First BBQ on 28th May 2005: Hilversum, 27 degrees at 7pm, a beautiful garden, nice wines and tasty food, Heit, Mama, Allard and Stephanie, many laughs...perfect !

I visited Chicago for the first time back in 1999, but it's great to be back and discover it all over again. I find Chicago to be a beautiful, relaxed and diverse city. Its architecture is astonishing and we are actually going on the architectural guided boat tour tomorrow (so more on that to come with many pictures to illustrate).

So far today we had a very long walk from the printers row down to the lake taking us alongside the Millenium Park with its funny "human fountain" all the way down to the Shed Aquarium. We took a water taxi to get back to Navy Pier where I drank a yummy Toffee Nut Latte to celebrate Jen's birthday who made me discover this delicious rich coffee last year in Newport.

                                Printers row                                                Corn towers

Human fountain in the Millenium Park

The Sklyline of Chicago with the famous Sears Towers (left)

We spent the rest of the day on Michigan avenue, the famed Magnificient Mile district, for yet some more shopping: Gap kids, Nike Town, Virgin, Borders...Now I am supposed to be studying but there you go, it is 12:20 am Dutch time (5:20pm here), I am fairly jet-lagged and I can't really get to concentrate on the Merrill Lynch case study...I guess I will some some catching up to do tomorrow...

Jos and I took a fabulous architectural tour of Chicago from the river: an hour and of half to discover a bit of history and how the city of Chicago got to what it is now after the 1871 Great Fire of Chicago, which destroyed 18,000 buildings !

The influence of the Prairie architectural school which developed building concepts that express an idea (such as the relevance of a building to nature and the landscape) rather than traditional architecural forms was strong with architects like Louis Sullivan at the end of the 19th century and his students: the famous and most gifted Franck Lloyd Wright, Georges Grant Elmslie, William Purcell, Parker Berry, William E. Drummond and William L. Steele.

Chicago mixes the classical style (Chicago Tribune gothic design building) with Art Deco (no historical ornements) and glass and steal buildings with skyscrapers designed by Ludwig van der Rohe with his dictum "less is more" (IBM building).

Not to forget the corn towers by Bertrand Goldberg Associates, 1964: two cylindrical, sixty-story apartment buildings, house offices, restaurants, garages, a hotel and a marina. The architect's intention in creating a city-within-the-city was to stabilize the social and economic erosion of Chicago's downtown area and to reverse the postwar exodus to the suburbs.

And of course the renowned Sears Towers by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1974. At 1,454 feet high, this was the tallest inhabited structure in the world for a quarter of a century. With 4,4 million square feet and housing a daily population of 16,500, it is so large a building that it has its own zip code. This structural steel tower, engineered by the world-renowned Dr. Fazlur Khan, consists of 9 75-foot square tubes banded together to form a "bundle tube", thus creating a vertical truss of exceptional rigidity.

The Sears Tower rules the sky with the throne shape of the Civic Opera Building posing in front. To its right, Boeing with its highest clock tower in the world appears at the front. From the very left, 333 W.Wacker Dr was voted Chicago's favorite building in a Chicago Tribune competition. Designed by New York based Kohn Pedersen Fox in 1983, its curving shape mirrors the river. 191 N. Wacker Dr to its right, was designed with elegant simplicity by the same firm 20 years later.

                   Corn Towers                                          Merchandise Mart, 1929

                        River East                       River cottages designed in 1988 by Harry Weese

How aware are you of cultural differences in body language ? Try this exercise: hold up yoiur hand to display the number 5 - do it now. Now change it to a number 2. If you Anglo-Saxon, there's 96% chance you'll be holding up your middle and index fingers. If you're European, there's a 94% chance you'll be holding up your thumb and index finger....  

US hand gestures:

OK sign for Europe and America =an orifice signal/sexual insult/gay man in Mediterranean region/Russia/Brazil en Turkey = zero/worthless in Tunisia/France/Belgium = money/coins in Japan.

Peace sign = Go to hell in Greece = two in the West

Stop sign = number 5 in Western countries = Go to Hell in Turkey and Greece

Thumbs up is also one in Europe = shit on this! (upward jerk) in Australia = Up yours ! in Greece = Man, five in Japan

Good lines about body language:

"Studies show that women laugh at men they're attracted to and men are attracted to women who laugh at them"

"From a man's perspective, saying that a woman has a good sense of humour doesn't mean she tells jokes, it means she laughs at HIS jokes!"

"Tie an Italian's hands behind his back and he will be speechless"

"Smile constantly. Everyone will wonder what you've been up to"

Good tips about body language:

Only 15% of our laughter has to do with jokes. Laughter has more to do with bonding.

When you fold your arms your credibility dramatically reduces.

You may feel arm crossing is simply comfortable but others will think you are not approachable.

In Japan, make sure your shoes are spotlessly clean and in good condition. Every time a Japanses bows, he inspects them.

The older we become, the more serious we become about life. An adult laughs an average of 15 times a day. a preschooler laughs an average of 400 times...

Science has proved that the more you smile, the more positive reactions others will give you.

Body language tips for travellers:

UNITED STATES

1. Direct eye contact in social and business settings is very important. Gaps in conversation are uncomfortable. While dining, left hand is placed in lap, and right hand is used to eat with. Wrists are permitted on the table (while at a meal), but elbows are not.
2. By either raising the index finger or the hand (facing palm up) and waggling the finger(s) back toward the body means to beckon for someone.
3. Insulting gestures are the middle finger trust and forearm jerk.
4. Lines are treated with respect.
5. It is proper to use a firm handshake with direct eye contact.
6. Women may briefly hug other women, and men may quickly kiss the cheek of a woman. 

ENGLAND

1. To signal a waiter for the bill, make a motion with both hands of signing your name on a paper. Privacy is very important; do not stare. Tipping at bars is rare.
2. Loud behavior is considered rude. The victory sign with your palm facing in is considered vulgar.
3. Never cut in line.

FRANCE

1. Business cards are often exchanged. Signal a waiter by tipping your head back and saying Monsieur. Catch a taxi by snapping your fingers. Eat sandwiches and fruit with a knife and fork.
2. The ok sign means, zero. To indicate someone is drunk, form a circle with your thumb and forefinger and place it over your nose. Playing a pretend flute says that another is being loud and annoying.
3. Chewing gum, yawning, scratching, having loud conversations, and resting feet on furniture are all considered rude. To express disapproval of anothers driving, raise your hand in the air, fingers up, and rotate your hand back and forth. To make a vulgar gesture, snap the fingers of both hands, or slap an open palm over a closed fist.
4. Light and quick handshake; women offer hand first.

SAUDI ARABIA

1. Women are not allowed to drive. Avoid showing the sole of the shoe; it is considered the lowest and dirtiest part of the body. IT is not p[roper to expose bare shoulders, stomach, or legs.
2. Holding hands or taking someones elbow is a sign of respect and friendship.
3. It is disrespectful to cross legs. To place the palm down, fingers spread, with your index finger bent down and pointing outward is to insult someone.
4. Shaking the head from side to side means yes.
5. By tipping the head backward and clicking the tongue, people signal no.
6. Elders tend to greet by saying, Salaam; men greet with a hug and a cheek kiss. Veiled women are not introduced.

So that's also going to be an interesting one for Chloe. In the Netherlands you indicate that you find something yummy by holding your hand open and going back and forth along your ear. If you do that in France, it means "you're in trouble" (parent to kid sign language). In France if you want to show that you like the food/drink, you make rounds with a flat hand over your belly. Oh well, I guess she will learn quickly enough.

I am supposed to fly with BA to the UK to meet up with Karen...and they were on strike for 3 days until last night 8pm, causing massive disruption on flights, at Heathrow and around the world. In other words, there is a 50% chance my flight will get cancelled or delayed...Here is the latest news as posted by BA themselves on their site:

"British Airways has resumed services in to and out of London Heathrow following the unofficial industrial action taken by some of the airline's staff and its catering supplier at London Heathrow, Gate Gourmet. We plan to operate up to 50 per cent of our shorthaul and 75 per cent of our longhaul services in to and out of London Heathrow on Saturday 13 August.  Only customers with confirmed reservations on these services will be accepted for travel. The airline faces a complex logistical challenge with at least 100 aircraft and 1,000 flying crew out of position.  As a result it will take some time to return to a normal flying programme. "

And here is what their flight information system said about my flight:

	Flight Number	Departing from	Arriving at	Scheduled Time of Departure	Time of Departure	Estimated or Actual
	Information updated 1 minute ago.
	BA0427	AMS	LHR	13 AUG 09:55	13 AUG 09:55	Estimated
	Start again

Fingers crossed the BA0427 will go on time or at all....to be continued.