My first address: Medical Center Apartments Chicago

  

#USA

Post#3

Cook county hospital was a huge operation, it probably still is though with a new name. It was one of the better known programs that hired foreign graduates at the time. As a result there was a huge proportion of desi doctors there. Abhay even ran into one of my classmates and another college mate from KEM who were doing residency there. The Grant Medical College gang was larger. Abhay had 4-5 class/ college mates there at the time . This formed the basis of our circle of friends. The friendships have lasted ever since.

Most Indian residents who had families preferred to live in the apartment building right across from the hospital: The Medical Center Apartments. This building had 18 floors. Due to high demand there used to be a waitlist to get accommodation there. About 2 weeks after I reached Chicago we were to get one. Until then one of Abhay’s friends hosted us in his home. 

 Our apartment was on the 13th floor overlooking a busy freeway. The sound of freeway traffic had become music to my ears when Abhay went to work. It was my first ever home in the USA. Spooky as it may seem the apartment number was 1306 and the house we built and now live in for the last 24 years is numbered 1306 !! Pure coincidence!

 It was rather amusing that the desis housed themselves selecting a floor with buddies from their home state back in India. There was a Tamil floor, a Malayali floor, a Kannada floor , a Gujarati floor. About the largest population was from Andhra. These folks probably had several floors. If you walked down the floors you could tell by the food aromas who lives on which floor 😀. If you were not good at identifying aromas you could guess from the language or accents of people getting off or climbing onto the elevator which floor it was !  I am not kidding ! If a group of people entered the elevator with us from the ground floor and uttered even a single word I would make a gesture to Abhay indicating the floor they would get down at. I was never wrong !  

The building housed non desi foreign graduates and their families as well. My notorious “ messed up pretty face” haircut was done by one such foreign national lady in the building. At least it saved major embarrassment of walking out on the street immediately after the haircut with no place to cry 😉

There were a couple of cherry blossom trees at the entrance of the building and these used to enthrall me in spring time when they were loaded with blossoms.

The laundry machines in the building were located on the ground floor overlooking these gorgeous trees.Abhay’s Grant Medical Superiority complex (I deeply suspect) drew the conclusion from day 1, without giving me a chance to prove my talents, that I was not capable of learning how to do laundry. “ tula jamnaar nahi” !As if it was rocket science 🤔. 

Well, to this day I have not operated a laundry machine in the USA! Later years as kids were growing up he taught them , he even taught my mom. But Madhavi was not capable of doing laundry in his opinion! Suited me just fine 😜

Oh wait !! As I write this I realize it was probably a conspiracy that didn’t occur to me all these years 🥴. He didn’t teach me how to do laundry and got away with not learning how to cook 🥺 

Oh well ! It’s probably too late to divorce now 🤪🤪

Sadly now the huge building that was so full of life and action is in ruins ,uninhabitable ,desolate and locked while awaiting sale and redevelopment. But recalling those days in the place brought me such unexpected joy today. Everything came to life in my mind as if it was just yesterday.

I have many more memories to share from our time in that apartment. Will do in the next few days. 

Today’s saree is another of those gifted to Aai  nearly 40 years back by her patient with connections in the Middle East. A lovely fine georgette in mango color marbled print.