Getting lost in a Chicago forest taught me a great lesson

Yesterday morning I woke up bright and early, at 5:45 a.m. My pre-employment medical exam was scheduled for 8:30 and I wanted to make sure that I was perfectly synchronized with all three buses that would take me to the medical clinic. 

Everything went great. That is, if we don’t count my short walk along the forest. Kloempken Prairie Forest Preserve to be more exact. For some reason, I got off sooner form the #208 Pace bus, right in front of Oakton Community College. 
It was 8:15 a.m. I couldn’t afford to waste another minute so, instructed by a handsome college student that miraculously understood my gibberish questions, I started to jog on the right side of the road, facing the cars. 
All I could see around me were trees and bushes (below is the actual route). 



 

Under any other circumstances, I would have sat down for a picnic, but this time I was mortified. The summery sunlight and the bright-colored flowers did nothing to distract me. I became hyper-aware, picking up the pace. The sound of cracking branches whipped my ears, before a harmless bird made me shudder as if I saw a bear. It all felt creepier than a scene from “Walking Dead”. 

Ten minutes later, when the road finally ended and civilization began, I was a sweaty mess and more than ready to pee in the drug test cup. Moral of the story? Please learn how to drive before moving to this country. 

What I believed 
Chicago scored this year fifth place in top 30 most walkable cities in America. What led the researchers at this conclusion was the plethora of transportation choices from The EL to Pace and CTA buses. 
While I don’t necessarily disagree with this theory, I think people who want to move in this country should take it with a grain of salt. 

What I know now 
In reality, trying to get from point A to point B without a personal car can be a real pain in the ass. I, myself, am guilty of ignoring my friend’s advices on getting my driver’s license before coming to U.S. “I don’t buy it. They are just too scared to deal with all the hassle of public transportation”, I often said to my husband. 
Now, I’m on a mission to alert every soon-to-be American immigrant about the importance of driving. This comes from a person who couldn’t attend any school trips, because of a severe case of motion sickness. When I move to a bigger city, I avoided buses like plague and ride just with the train. I also walked A LOT.

The craziest thing we did as a couple, besides moving here, was a 30 miles walking marathon, completed in one day, six years ago. The challenge was to see “how far can we make it on foot”. We ended up entering into the nearest city

In Chicago, however, driving is as important as air, unless you want to spend an entire day going to and from mall, bank or cinema. Every time you need to make a left or a right means getting off the bus and waiting for another one. Thankfully, a few weeks ago we bought a car and I’m one step closer to my driver’s license (just the Learner’s Permit for now). Till then, you’ll probably see more blog post like this.