Hey Ladies and Gents,
Today was another eventful moment in the adventures of Alrik and Dylan meet Jerry. We went out to the Swedish American Museum in Anderson to take a tour of Jerry and Alrik's lineage. This was Alrik and I's first time at the museum, so we got to see exactly how the Swedish American community formed here in Chicago. We learned about all the places that swedes settled as they came to America and learned a little about the origins of North Park. Although the museum was small we learned that Walgreens was created by a Swede, North Park's Old Main was at one time the tallest building, and got to see a sample of the immigrant name list. After we went through the museum, we stopped by the gift shop and picked up some Swedish chocolate! Jerry has been looking for some new furniture so we ventured to a near by store to browse. After the store we went to Calo's in Andersonville for lunch and munched on some pizza together. Then Jerry mentioned that he wanted to go to the Swedish Bakery as well, so we stopped in there and sampled some cinnamon rolls and pistachio cakes. As we talked throughout the day Jerry told us stories about his brother Steve and the sacrifices Jerry made for him. Jerry dropped out of college so that Steve could go and their family could afford it. Alrik and I both saw that Jerry has a huge heart and loves his family dearly.
Aside from that Jerry wants to take us to Mary's on Clark where the servers are predominately drag queens. As we have learned throughout our visits Jerry is apart of the Gay community throughout Chicago, which Alrik and I have not yet experienced. As for next week Jerry needs some help setting up his DVD player at his house and wants to go to Mary's for a bite to eat.
Jerry truly is an amazing guy and really is invested in our lives because of this experience. I hope that we are able to continue this relationship beyond this class.
Until Next Week,
-Dylan
P.S. check out this photos...
As Dylan has already mentioned, last week we went to the Swedish Museum with Jerry. It was my first time visiting, and having a swedish heritage, I found it to be very interesting. It was very cool to hear Jerry's take on everything since his parents both immigrated to the United States from Sweden when they were only 18. He shared their story and new a lot about every exhibit. He grew up in Rockford, IL which the museum classified as one of the major Swedish immigrant hubs in the midwest. After the exhibit, we got robbed in the souvenir shop (the chocolate is outrageously priced). After the museum we decided to get lunch and chatted for a bit. Jerry provided us with great career advice that I will be sure to take with me after this program is over. This week we plan to go to one of Jerry's favorite restaurants. Looking forward to it.
Alrik
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Monday, March 23, 2015
March 16th
This week Dylan and I picked Jerry up from his apartment and went to Tre Kronor despite his strong distaste for authentic Swedish food (it was his idea). I find this funny because I share a similar revulsion towards the food of my roots. However, we both enjoy Swedish pancakes, meatballs, and eggs so Tre Kronor isn't so bad. Pickled herring and korv turn us both off. My girlfriend was visiting on her Spring break so she was able to come with! She had already heard so much about Jerry from me beforehand so I was very excited for them to meet. She mentioned how funny and young he seemed with his quick wit and crazy stories. One story in particular involved Jerry dropping his kid brother off at the from steps of an orphanage (as a prank obviously) and driving around the block before going back to get him. I have come to realize that Jerry was and still is much cooler than Dylan and myself and probably would have found us boring if we grew up as peers. I am looking forward to our next meeting.
Alrik
This week Dylan and I picked Jerry up from his apartment and went to Tre Kronor despite his strong distaste for authentic Swedish food (it was his idea). I find this funny because I share a similar revulsion towards the food of my roots. However, we both enjoy Swedish pancakes, meatballs, and eggs so Tre Kronor isn't so bad. Pickled herring and korv turn us both off. My girlfriend was visiting on her Spring break so she was able to come with! She had already heard so much about Jerry from me beforehand so I was very excited for them to meet. She mentioned how funny and young he seemed with his quick wit and crazy stories. One story in particular involved Jerry dropping his kid brother off at the from steps of an orphanage (as a prank obviously) and driving around the block before going back to get him. I have come to realize that Jerry was and still is much cooler than Dylan and myself and probably would have found us boring if we grew up as peers. I am looking forward to our next meeting.
Alrik
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Week March 16th:
This week we took Jerry to Tre Kroner for brunch! He is a Swede himself so he had to get Swedish Pancakes. This week we had Alriks girlfriend in town. Jerry knew that she was here and asked Alrik if he could meet her, so Gloria joined us for Brunch. As we all got caught up with what has been going on in our lives for the past few weeks, Jerry showed us this Newspaper article about a couple in Turkey. A few weeks ago we showed Jerry our pictures from our trip to Istanbul and the video of a riot that we experienced. This newspaper article was a story about an american couple that were imprisoned for 8 months in turkey for accidentally purchasing a high priority artifact in the Grand Bazar. Jerry said we should be glad that wasn't us hahah... Anyways, we had a great brunch with Jerry and we will be going shopping with Jerry next week.
- Dylan
Monday, March 9, 2015
Week 2
This week, Dylan and I spent our time with Jerry exchanging stories in his living room once again. We had planned to help Jerry pick out some new furniture, but the freezing temperatures stopped us. He shared many more exciting stories that further displayed his adventurous lifestyle when he was younger. Dylan spotted a book titled "Woodstock" on the coffee table which quickly led to Jerry sharing about his experiences there. Following this, he told us about a time where he and a group of 30 sum friends rented a bus and drove down to Colorado for a music festival. At the end of the trip, they bought out a liquor store of all their Coors products because it was only sold in-state at that time. His stories and love for travel is inspiring. He emphasized the fact that Dylan and I need to take advantage of our ample time and energy while we can because at a certain point your opportunities dwindle. After sharing this, he seemed almost sad that he could no longer explore the globe but made it clear that he has lived a good life. With this being said, I believe Jerry's advice to capitalize on your youth and do what you love while you can is very important. Perhaps depression later in life stems from the realization that you can longer do certain things that were once possible in your youth,
Alrik
Week 2,
Our plans of going furniture shopping did not work out as planned. Jerry did not want to venture out into the cold if he didn't absolutely need to. Even though we just hung out at Jerry's house we shared a lot about ourselves this week. Jerry had many more interesting stories to share with us. One that I found intriguing was the time he spent at Woodstock. I love music so I had to know who he went to see. I soon learned that Jerry was there about four days and say Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones... and so many more. They way he spoke about it was a similar way that I would speak about lollapalooza. As we continued our conversation, it moved towards literature and art. Jerry has many relief prints throughout his home which I told him was my girlfriends main medium. So Jerry, Alrik, and I went through Cari's art. Jerry loved it and I told Cari that he was interested, she has asked me to give him a piece of her art to have. I know Jerry will be excited for this. After we went through her art, Alrik and I went through our pictures from Istanbul and told Jerry about all the things we had seen. Specifically, we shoed Jerry a video of a riot that we caught in. He laughed about it and said that he was sure that was an "experience". This week we spent a little more time with Jerry's partner Jeff and learned about his love for singing and that he used to participate in the Windy City Men's Gay Choir. Jerry and Jeff plan to go to the next show when they are able. As for the week after spring break, we plan to go to Tre Kroner to grab some Swedish American food with our old Sweed.
Till Next Week,
Dylan
Our plans of going furniture shopping did not work out as planned. Jerry did not want to venture out into the cold if he didn't absolutely need to. Even though we just hung out at Jerry's house we shared a lot about ourselves this week. Jerry had many more interesting stories to share with us. One that I found intriguing was the time he spent at Woodstock. I love music so I had to know who he went to see. I soon learned that Jerry was there about four days and say Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones... and so many more. They way he spoke about it was a similar way that I would speak about lollapalooza. As we continued our conversation, it moved towards literature and art. Jerry has many relief prints throughout his home which I told him was my girlfriends main medium. So Jerry, Alrik, and I went through Cari's art. Jerry loved it and I told Cari that he was interested, she has asked me to give him a piece of her art to have. I know Jerry will be excited for this. After we went through her art, Alrik and I went through our pictures from Istanbul and told Jerry about all the things we had seen. Specifically, we shoed Jerry a video of a riot that we caught in. He laughed about it and said that he was sure that was an "experience". This week we spent a little more time with Jerry's partner Jeff and learned about his love for singing and that he used to participate in the Windy City Men's Gay Choir. Jerry and Jeff plan to go to the next show when they are able. As for the week after spring break, we plan to go to Tre Kroner to grab some Swedish American food with our old Sweed.
Till Next Week,
Dylan
Sunday, March 1, 2015
The First Meeting,
Jerry Sealin is a man of much adventure. To start our adventure together we grabbed some sandwiches and coffees from Dunkin. We met Jerry at his home to share a scrumptious meal and talk about our lives for a short time. Jerry was salesman for a big time fastener distributor and had many stories about the many places he has been. As Alrik and I entered his home we found a giving man that seeks to find community through conversation. Jerry Sealin is a kind man with many interesting thoughts. Through our first meeting we have found out that he just wants to hang out and learn about each other. Jerry had many stories to tell us about his life, from his family situation to his ventures across the globe. The most interesting story he shared was about the time he and his sales partner went to Italy and dined at a discrete bar that he believes was tied to the mob. In addition, Alrik and I found out that he is of Swedish decent and spends a lot of time around Andersonville. We spoke about his family ties in Sweden and the crazy story about his parents meeting in America, even though their are both from Sweden. Jerry came from a hard working family and clearly loves them dearly. We have planned our next adventure and it is not what we expected. We will be helping Jerry move furniture out and shop for two new seats for his living room. Alrik and I are excited to see what things Jerry will teach us and how we will expand his knowledge as well.
till next time,
Dylan
Jerry is a first-generation American citizen. His mother and father traveled to America from Sweden at the age of 18, individually. They both ended up in Rockford, IL, met, fell in love, and started a family. Jerry is the oldest of all his siblings. He shared with us that from a young age, he and his brother shared aspirations of being successful businessmen. He soon became a well-known salesman who handled large accounts including General Motors and his brother became a dignified accountant in the city. They both reached their goal by making good money and having nothing to tie them down- the world was theirs. Jerry utilized his time and money by traveling the globe while his brother chose to use it "irresponsibly". He kept reiterating the fact that Dylan and I will soon have more money than sense and that we should be very careful. Without us adding any input, he decided that it is something that we must find out on our own. He added that he can give us all his wisdom and advice about it, but we will still act irrationally and as if we were immortal. He was this same way. When he was in his early 20's, he thought time would stop and that this was life as he now knew it. Unfortunately, the world kept spinning. I believe his general thesis was to stay present and enjoy every moment- do not fight time, embrace it. After talking for about an hour, Jerry called to his roommate to come join us and take our picture. They have been living together for the past 10 years and seem to have a real bond with one another. After about 70 attempts at the right picture, I think we got it. Looking forward to this Thursday.
Alrik
Jerry Sealin is a man of much adventure. To start our adventure together we grabbed some sandwiches and coffees from Dunkin. We met Jerry at his home to share a scrumptious meal and talk about our lives for a short time. Jerry was salesman for a big time fastener distributor and had many stories about the many places he has been. As Alrik and I entered his home we found a giving man that seeks to find community through conversation. Jerry Sealin is a kind man with many interesting thoughts. Through our first meeting we have found out that he just wants to hang out and learn about each other. Jerry had many stories to tell us about his life, from his family situation to his ventures across the globe. The most interesting story he shared was about the time he and his sales partner went to Italy and dined at a discrete bar that he believes was tied to the mob. In addition, Alrik and I found out that he is of Swedish decent and spends a lot of time around Andersonville. We spoke about his family ties in Sweden and the crazy story about his parents meeting in America, even though their are both from Sweden. Jerry came from a hard working family and clearly loves them dearly. We have planned our next adventure and it is not what we expected. We will be helping Jerry move furniture out and shop for two new seats for his living room. Alrik and I are excited to see what things Jerry will teach us and how we will expand his knowledge as well.
till next time,
Dylan
Jerry is a first-generation American citizen. His mother and father traveled to America from Sweden at the age of 18, individually. They both ended up in Rockford, IL, met, fell in love, and started a family. Jerry is the oldest of all his siblings. He shared with us that from a young age, he and his brother shared aspirations of being successful businessmen. He soon became a well-known salesman who handled large accounts including General Motors and his brother became a dignified accountant in the city. They both reached their goal by making good money and having nothing to tie them down- the world was theirs. Jerry utilized his time and money by traveling the globe while his brother chose to use it "irresponsibly". He kept reiterating the fact that Dylan and I will soon have more money than sense and that we should be very careful. Without us adding any input, he decided that it is something that we must find out on our own. He added that he can give us all his wisdom and advice about it, but we will still act irrationally and as if we were immortal. He was this same way. When he was in his early 20's, he thought time would stop and that this was life as he now knew it. Unfortunately, the world kept spinning. I believe his general thesis was to stay present and enjoy every moment- do not fight time, embrace it. After talking for about an hour, Jerry called to his roommate to come join us and take our picture. They have been living together for the past 10 years and seem to have a real bond with one another. After about 70 attempts at the right picture, I think we got it. Looking forward to this Thursday.
Alrik
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