pickup and accomodation

Just a remainder

fill up pickup forms asap

a few things to remember

1. we do not have a confirmation mail. if u see a confirmation page it means we got it. someone in the due course it could be 1 hour or several days but before u leave india will let u know
who will come to pick u up. Even if we dont tell u dont panic. u come down here, u can be 99.9% assured of pickup if u filled the forms atleast 2 weeks in prior.

2. please co-operate with the folks with whom u r hosted. in the comments try to specify where u r from and if u r flying in along with someone let us know. the reason we ask where u r from is to try and place u with people from the same place with seniors from the same place so they get to feel a little at home.

3. and girls dont worry u will be made to stay with girls only unless u mention that u want to stay with a guy maybe a friend or relative.

4. try to pack stuff in such a way that all ur essential dresses for a week are easily accessible, so that u need to open ur big suitcases the day u land.

5. try to arrive on weekends. if u do arrive on a weekday try coming in the evening say after 3 or 4. most of us are working and it might be a little difficult for us to pick u up if arrive in the mornings. In the worst case we will let u know.

Please have this info handy.

1. address of atleast one person.
myself/nalin/nikhil someones. and our telephone numbers. If u know the person who is going to pick u up make sure u call have his tel no and address.
in the bags for safety as a standard have one of the addresses for sure.

1. Madhu Venkatesan,
901 S Ashland Ave #310A, Chicago, IL 60607
Ph: (312)-404-7110

2. Nikhil Jalgaonkar
1516, W Taylor St Apt#2, Chicago, IL - 60607
Ph: (312)-479-0503

3. Nalin Makar
726 S Oakley Blvd, Garden Apt, Chicago IL 60612
Ph: (312)-479-8390

2. have quarters to make telephone calls. it is usually 50 cents a call.

once u r done with the security clearance part and pick ur baggage up come out straight and if u see a indian face mostly a student it will be one of us.
u can look at our faces in the igsa website just in case u know who is gonna pick u up. and if possible if u know that guy send him/her ur pic so we can spot u easily. its upto u.

3. worst case the directions from the airport.

u have two options to get out of the airport. almost most of u will arrive at o'hare. btw there is one more airport called midway but usually thye handle domestic flights.

a. take the CTA. chicago transit authority
---> take the blue line train from the airport towards the loop. if possible try to get onto to the 54/cermak trains and get down at polk. its a long ride more than 50 min. once u get down there, come out of the station and turn right and walk for 2 blocks until u hit ashland avenue. right in the corner of ashland and polk streets u will see medical district city apartments. come to the lobby and look for my name madhu in the list. before u do this try to give a call. and remember this is the worst case thing. so u need not worry but do have the directions as u never know.

b. take a taxi
---> simple thing walk out and take a taxi to any of the 3 addresses after giving us a call.

one more thing. the taxi ride will cost u about 50$ from the airport and please do not expect us to pay for it. we are doing this as a courtesy and u guys have to pay for it. if 2 of u share it u can split the cost. else be prepared. u have to tip the cabby usually 10%.

in case u loose ur baggage and u got travel insurance u can claim upto 500$ for every checked baggae so dont forget to get a claim cheque. there will be a claim counter in the terminal go there and lodge a complaint and let the guy waiting for u know abt this. give him a call.

again please fill the forms asap

Madhu
IGSA Board
http://igsa.pages.uic.edu