So far Chicago

So, I've been back in the windy city for over three weeks now (good God, time flies by!) and I have been extra busy at work and off work. At work, I've been finalizing the training program my team will be going through along with holding the fort at my 'old' position. Off work, here's what I've been up to:

the Turkish 'gang'
As soon as I came back to Chicago, I found myself in the middle of a new Turkish 'gang.' This gang is so fun and outgoing that I've been out with them almost every single night. We end up hanging out at the same Turkish cafe, discussing politics, music, books, you name it! The recent tensions in Turkey is really worrying all of us so we end up talking about that for the majority of the time. To guide the smooth-flowing conversation, we get incredibly good Turkish food and bottomless wine until we leave the place. We usually stay there so late that the place is literally ours and ours only. We invite friends and all of a sudden, it's a spontaneous party! We can even close the place down- i.e. tomorrow we're throwing a pumpkin carving party at the cafe for us and our friends! I feel VIP, and I love it.

Films!!!!!
Approaching the Christmas and New Year's season, there are films galore in the cinemas, and I'm enjoying only paying $10 to see these film, instead of 10 pounds! I'm loving the dollar. So far, I've seen:

• Lars and the Real Girl (highly recommended, really touching and ingenious)
• Dan in Real Life (feel good comedy starring Steve Carell)
• the Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson style awkwardly funny comedy)
• the Heartbrake Kid (horrendous film featuring Ben Stiller)

Chic and trendy
Thanks to my new work colleagues and the no-cover majority of Chicago entertainment spots, I've been to incredibly chic and trendy restaurants and bars. Thought-out decoration, tasty food, good wine and reasonable prices. I'm rediscovering Chicago! Below are pics from a few of the places I've been to.

De La Costa Restaurant

Carnivale

Japonais