded to be soaked from all angles, head-to-toe and even  into my shoes with the water level on the street. I actually thought this was hilarious, and sort of felt invisible for a while. I am not ashamed to say that I ran through the streets giggling like a little girl, having a great time and thinking this was exactly the kind of thing that had been missing from my life. Just at that point, where I was reaching the Maslow-like point of self-actualisation, I experienced something I will never forget. A fork of lightning that appeared in the distance, maybe a mile or so away, and then cut down right and front of me and struck something very close to me. I have no idea what it hit, but the car alarms around me started going off and I froze. The only thing that revived me was the fact that I had now half-let go of my umbrella and it delivered a blow to my right leg. I ran for cover and joined several people huddled under a nearby building and, unable to keep my story to myself, delivered an analysis of what had just happened to the group under the building. To my dismay, my story was not met with disbelief and dropped jaws but with calm and disappointing sentences such as "Oh, your from Scotland. That's cool".

Anyway, the storm only got worse and worse and I have incredible photos of it. I stayed up most of the night and witnessed what I am told was the worst storm to hit downtown Chicago in years. Reports of the tornado touching ground circled in from the surrounding areas but all went unconfirmed. The following day, hundreds of thousands were without electricity and some were injured. One man in Indiana was killed by a felled oak tree. I shall put the photos up when my camera decides to stop being boring, wake up and join me on my holiday.

The rest of the week, needless to say, was pretty uneventful in comparison. I continued with my interviews and managed to make some initial observations about the future of the Society and what i must do to keep its members. I met with the Board again this morning and we went through what I will have to do in order to keep things going in the right direction. Gus and Jim at the Society have invited me back to speak at the Scottish-North American Leadership Conference at the end of October, which obviously depends on resources but if given the chance, I will definitely be on the first plane out to Chicago!

I have a pretty bust weekend lined up. Tomorrow I am off at 4.30am to the west side of the city to watch the start of the SPL and see Rangers v Falkirk. I'm meeting a couple of members of the Rangers Supporters Club there, so it should be a good one! I can't say I'll ever have been in a pub at 6am before, or at least not that I can recall, so that's a new experience. After that I am having a round of golf at Jim's club, so it'll be the fist time I'll have had a chance to get the sticks out over here. I've been practising my swing on my bedroom, much to the shock of the nearby microwave and refrigerator.

On the Monday I'm away up North, where I have been invited to attend a charity golf outing. I won't be playing, but the guy who organizes it, Jeff Durkes, has promised to introduce me to some of the professionals playing in the tournament. If anybody reading this is into golf, you may recognise the following: Jeff Sluman, Mike Weir, Scott McCarron, Peter Jacobsen, Ian Baker Finch. I've been advised to bring the camera!

So that's my week and my weekend. I had thought this would be  a short blog but then again, I used to think that wearing a suit jacket with trainers made me look cool. So I shall end this blog and allow myself to sleep off what was both a terrifying and liberating start to the week, and look forward to a star-studded and Beer AM weekend.

See ya later!

All These Things That I've Done

Hi blog,

I've had quite a week since I last wrote! Thankfully I wasn't made to dress up as Superman at the weekend so that was a bonus. Aside from that, I managed a fair amount of things!

First was a dinner party, to which I was invited on Friday night with Malcolm and Gwen, friends of the Society and great people. The food was great and el vino did flow - Saturday morning came with a bang. I spoke at length with Malcolm about university life 0 he told me his love for maths and statistics, which he teaches and researches as a Professor, came from his working at the bookies in Glasgow as a kid. Gwen had been actively involved in streamlining my job from a vague consort to a specific role, for which I was very grateful!

Second, I was whisked out to the Scottish Home picnic early on Saturday morning by Gus to see what was going on there. It looked great, the Society had provided jumble sales, crazy golf, bouncy castles and I'm told there was even talk of a caber-tosser too! I met some more Board members and some of the more vocal members of the retirement home! Everybody there is lovely, and it's great to see such activity in the garden for a really worthwhile cause.

Third on the list was a day at the races! I received a call from Jim on Thursday afternoon asking if I wanted to head to Arlington to see the horses, where the Bank of Scotland had bought a box for the afternoon. For my first time at the races I really had no clue what was going on. I spoke with Jose at the bar, who duly took me through the steps and the guidebook for betting. By the end of the day, I was a fully-fledged scholar in betting and people were asking me for tips on their day at Arlington. (Actually, that's a lie - although somebody did ask me where the bathroom was). I lost a few bucks here and there but it's true what they say - it does matter more when there's money on it. Thank you SkyBet. It was a really great day - I met some really interesting people and cannot thank Alan at the Bank for his kindness in inviting me to come along.

Fourth up was yesterday evening, when I met up with Amy from St Andrews and here friend Emma to go along to a  Latino classical music concert. It seemed a strange combination, and I'm told it was - but I definitely experienced the most inventive use of the maracas I'd ever seen! I was telling Amy and Emma about how the maracas tend to be treated in Scottish schools - they're given to the least-talented, least-coordinated member of the class, who was invariably myself. I couldn't keep a beat on the drum, and my "playing" of the recorder has bats in the basement hanging themselves. So I was given the maraca to shake on every eight beat, more to make me feel included than to add to the ambiance. This guy, however, was incredible, using the maracas in ways that would have put my shake-and-count style to shame, culminating in a 5-minute solo performance. It really was a great show. A guy a few seats away picked up my accent and quizzed me about Craig Ferguson - small world!

After this, I decided to get lost in Chicago. One wrong turn after leaving the girls at the station and I was heading west instead of east. If anybody know Chicago, this is probably the worst direction to go on a Saturday night. For the first time since I arrived, I really had no idea where I was. I finally stopped in my tracks at the Sears Tower and got my bearings. I stood there for five minutes - I can only imagine what it must have looked like. Standing on the spot and swiveling at right angles every 60 seconds or so, trying to find out my compass bearings in relation to the streets and the buildings. Thanks to my tourist-like "stepping-into-the map" moment, a local eventually realised my plight and pointed me in the right direction. Twenty minutes later, I was back home and stapling a map to my forehead for future  moments of idiocy.

And that takes me to now - I'm off this morning for a full-day event to see Kanye West, Gnarls Barkley, Nine Inch Nails, Iron&Wine, John Butler Trio and others at Lollapalooza. I think I'm meeting with a couple of girls I met yesterday at the races, but either way I'll happily float about! Hot and humid today too so I'll be downing the water before I head out! It's been a great weekend, and this can only cap it off!

That sums up the social side. On the work side I have been meeting some great people this week, including Billy Connolly's best mate Tam Spence, who took me to the local Irish pub, and has lost none of his Gorbals accent since he left Scotland in the early 60s. Ohers I have met with and spoken to on the phone include bagpipers, hotel managers, real estate investors, Scottish Enterprise folk (I know - I can't escape them!), entrepreneurs of various description and highland dance teachers. Quite a potent mix!

So that's me 3 weeks through and 5 to go - I really am loving it and just wish there were more than 24 hours in the day!

I'll keep you updated as to how things go this week and how the concert goes today - if I survive this heat!

Adios

I Don't Feel Like Dancing

Hi everybody,

It's been a groovy few days in Chicago - lots of entertainment on and lots of work to get through, but busy=good so I'm loving things here at the moment.

I decided to do something about my broken air conditioning and my lack of sleep. I bought some ear plugs and I applied some handyman stunts to repair the broken air-con. Now I am fully able to sleep my troubles away in breaths of fresh air. Life is good again! Although I feel that my "Please keep the noise down" letters to the Fire and Police departments have not been received as yet.

On Friday afternoon I was granted the half-day off work to go and see the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, which I am told is the oldest/second oldest baseball field in the world. It was pretty spectacular, from the US national anthem at the start to the beer boys running up and down the stairways handing out the Bud. We even managed to sneak a few hours of the Wrigleyville night life around the stadium. The Cubs ended up losing to the Florida Marlins, but hey, it was great fun.

The weekend was pretty much consumed by walking up the shoreline of Lake Michigan, up through Grant Park right next to my hotel, a city-centre grassland converging in the Buckingham Fountain, an incredible piece of sculpture with music and light-coordinated water displays every evening. Up through Millennium Park, home to the Bean (a bean-shaped mirror reflecting the city skyline), the Facing Fountains (faces of Chicagoans lit up on massive LED panels and spurting out water on people below), and the Orchestral Park (a sound-splashing dome dishing out free classical music and dance concerts every night during the summer). Up past the Magnificent Mile, a mile-long shopping precinct on the main street, home to such window-shopping delights as Eddie Bauer's and Macy's, past the Chicago River with its beautiful iron-cast bridges and snap-happy tour boats passing below. Up past the Hancock Observatory and the Chicago Tribune Tower and onto Grand Avenue, only a short stop away from my final destination - the beach!

There are only two beaches in Chicago that I am familiar with. Ohio Street Beach - a sea of bronze and bikinis, and Oak Street Beach, the more family-oriented one. Lacking the tan I thought an evening bathing in the sun on Thursday might have encouraged, I decided to pitch for the family one. Looking back, this was definitely a good choice - a nearby beach bar, soft white sand and only a stone's throw away from the train back. If anybody has not yet been on the 'el' trains (elevated trains) in Chicago, this is a must. I am normally keen to hide my identity as a tourist, but traveling on the el makes you forget all your manly pretenses and you act like a kid again. A big grin, a constant look of bewilderment and a real urge to ask the man next to you, "Are we there yet?"

The Sunday was also a great experience for me. Amy - a girl from St Andrews uni who lives in Chicago, invited me along to a birthday party in the suburbs. Being the sole intern that I am in the city, this was quite a big deal for me. Fortunately from an ice-breaking point of view, the novel of my Scottish accent failed to wear off through the entire meal. I don't think I've ever been asked to say "Hi, how are you today" and received so many laughs in return.  The meal itself was a cryptic combination of different foods, all of which were riddles and none of which were listed as desserts, main courses or starters. I managed to unintentionally decode most of mine, but to give you an idea of what I'm talking about, here is what Amy had:

Starters: Lemonade, trifle and potato bread.

Main course: Chicken broth, cookies and a fork.

Third course: A toothpick, carrot soufflee and chipalatas in bacon. 

Dessert:  Rocket salad, a knife, a spoon and lasagne.

It was a really great night, and it was really good to meet some of the "locals" from her school, as well as another of her friends from St Andrews. And the food was incredible - unusual, but incredible. I've been promised some of the recipes so I'll maybe have a similar-themed birthday next year!

On the work side, things have been really busy. I'm averaging three or four appointments a day now, most of which will be in the city and others, which are out in the 'burbs. I had my first set of interviews today, which I'm glad to say went well, and the job now is making sure I get the right people to do the interviews, in terms of making sure the sample is representative of Scottish-Americans in the area as a whole. I met with the Board on Friday to discuss how things were going, all of which went very well and was extremely productive in terms of the feedback I was given concerning my work so far.

I have four appointments tomorrow, the first of which is at 9am, so i had better stop blogging my life away and get some sleep. I have a whole load of interviews for the rest of the week, so I'll post again at the weekend. Whilst interviewing two dance teachers today, who I'll be meeting again for a Society event on Saturday, I made the mistake of informing them of my brief but much-celebrated dance career, which consisted of cartwheeling across the stage at a Dance Show in a Superman outfit, aged 5. The reply was unexpected: "Well, maybe you'll do that for us on Saturday".

So hopefully I'll be alive and well on Sunday to post my latest blog, and hopefully I won't have stories to tell of being roped into dressing like a superhero and performing cartwheels. I still haven't forgiven my mum after 16 years for the embarrassment this brief (but caught on tape) episode caused, so I think any future dance-related blog might be swiftly followed by my catching the next flight home.

Until then!...

Loopy in the Night with Sirens

Hi blog,

Quite a lot has happened since I last wrote.

I joined the History Tour for the Society annual meeting on Saturday. The President Emeritus, Wayne Rethford, led the tour, stopping at important historical sites and tombstones in Scottish-American history. The weather was atrocious, but dampened nobody's spirits as we trekked through the south side of Chicago and witnessed some Aryton Senna maneuvering  from the talented and much-revered coach driver. I spoke with a few people about their Scottish exploits, with one man in particular discussing how he'd stumbled upon his great-grandfather's house whilst holidaying in the Western Isles. Afterwards, I met with a few Society members, who I'm assured have been given the address of this blog - so a warm hello if you're reading this!

The following Sunday, I met with a girl who I go to university with, who is also involved with the Society. Amy showed me around the city and I even tasted what I am assured is a Chicago classic  -sweet and cheese-flavored popcorn. I know what you're thinking, but once I tasted it I realized it wasn't an elaborate, well-planned practical joke. It was actually really good. Not in the way that candy floss is really good, but sort of in the way that Root beer is good, which I also tried for the first time the other day. That took a bit of getting over as well - I spent half the time wanting to brush my teeth, and the other half with an aftertaste that felt as if I just had. Amy has been kind enough also to invite me to her birthday next week, where her mum and grandmother are making a 'mystery meal' for everybody, where you don't actually decide what you want, but simply have a few, random ingredients thrown together to form your meal. Is this a Chicago custom? I can't answer that, but I'm sure I've tried something similar at university when all I had left was a bag of penne pasta, some HP sauce and  half a tomato.

The start of this week has been very busy - I've now arranged around 15 meetings with people, with another 5 or so in the pipeline. I'm receiving a number of names soon as well to make interviews for, so that will be taking up my days for the foreseeable future. I really enjoy it though, everybody I speak to has a different story to tell about how they are connected to Scotland, and everybody has been kind in accepting the offer for me to come and speak to them. I must bear this in mind the next time I am phoned at random by a telemarketing company. Maybe I will upgrade my mobile phone to a £30 a month Vodafone contract. Maybe I do need double-glazing. Maybe I will buy a new kitchen. Hmm...Maybe not.

Last night I joined one of the groups on my floor for an outdoor film screening in a local park. Thus was incredible. There must have been a couple of thousand people there - everyone with blankets, fold-up chairs, brownies, sodas and the like. America in a nutshell.

I also wrote up a questionnaire today, which will act as a draft for the final one to be completed tomorrow. It's starting to look pretty good, and having set up the interviews I'll be able to commence them as of Monday. After seeing the Cubs in action on Friday of course...

If I sound like I'm rambling it's because I am. Pretty self-explanatory. But also my air-con has broken, to which I have assigned most of the blame for not getting my forty winks last night. Various other explanations include the fact that I locked myself out of my room, or that I searched my room for a beeping alarm clock for a while before I realized it was coming from my shoe (actually, that sort of solved two previously unconnected mysteries at once), or that I seem perennially stuck in a Hollywood chase between the not-so-slouchy Chicago Fire Brigade and the siren-happy police department. I think I might simultaneously rob a bank and set it on fire on the other side of town, just to distract them for a couple of nights. Again...maybe not.

Well, next up for me is a meeting with the Board on Friday and we finalize the questionnaire and discuss my progress so far. After that, it's a ball game, followed by a few beers and a good old-fashioned bottoms-up. Then come Monday, it's survey time and I'll be in town, on the road and on the phone for the next few weeks. Until then!

Gotham City

Hi blog,

I write to you from a wet and windy Chicago - I suffered severe imsomnia last night courtesy of the the -storms which seemed to brew an unhealthy concoction of thunderous bolts and deafening gusts at every point, at which I was sure I was about to snooze. Needless to say, jetlag has been replaced by downright lethargy this morning.

Things have been pretty busy in the last few days. I wrote a few short reports for the Society, just making a few early observations on how new membership could be attracted and the like. I met with Gus and Jim on the Thursday to discuss my next steps. So I've been phoning around existing and potential Society members to arrange interviews - we are finalising a questionnaire on Thursday so I'll be ready to start them on Friday. I suppose my first "interview" per se will be on Monday afternoon, where I've been invited out to meet David Forlow, an ex-pat from Glasgow for lunch with another guy from my town in Glasgow. Small world. Unfortunately David comes from the other side of Glasgow that I do (the green side) but I'm sure we'll get along! My next meeting will be a Cubs baseball game on Friday, again which I was invited along to by another friend of the Society, with whom I am due to meet to discuss ISAS options. Not bad - is this how all Americans do business?!

I was told that I was likely to be treated well by the people I spoke to, but this something else. I have a large number of Society friends to contact over the next few weeks (I have been told the number is 500 and rising) so who knows where I'll be in a few weeks time - maybe sitting in George Bush's office in the White House? Maybe not. But still, a man can dream.

I'm meeting with a girl from St Andrews uni tomorrow, who received a scholarship from the Society this year, It will be good then to meet up with some people from a but closer to home, and I've warned her I'm going to extract all her info on where to visit in Chicago! Today I'm planning on going to meet some ISAS members that have organised a History Tour around Chicago. Although I'll need to find out if it's not been cancelled yet- it reaally is miserable outside. I saw a guy the other day perform a comedy fall on one of the grates outside my accommodation, which was perhaps a little slippier than he had anticipated. Maybe today's rain will provide similar entertainment....

I also watched Batman Begins the other night with a few guys, at first completely unaware that it was set in Chicago. And what's maore, the special effects were pretty minimal. All of the scene locations with the elevated trains and parallel highways are all here - and the "Wayne Towers" are just a couple of blocks from where I stay. Pretty cool. Never thought I'd be living, working and watching people fall over in Gotham City.

All the President's Men

Hey y'all,

The last couple of days have been really great for me. I met the President of the Society, Gus Noble, on Monday morning and he took me to meet the staff, all of whom were a lively, friendly and hard-working bunch. I sat in on the weekly staff meeting and was given a quickfire briefing on issues of development, fundraising and calender events. I was lucky enough to meet the former President and Society Historian, Wayne Rethford, over lunch, with a traditional fried chicken and pop combo. Both Gus and Wayne showed me round the Scottish Home, where both the headquarters of ISAS and the retirement home are situated. I was given a detailed tour of the world's only Scottish-American Museum, with an incredible array of artefacts, dating from  the Civil War to  Randall Wallace's "Braveheart". (I had a feeling that little chestnut would pop up at some point!) The  staff at the Society could not have been more friendly and I felt very much at home in the offices.

Today I had my first day in the offices I'll be working for the next two months. After getting set up there, I quickly got to work on a couple of reports that Gus gave me. (Actually, the reports filled up a whole gift bag but at least I'll have plenty to work on!) Once I had made headway on this, I was summoned to the headquarters of the oldest Rotary Club in the world, as a guest of Gus's, for a Rotary Club Lunch at noon. Needless to say, the food was terrific and the company great. I met briefly with Charlie Gonzalez, a member of the ISAS Board, for whom I will be working, as well as Sandy Kerr, a good friend of the Society and great guy. I was even fortunate enough to sit on on a speech and Q&A session delivered by the Chair for the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid. The pitch was great, and the Chair, Pat Ryan, skilfully crafted some slick and silky answers from some decidedly difficult questioning. With a lot going for the city and popular support behind it, Chicago looks well-placed to be among the top bidders for the Games.

So it'll be back to the office tomorrow, where I am currently sharing office space with the HI Group, an real estate firm downtown, a partner of which, Doug Cameron, has been kind enough to grant me a place to work. I'm sharing an office with the lovely Molly, who's given me a run down on the coffee, soda, hot cocoa and POPCORN eternally available. I love America!

I'm meeting Gus and Jim on Thursday to discuss at length what I'll be looking at over the next few months. I'll be writing then! But before I do that I had better step back from the virtual world and get some much needed sleep. See ya!