It was a coincidence to be chosen for having an internship for one month in the USA in April 2011 to stay with independent theater company named 'Free Street Theater' in Chicago, Illinois. when I knew that the institute which offers me the internship selected Chicago for me I wasn't sad that it wasn't New York or Washington DC simply because my favorite novel at this time was titled 'Chicago' it was for the famous Egyptian novelist 'Alaa El-Aswany' it was about a young Egyptian student and political activist having a scholarship in Chicago during 1980s and how the political conflict far away in Egypt continues with him in his university in Chicago Part from the novel was an auto biography for 'El-Aswany' who gets a similar scholarship to study dentistry in the dental and oral medicine Illinois University.
I was so interested to buy English copies from the novel to give it to the people I will meet in my trip and to search for the collage where my best writer studies it was not enough for me to see the most interesting parts of the city the water tower, Millennium Park, the sky line, hancock tower, museums etc but to visit the university and to trace the novel I like I went to the students places the Arabs street, Kedzie avenue. talking with people there and filming a short documentary for how I lived my Chicago which I read a bout and the differences between the Chicago in the novel and my now a days Chicago. from the things helped me in giving a dramatic view to my talks was the historical moment where my trip took place after the Egyptian 25th of January revolution , all the people wants also to talk to a person who was there and I want to hear from them.
I learned a lot from this trip that the beautiful places and the attractions are not only written on tourist books and websites may be there are more interesting things connected to yourself in the place you will love it more and make your trip non forgettable
