Chicago - Day 1

Double Decker Bus Tour







We all met at The Field Museum. As soon as the bus arrived we went up to the second level right away. Our first stop was Navy Pier. All of us girls were so excited about the Ferris Wheel and seeing wonderful Lake Michigan full of sailboats, from up so high. The Rwandan girls were mesmerized by Chicago's architecture. Many of them had never seen a skyscraper before. We took a ride down Michigan Avenue and our next stop was Water Tower Place. We got off to visit the Hershey’s store nearby. We all know how much Rwandans love chocolate! Our tour tickets contained different coupons. One of them offered a free Hershey’s chocolate bar without any purchase. Yum! We also saw the John Hancock Center, admired the Sears Tower and we got off at Millennium Park next. There we visited the Park Shop where we used another coupon and got either a free t-shirt or a cap. We rode through The Theatre District, passed The Art Institute and returned to The Field Museum.







The CORE Center

Then everyone got into separate cars and drove to The CORE Center. After we ate lunch catered by Wishbone, we continued our work on the mosaic mural there. This was the first time the Rwandan girls saw the place where the mural would be located in Chicago. Since we already had started it before we left for Rwanda and the mural here is a bit smaller – there was less anxiety. After finishing the mural in Rwanda all the girls felt like experienced mural artists and finishing another mural in one week did not seem impossible.

Lillie Ann’s SPA

After a hard day of work and a long flight we were all glad to find out that Sonja had prepared a very relaxing surprise. We all went to meet her friend Lillie Ann who owns a therapeutic massage and stress reduction center. Each of us got a 10-minute massage that felt divine and we also learned how to relax our mind and body after the stresses of everyday life.