In Chicago, on business

I just arrived today to Chicago, where I am going to be covering Barack Obama’s campaign and election day on November 4. Over the next couple of days I will be rediscovering a city that I visited for the first time in the late eighties, when I was a journalist student at the University of Kansas. Back then, my friend Mauricio and I drove from Lawerence, Kansas, to Peoria, Illinois, where we picked up our friend Pedro, before arriving in town on my red Corolla.

I remember vividly Chicago was a very cold and windy city and that we stayed at a filthy, cheap motel downtown. I have come back here a few times but I always leave thinking I need to come back for pleasure. This time around I am staying at the Hard Rock Hotel on Michigan Avenue. The weather is nice and cool and I can see the Sears Tower from my room. I think Chicago is ready to welcome a new president on Tuesday.

In case you are interested in my 2008 campaign dispatches, you can find them in Terra.com, in my blog and in Twitter.

Next week I will be in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the Nieman Foundation 70th reunion. This is the first time I return to Cambridge since attending Harvard during the 2007-08 academic year. Look forward to catching up with my fellow Nieman fellows.