Introduction

I have created this blog for a social media module I am taking in college. As part of my continuous assessment I have to create a blog series containing at least 3 blog posts on a topic of my choice. I have chosen to write about past travels to provide some insights and hopefully a bit of entertainment for those of you who have taken the time to read it. This blog post will focus on the time I spent working in Chicago on my J1. I will have a separate post for the travelling we done at the end of our trip.

The J1: A Rite Of Passage

Having spent the first two summers of my college years navigating the cultural hotspots of the Deya apartments in Santa Ponsa and Hideout Festival in Crotia, myself and a group of friends longed for more. Specifically more time away from home. With that in mind and with a few of us approaching the end of our college years, we decide it was time for us to get ourselves a J1 working visa and spend a summer in America.

There are a few options for companies to get your J1 visa off. For anybody it who is considering a J1, I would advise going with a company who can guarantee you a job.

Choosing A City

Our first choice for a J1 destination was somewhere on the West Coast (San Diego or San Francisco) but it was much easier to get a job in Chicago. With a large number of us going on the J1 we decided to essentially cut our loses and settle for Chicago. As it turned out Chicago was our favorite part of our summer.

       

Finding an Apartment

We booked into a hostel for the first 3 nights in Chicago. We used this time to walk the streets and search the internet for places available to rent. With a group of 13 we knew anywhere we could find would be a squeeze, but with normal rent prices way out of our budget we were willing to make it work. We ended up having to book an extra night in the hostel but we finally found a place to stay. A two bedroom, basement apartment in a really nice part of the city was where we would call home for the following two and a bit months. With blow up beds, second hand mattress’ and camping chairs we made the most of the little space we had. We also managed to get a sofa which a neighbor was throwing away. Thankfully our land lord only found out about the extra few (10) tenants we had when our time in Chicago was nearing an end. With a few exaggerated truths and $800 she revoked her eviction notice and allowed us to stay for the last two weeks.

       

Working

As somebody who was short on money throughout their J1, I can tell you that the amount of hours you can expect to work during the summer is crucial to your survival. What ever the job may be, be sure you can survive on the amount of hours they will give you. The working hours they give you is less important. When money is that tight you will find the strength to get out of bed (most days) and make it in for your shift. The job I managed to secure was selling site-seeing tour tickets for a bus company. When taking the commute to work into account this usually left us getting up at around 6am to get the train. With most working days following a night out, I quickly became a pro at getting my beauty sleep on the red line train to work. We all did.

      

Nightlife

The specific events for Irish J1 students vary from place to place. In Chicago the big night was Tuesday in Joe’s on Weed St. With $2 pitchers of beer it isn’t difficult to see why.  For everybody no matter what way your finances were, Joe’s Tuesdays were somehow never cut from the budget. Our apartment was near a red line train station which meant public transport 24/7. This made getting to and from Joe’s (or most other places) very easy. The train itself was sometimes half the fun, often with very memorable moments, some of which can be seen below.

        

For other J1 specific nights it is important to become a member of the J1 Facebook group for the city where you are living. Talking to American co-workers of a similar age can also help as if you are looking to mix with non-Irish.

For those of us who weren’t in work the next day, mornings consisted of lying in bed until somebody volunteered to do a McDonald’s run. With a McDonald’s in sight from our front door, these runs quickly became routine. Here is one of the many times over 100 nuggets were bought by the group.

Two Months Well Spent

Our time in Chicago passed far too quickly. There was too many highlights and memories to include in a blog post. To list a few specific to Chicago, some highlights for me where our trip to Six Flags amusement park, meeting the American side of my family and the freedom that came with living away from home. It could be argued that with the amount of our budget spent on going out and time then spent in bed the next day that we didn’t get to experience everything Chicago had to offer but I don’t think I would do anything differently.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton