The New Neighbor

Hi, my name is Robin, and I’m interning at Neighbors Project in Chicago this summer. Since I’ll be posting to this blog fairly often over the next few months, I thought I should start by telling you a little about myself.

I’m something of a newcomer to Chicago and to the city in general; I’ve been living here only since last September, when I started my first year at the University of Chicago. Before that, I lived in Troy, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton, with all the charm and disadvantages that usually accompany a Midwestern town of 20,000: a cute town square, lots of cul-de-sacs, and a Super Wal-Mart that also functions as a social center. (In retrospect, it’s also endearing that our mayor’s greatest exercise of power might be his annual guest conducting of an orchestra concert on said square.) Not surprisingly, it wasn’t long before I became enamored with Chicago. That’s part of why I wanted do this internship: it’s both a chance to increase my knowledge of the city and a reason to spend the summer here.

I’m also interested in journalism. I started writing for the student-run Chicago Weekly soon after I came to the U of C; it’s been a great excuse to leave Hyde Park and get acquainted with other parts of the South Side, while writing about everything from art galleries in Bronzeville to gentrification in Woodlawn. As I’ve become more familiar with Hyde Park politics and the University’s dubious community relations, I’ve started thinking more about my own role in it all—as a student, as a Hyde Park resident, and, since last Saturday, as a tenant. Neighbors Project addresses a lot of these issues, from the everyday to the big picture, and the chance to write about them in this context seems not to be missed.

This is my first time posting on a blog—unless you count Xanga or Livejournal, which I don’t. I’ll probably be figuring out just how to go about this over the coming weeks. I’ll be posting interviews and checklist items, along with some of my thoughts and observations. I hope to explore in greater depth some of the South Side-specific issues that I’ve covered in the Weekly, and to bring to this blog the perspective of someone who is new to the city.