Community Dinners and Plant Walks: A Haverford House Update from Callie Kennedy '18
Each month we'll hear from a Haverford House Fellow about their work, house activities, and independent projects that connect the Haverford College community with Philadelphia. Keep up with Haverford House events and more at @haverfordhouse!
July, our first full month in the house, has been wonderful and wild for many of us! Happy to report that so far we are running a lively and functional household together. We have hosted two yummy communal Sunday dinners, prepared a special lasagna dinner open to all the ELSI interns (I’m pretty sure Claire and TJ are still recovering from that 6-hour lasagna-making work day…), and dined with the bright-eyed Chesick Scholars at the New Delhi buffet.
This past Sunday, thanks to Smmo’s organization and dedication (and Claire’s poster-making skills), the House hosted an herbalism + plant-walk workshop run by our very own Jahzara Heredia ’16, the Haverfarm Fellow, and Rosie Cohen ’18. All were welcome to come learn alongside us.
In between these open-house affairs, we have enjoyed quieter evenings cooking dinner together or just sharing space in the kitchen, and even watching (a new House favorite) Ten Things I Hate About You on a Friday evening when we all happened to be home. When our group first officially met up for a Haverford House Happy Hour in the spring, I remember someone making compliments about someone else’s shoes, which led to the observation that our shoes were all quite different and in some ways indicative of our unique selves. We have continued to be our differently styled and diverse selves, and thankfully have grown together in a lovely way this month. A spontaneous congregation on the narrow staircase leading into our kitchen is perhaps indicative of our growing dynamic (Sabea, we’re excited you’ll soon be part of it!).
One of my personal favorite rituals in the house is coming home from a usually lively and full day of work to debrief on my day and conversely listen to others report back on their days. A friend and I joke that most of what we do in this life is debrief, and as an anthropologically-inclined, empathic person, I’m grateful how well we communicate and check in with one another.
In other news, Smmo has created a compost pile in the backyard, and has put the raised bed in the yard to good use by planting a host of soon-to-be tasty veggies. We are dreaming up future household events to host, and an idea that I’m particularly excited about is inviting our block captain and other longtime residents from our block to the house to talk about how the block and city have changed over the years.
Until next month! In the mean time, we’ll be working, debriefing, gardening, cooking, hosting, resting and exploring. Wishing the same to y’all! - Callie Kennedy '18, fellow at Puentes de Salud
