Traveler Talk! Jean-Baptiste

Jean-Baptiste is an English student from a small town outside of Lille, France.  Between his English and my French, we were able to understand each other and have a good conversation about how his experience here at HI-Chicago has been going so far.  He arrived at the hostel on Monday, and he’ll be in the city until Sunday.  This is just the first stop for him on a long trip in the US: after leaving here, he’s going to Washington D.C., New York, and finally Miami.  He has also been to the states once before on a trip to Santa Monica with his family.

            So far, his favorite thing about Chicago is Millenium Park.  He enjoys the architecture of the city quite a bit, and he thinks that the Bean really stands out from other architectural pieces that he’s seen both here and in other cities.  He has big plans to go out on the Skydeck at Willis Tower today, and to the Museum of Science and Industry tomorrow though, so his choice of a favorite might be different by the time he heads out.  He loves the hostel, and after staying at HI locations here and in California, he decided that he was ready to become a member.  He’ll be staying at HI hostels during the rest of his time traveling.

            Chicago is an enormous city compared with his hometown that has only a few thousand inhabitants, and Jean-Baptiste really likes the atmosphere that our people bring to the city.  He thinks that we are a very friendly and relaxed group of people, and he feels comfortable asking anyone on the street for help and directions.  Besides the unique attitude of the people here, Jean-Baptiste would argue that the architecture is what makes Chicago stand out.  As I said before, he is a big fan of the Bean.  He also really enjoys the work of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, and although he doesn’t have time during this trip, he would like to come back to take the Frank Lloyd Wright tour in Oak Park. 

Bonne chance avec vos etudes, et amusez-vous bien pendant le reste de votre voyage!