Illinois, USA: Sears Tower and the view from the Skydeck

Sears Tower in Chicago was the tallest skyscraper in the world from 1973 to 1998. It's still the tallest building in Chicago and a visit to the Skydeck on the 103rd floor which is 1,353 feet (412 m) above ground, is definitely worth the visit.

It was our first real day in Chicago since we went straight to DeKalb as soon as we arrived at O'Hare. And we had a list of places to visit today, one of them being the famous Sears Tower.

They say that up there, you can see up to fifty miles on all sides. It was a great experience looking down at Chicago's magnificent skyscrapers. The city is known far and wide for its architecture which covers more than a century of history.

Contemporary structures are properly blended with old historic buildings, standing side-by-side in a harmonious mix of past, present and future. We'll see that in detail when we take the Architecture Cruise later in the month.

What looks like the beach and a sea is actually a large freshwater lake called Lake Michigan. Although I've swam in lakes, I've never experienced a freshwater urban beach before (meaning the usual beaches we all know about, the same fun without the saltwater).

In fact, the water was so blue, if I did not know it was a lake, I would have mistaken Lake Michigan for a sea. Even the river that runs through the city is very much clean and that was evident from where I stood.

It costs $12.95 to get up to the Skydeck and you can stay there for as long as you want during visiting hours.

Illinois, USA: Northern Illinois Univeristy in Dekalb, Illinois

Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois is going to be our home away from home for the next four weeks. A public university founded in 1895, it has 25,000 students in seven degree-granting colleges that together offer 54 undergraduate and 74 graduate programs, and 12 doctoral programs.

DeKalb is about an hour and 30 minutes (104 kilometers) west of Chicago. Sad to say, there is no train service to DeKalb so we couldn't sneak out to Chicago that easily. Oh well!

Anyway, We got to tour campus today and visited some of its older buildings, including Altgeld Hall which houses the administration, and the East Lagoon where some wild Canadian geese can be found. NIU was in the news early this year being the site of another campus shooting incident in February. But all is well here and life has moved on. As the motto of NIU goes: "Forward, Together Forward."

Cultural Citizens & North-South Dialogue 2008

As soon as I arrived from Spain (and after speaking at R.O.X. about backpacking), I went straight to our Pre-Departure Orientation for the Cultural Citizens Program and North-South Dialogue 2008. I didn't even have time to rest and get some sleep! The program is sponsored by the US Department of State, Northern Illinois University and IVP Philippines. And thirty young Filipino leaders were selected nationwide from close to 200 applicants to participate in the first batch.

Part of the activities were out-of-town trips hosted by our colleagues. Last Thursday, we were in Lipa City, Batangas. Most of the day was spent at the Summit Point Golf and Country Club. We passed by the farm and stables of the Leviste Family called Levely Manor, before proceeding back to Manila. This was the location of the now defunct Charley's Farm Dining.