Searching for home Pt. 1

So I've started going back to Temple, and I thought I would document my experiences, thoughts, and reflections as I explore different Temples and Snyagouges in Chicago. People don't come in contact with a Black Jewish person everyday, and undoubtedly my experiences will partly be shaped by how others perceive me.
So here goes!

For the last three weeks I have been going to my local Reform Temple here in Oak Park. I have actually been trying to attend service at this Temple for close to two months now. But originally there seemed to be some confusion. Let me explain, the first two weeks or so I got up and headed over to the Temple on Saturday morning for 10 AM service. However when I got there, there were next to no cars in the parking lot. That was the first thing that raised an eye brow. Then I got out the car and every door I attempted to open to enter the Temple was locked! I was really confused at that point. I saw a few people go into the Temple from a back entrance but being new, and black I wasn't about to walk into the Temple from the back! If the front doors weren't open I just wasn't going and so-I didn't go.
Eventually though I made it to a Friday Shabbat service and things were fine. Of course I got the normal people coming up to me to introduce themselves, and I think more importantly to find out who the heck was I?!
The first service I went to was actually the first service of the new Rabbi. He's a middle aged man. Looks like he is in his early forties. The service wasn't as thought provoking or substantive as I would have liked. But I also kept in mind it was the Rabbi's first service. So I'm sure he was just trying to feel his way around. It was a pretty big crowd though, probably a little over a hundred people in attendance.
The second service I went to was a Saturday morning service. Which says allot, because I am NOT a morning person at all! Service starts at 10 AM so I figured I could do that. I got there about 10 minutes late, but I made it. Interestingly enough it was actually a bar mitzvah taking place that morning. Therefore, the order of the service was very different. Really that means service was longer than it usually is but that was OK because I had never witnessed a bar mitzvah before. From that perspective it was very interesting. The little girl (who was 13) had definitely put allot of time into preparing and working on her Hebrew. I just sat back and took it all in.
Although there was this one Asian woman that kept looking over at me. At some point I wanted to wave to her(Haha), I figured that would have got her attention! Haha
The third visit and the most recent visit, I think I will write about tomorrow. It was by far the most interesting visit yet!