The trip to Chicago was definitely fruitful. Met up with friends from the other universities, got to talk to DPM Lee, managed to eat authentic Singaporean/Malaysian food, after days of lousy dining hall food. Basically, exciting adventures of a country bumpkin in a big big city.

I remember the last few times I've been there. The first time, I was just sitting in the airport. Waiting for my next connecting flight to the airport in Champaign. It was evening and the sky was bleak. Tired from my long and very turbulent trip before that, I was feeling lonely and generally numb. And that was about two and a half months ago.

The second time, during a long holiday weekend, we took the bus down to Chicago and basically explored the main tourist attractions. I remember commenting that the city is ugly, all brownish and greyish in colour. It wasn't a particularly enjoyable trip, since I wasn't much of a tourist attraction kind of person.

Then, the last time, was the time when I went to the airport to see my friend off. A friend whom I felt I had let down in many ways. Emotionally, I was confused and depressed. But somehow, Chicago didn't look like such a lousy city after all. The sun was shining bright, the trees looked a little greener. Perhaps in a futile attempt to cheer me up then.

But last night, I finally had the best view of Chicago city. It was already about 6pm when we reached the city and we were driving on the highway. We came to a flyover and viola, I saw the nightlights of Chicago, across Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful scene I cannot describe with my limited vocabulary. There were a lot of buildings, standing tall and well-lit. The glittering of the lights, the irregularity of the building shadows, the contrast of the light and the dark, the lean and the magnificent. Maybe I was a little drowsy, after being just woken up from my nap in the car, but I felt like these buildings were in such harmony with one another. Pulsing in one city beat.

I like the country side view too. I like to look up into a star-lit sky. I feel very at peace when I can feel the breeze blow and see the trees rustle or something like that. All these time I spent in UIUC, I am constantly amazed at the beauty of nature. But, nothing took my breath away like the city view of Chicago city.

Maybe I am a city gal at heart afterall.