Daily Archives: July 2, 2019

Exploring is the Nice Word for Lost by Haley Brewer

An hour and forty-five minutes.

That’s the longest I’ve gotten lost here amongst the Chicago streets. I’ve gotten lost looking for bubble tea, I’ve gotten lost looking for museums, I’ve gotten lost looking for countless bookshops and more. My second day here, I got lost looking for the Target and I still think a little part of me is out there looking for the red and white store.

When my mom asks, I tell her I’ve spent most of my time “exploring” the city because that sounds a lot better than “my google maps lost connection ten minutes in and I wandered up and down Washington for thirty minutes.” It’s all about the rebranding, folks.

However, a month in, my hopeless sense of direction has marginally become less so. I say marginally because just last Friday, I almost exceeded my record on time lost when I was looking for a new ramen place.

Although, it’s not like I’m gifted in directions back home. If it weren’t for the multiple map apps I have on my phone, I’d hardly be able to leave me apartment parking lot in Valpo.

I hate getting lost, I really do. It’s the constant bone I have to pick with myself and the universe, my complete lack of direction. But it’s not all bad. While lost, I’ve found adorable little parks, farmers markets, a secondhand book store I would literally die for, and rainbow roads.

While “exploring,” I’ve also tried things I never would have considered back home. Numerous small coffeeshops that are nothing like the Dunkin Doughnuts I usually stick to, little bakeries smell like sugar and bread, thai ice cream shops where they roll up the cream right in front of you. Wonderful little places I’m happy to find and even more happy to share with my friends when they visit.

Usually, when I’m in stage 4 of being lost (the first stages being 1. Obliviousness, 2. Creeping Dread, 3. Denial and/or the Bargaining stage) I’ll wander over to the nearest Wifi providing establishment, buy a drink of tea/coffee/juice/etc. to provide sustenance for my journey, and attempt to find my way with the assistance of the Wifi. This usually works, and I usually get the perk of whatever iced drink I’ve just acquired. With my mood instantly given +5 HP and some newly loaded directions, I’m off again. Despite how much I hate getting lost, it’s almost enjoyable nowadays.

With a month left in the program, I’m sure I’ve still got loads more time I’m going to dedicate to finding my way. At least I have all those iced drinks to look forward to!

P.S. Here’s the ramen I got lost for on Friday. Totally worth it.

Community Work as Dance by Maria Kubalewski

One of my close friends is a ballroom dancer. Although my wish to become a better dancer by osmosis has yet to come to fruition, my eyes were opened to how unique of a craft ballroom is. 

Kheprw’s approach to community work reminds me a lot of ballroom dance. 

Kheprw Institute is a grassroots organization that works primarily out of the Riverside and Highland Vicinity neighborhoods in Indianapolis. Grounded in the belief that members of a community are the best suited to lead within the community, Kheprw works to involve community members of all ages, interests, and backgrounds in conversations and programs touching on (but not limited to) race, education, the environment, entrepreneurship, art, and technology. 

There are many different styles of ballroom- Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Samba, Mambo, Cha-cha. Instead of focusing on one path to community work, Kheprw makes moves with urban gardening and youth programming, sparks conversation about gentrification and environmental degradation, and is working to provide a safe space for creatives of all kinds and an incubator to coach small businesses on the sidelines. Each style of dance requires conditioning- practice, coaching, and discipline. Each of Kheprw’s branches requires continuous research- discussion, collaboration, and commitment. Strong dancers are multi-faceted in the sense that they can dance more than one style, making them competitive; Strong organizations are multi-faceted in the sense that they have a team that offers a variety of programs, assisting the community in supporting itself. 

If a member of Kheprw is one half of a ballroom couple, then another organization, community member, or project makes up the other half. When you’ve got a really good relationship with your dance partner- you’re both comfortable with the style and approach, there’s clear communication, and there’s a sense of trust- dancing is smooth. When you’ve got a new dance partner, or you and your old one don’t agree on style or technique, dancing becomes a lot more strained. It doesn’t matter how prepared either partner was for the competition, if you’re not jiving together, it’s just not going to be your day.

As to be expected in community work, Kheprw has dance partners that don’t skip a beat and partners who seem to be dancing to a different song. Synchronized dance partners help to provide opportunities within the community or lay the foundation for long-term projects. Why bother dancing with a partner who has two left feet? The better question is why not? Members of Kheprw treat every experience as a learning opportunity. Even when a relationship is uncomfortable, even when there’s tension, both partners can learn from one another. Sometimes partners grow closer, other times the partnership just isn’t meant to be. But there is always value in the relationship, always a story to hear and a lesson to be learned. 

Dancing is an art. It takes time, creativity, and demands an appreciation for the culture. To do well, partners need to work hand in hand to support one another. In this way, dance emphasizes the interdependent relationship, making it emotional, fun, and challenging all at the same time.  

Community work is also an art. To do it well starts with seeing the community as something to be appreciated, as something to learn from and grow with. Kheprw emphasizes community work- meaningful relationships amongst people comes first. The work then emerges from that space. Just like dancing, working with people is inherently emotional, fun, and complex. But that’s exactly what makes the work, makes the dance, so important.