Observations from this weekend:
I have been to 2 baseball games in my life (well, technically only 1) and both of them had rain delays. Maybe I'm just not destined to go to a baseball game.
I've been to Minneapolis twice before this trip; once when I was like 10, maybe younger, to go to the mall and once when I had a layover and didn't leave the airport on my way to Europe. Driving at night, in the rain, in an unfamiliar city was challenging to say the least. It reinforced my desire to live on an acreage somewhere as opposed to the city. That's not a dig at Minneapolis in particular, just cities in general. Driving in Des Moines even stresses me out and that's not really that big of a city in comparison.
I had no idea there was such a large Somali population in Minneapolis. On Saturday we went to a food pantry and packed food bags, then delivered them to a set of apartment buildings that was 98% Somali. We estimated that there were at least 1000 people per building and there were 3 buildings. This was a totally eye-opening experience. None of them spoke a lick of English and, of course, we didn't speak a lick of Somali. However, it was amazing how smoothly the whole operation went. We would carry the food up to their apartments for them because most of them were too frail/handicapped to do it themselves. I have always had an interest in communication, whether it be how people communicate with each other or non-verbal communication, the topic is always fascinating. This situation was a case study in non-verbal communication and it proves that people can have a whole conversation and never communicate. Communication is a mutual understanding of a need that needs to be met, and then working together to accomplish the goal of meeting that need. When I would meet with these Somali refugees, the need was that they needed food, and the goal was that the food needed to get from me to them. Sometimes it required some pointing or hand gestures, but most of the time it was as simple as making eye contact and we both knew what needed to be done and how to do it. It's definitely something I can take back with me and apply in my workplace/school; instead of having empty conversations with no communication, work to have meaningful conversations in which there is a mutual understanding of each other. We also noticed that most of the men we met with were handicapped in some way, and we eventually came to the conclusion that most of their injuries were probably a result of the militia when they were fleeing their country. That was definitely a sobering thought. It really makes you think about their back stories and what they might have had to go through to get from Somalia to Minneapolis. If I can step up on my soapbox for a second, I'd recommend volunteering at a food pantry or something similar, although I'm sure most of you already have. It's a totally humbling and meaningful experience.
Cedar-Riverside neighborhood has historically been an immigrant neighborhood, Swedes in the 19th century, eastern Euros after WWII and more recently SE Asians and now Somalians. Throw in an influx of hippy university cultural in the 1960's and it is an interesting mix.
