West Midland Family Center

COP Seniors Head to the Windy City Wow! What a great trip to Chicago! The seniors, before heading off to college, did a wonderful job in planning a weeklong trip to Chicago. Included in the trip were visits to the Institute of Art, the Museum of Science and Industry, Navy Pier, The Chicago History Museum and an afternoon at the musical “Wicked”. Students also wandered the streets of Chicago putting a lot of miles on their feet. as they window-shopped along the Magnificent Mile. Tiffany’s proved to be a favorite even though no one could afford to buy anything! Some of the students' most favorite shops were the off-the-wall places with funky clothes. COP Director Terri Malek-Madani was talked into buying some very big, white sunglasses and a tweed hat (thanks Brenda!). Even though it sounds like the group did a lot of shopping, they really didn't. One COP student in particular showed great discipline and stayed away from shopping as much as possible. Wow, Bob! What amazing restraint! While in Chicago, the COP students stayed at a youth hostel that was filled with college students from around the world – France, Australia, Sweden, England, Germany, Canada, etc. Every night the world travelers would congregate in the kitchen in an attempt to share their various cultures. Yeah, right. Rumor has it that it might have looked like an "exchange" of cultures< but in reality there was a lot of laughing and flirting (right, Tesia?). It was great fun staying at the hostel, even though the kitchen seemed quite "hazardous" at times. Opening the refrigerator doors was quite an adventure because one never knew what would be found moving about or growing in there. The COP students were full of endless energy. Amanda literally "bounced" all over Chicago. Where she got her energy is still a mystery to all because no one ever saw her ingesting sugar or caffeine. Amanda ended up with the title of "Photographer of the Week" because she must have taken at least one million pictures! Rumor has it that she took pictures of every single fish in the Shedd aquarium. You would have thought that taking all of those pictures would have slowed Amanda down, but it didn't. In the end, her positive attitude and endless hugs kept Terri smiling the entire week. Brenda kept Terri laughing all week! Actually, Bob and Brenda both provided comic relief. Brenda picked on Terri endlessly even though Terri went out of her way to be kind to her. Nary a sarcastic nor unkind word left Terri's lips during the entire 8 days. But regardless of Brenda's cruelty towards Terri, Terri stayed by her side and tried to be a positive influence. (Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that Brenda was so much fun to be with! Terri thinks of Brenda as her little (?) sister and has since promised to continue to be a positive role model for Brenda.) Rachel did a great job as the groups timekeeper in addition to having a great attitude. She always made sure the group was where they were supposed to be and left on time. It was a good thing because, sometimes they needed it! Another one of Rachel's strengths in that she can literally sleep under any conditions – with lights on, with conversation and noise, with her clothes on, and with nothing but a mattress! Her hidden talents left many in the group amazed and jealous. If you get a chance, ask the students about their 1-½ hour bus ride. Yep. We are told that they transferred about 5 times! Each time the bus driver would give the group the wrong information about the next connection. In the end the group came to the concensus that Chicago bus drivers are simply evil. After the marathon bus ride the group opted for the train/subway. All in all, the quirky personalities of the 5 students and 1 COP Director made for an exciting, funny, and unique trip! The students will never forget running down Navy Pier to catch a boat, ripping the driver side mirror off the van, spending a morning wandering the streets in the rain looking for the Museum of Science and Industry or Bob instructing them all on how to be troopers! (Thanks Bob!...Everyone loves Bob!) "I wish the 6 of us could take another trip," said Terri," But, alas, they are all moving on to their futures." "I will make every effort to chase them down and follow their many adventures and successes," continued Terri. "I sure hope that they don’t forget to take their compasses along for their many journeys!!"