Adventures With Jerry 3-26

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