In the twilight (lateness courtesy of a delayed flight) of Friday the 15th of March, my very best friend in the whole wide world, Luisa Li, landed in Detroit for the first time in her life. This would be forever known as the beginning of an epic weekend visit. Lives were changed. History was made. A party was attended. Also several local stores, including my favorite Ann Arbor haunts and food spots. But those are all familiar to me and likely also known to you, dear reader. But what about Luisa? For this Best Friend B-Side, I’m letting her do (half) the talking. Below are the locations we explored together annotated with her impressions and my elaborations. Welcome to Luisa and Ceci’s excellent A2 adventure.
Friday, March 15th
The Michigan Daily Arts party
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a true basement party, where you can actually see the ceiling. I wished there was more music because then we would have danced more. However, I really enjoyed talking to your friends.”
Disappointment at the flight delay because we wouldn’t make it to the Feel Good Friday at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, was quickly usurped by the joy of attending a true nighttime bash with my best friend, something we had yet to do together since we took each other to prom our senior year in 2021. I kept excitedly introducing her as my dearest friend to all my newer, closest companions, happy to see worlds collide. Even after she started gaslighting them about a romantic relationship we did not have during high school (though rumors of us kissing during a Macbeth screening in class definitely circulated), I was glad to have her with me. Full of love and warmth, we retired back home after a brief New York Pizza Depot stint (which she will not be reviewing as she doesn’t eat pizza) and got her settled on the comfiest inflatable bed $20 can buy. So ended the first night of her trip.
Saturday, March 16th
The Ride
“Kerrytown sounds like it’s a town over so I thought we’d have to take like a 30-minute bus ride but it was like 10 minutes.”
The very next morning, we grabbed a quick breakfast of bagels and went to the Observatory Street bus stop. “You’re like my mom,” said Luisa when I got out the $1.50 in quarters to pay for her bus fare since she doesn’t carry cash on her. I pointed out the University buildings’ names as we drove past them and soon enough we arrived at our destination.
Kerrytown Chimes
“I was a little intimidated because it seemed pretty difficult and I was like, ‘If I play a note wrong literally the entire town would hear me’ — the entire Kerrytown, that is — but I really enjoyed playing La Cucaracha.”
We met up with my partner at the farmer’s market right as Maddy Ringo’s folky busking set was ending. The three of us went up to the second floor of the Kerrytown Market, where, every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (as well as Mondays and Wednesdays at noon), visitors have the opportunity to play the chimes for listeners below. We waited in line behind several groups of children until our turn, even getting a sticker for our efforts. We thoroughly recommend it.
Vault of Midnight
“I got my veggies. We also talked about (your partner’s) favorite films and my favorite books.”
Out of the entire store, we were most taken by the recipe book section (nerdily inspired by media franchises like Pokémon and Star Wars). We also spent a while looking at local zines downstairs and, most importantly, digging out plushies from the keychain baskets until she got a matching set of three for her boyfriend, her sister and herself: a leek, a carrot and a corncob respectively.
Literati
“I learned a lot about the University’s history with Film there, that was super interesting. I always enjoy hearing people talk about something that they know a lot about but I know nothing about, and in this case, it’s film cause I don’t watch any. So it was super nice hearing (your partner) talk so passionately about the people and places in the book, with personal associations and experiences added.”
While inside the bookstore, my partner picked up a copy of Frank Uhle’s “Cinema Ann Arbor” to teach Luisa about the town’s history. Luisa says her favorite tale was the one about the theater that used to be next to Literati where, in the early 1900s, a fight broke out after an attendee heckled the usher in charge of reading the silent film’s title cards.
Mama Satto
“Mama Satto was so good. The Godzilla sushi was awesome. It was really nice talking to you about expectations and what we want to do with our lives.”
After parting from my partner, we got lunch. The Godzilla sushi is particularly mouth-watering (so much so we returned briefly before her departure with just that dish in mind). It was better than our high school cafeteria’s sushi, but accompanied by the same air of camaraderie I had missed, only possible to foment after years of sitting together every lunch period throughout secondary school. Feels weird to realize the days are over. The miso soup was also good.
WCBN Radio Station
“The radio was so cool! I felt like the rockstar’s girlfriend backstage at the music show. Looking at all the CDs and vinyls was wild. It was absolutely wonderful seeing the notes and labels people have left over the years. I find it really cute.”
No one called in with requests so we let ourselves go a little wild with the broadcast, running around and jumping for the high boxes, taking entire discographies off the shelves and picking songs from our loot. I would get an idea for a good next record and call out its spelling to Luis as I hurriedly pushed sliders for transitions. It felt good to make something together.
MAE Jack Moeser’s Senior Recital
“It was very cool. I’m pretty used to watching recitals because (my boyfriend) is a band person and has a lot of concerts with trombone players. The church setting is very familiar because at Northeastern the wind ensemble also plays in church. I think he’s pretty good.”
We hurried out of the station and into the rain and were only a few minutes late to the performance. Quickly sitting behind the other Arts staffer attendees, we were greeted by the dulcet angelic tones of an original French horn arrangement of Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor,” a favorite of mine, courtesy of our very own Jack Moeser. It’s been a while since I experienced live music. This was a phenomenal welcome back into the field. Having Luisa next to me in the pew only elevated the heavenly atmosphere.
Culantro
“The lomo saltado was honestly a little bit mid and the chicha was a little too sweet but maybe they just wanted it really concentrated. The yuca and salchipapa were really good, though.”
I decided to invite everyone to the one Peruvian restaurant in town since it was only three blocks away. Though the food reminded us both of home (some dishes more true to form than others), the real aide-memoire was the walk over. In the less than six minutes it took to get there, a misheard sentence turned into a misinterpreted phrase and then into an inappropriate joke. I was used to this kind of goofing with the Arts crew, but having my best friend by my side, laughing right alongside me, reminded me of how many times we’d done that dance before.
Sojourner Truth Cooperative House
“They had a rock climbing wall and I would’ve shown them my calluses to prove I wasn’t a drunk guy just bored enough to try to go up a wall, but they only had the tiniest footholds at the bottom and some holds at the incline which if you want to go up you’d have to do a dyno, which I can’t do because it’s very far and I’m pretty short.
It felt like a European nightclub at 9 p.m. where people are not drunk enough and there’s not enough people for you to feel comfortable about dancing, which is actually my preferred club environment because then I can just jam in the corner without getting squished. Which actually happens pretty often — there’s so many people you physically cannot move and it’s awful but some people really enjoy that, for some reason. Maybe it’s because it gives them a sense of protection, like you’re in the womb and surrounded by liquid.”
Thank you, Freud. We were there for maybe three minutes, tops. I’ll let Luisa take this description.
Sunday, March 17th
Leslie Science & Nature Center
“I liked looking at the birds. Seeing the majestic bald eagle made me feel super American, even though neither of us is American, which I find funny. It was super cool looking at the microscopic samples of insects and fungi inside the Critter House. We played a game matching footprints to animals and were terrible at it. We also learned that turtles can’t actually go inside their shells. The finger-biting turtle was pretty big. The snapping turtle? Is it snapping because it’s insecure like a fragile man? They had huge claws, I wonder if you can paint them and give them a manicure.
The hammocks were nice. I really enjoyed talking about our (high school) experience.”
Luisa asked if I remembered the school trip where we spent the night in hammocks out in the open. I sighed happily and said yes. I looked up at the barren trees and down at the growing flowers. I asked her if she realized these were the days we’d dreamt of.
“It’s easier to think two cities are close together just because they’re in the same country and you’re on the other side of the world,” she said. “They seemed so close on the map.”
“But we’re here now, like we said. Took us almost two years, but we’re here now,” I replied.
UMMA
“I feel like (the museum) actively tries to tell a story with an angle for a unified theme, I feel it really works. The paintings were fine, but what’s interesting was the text behind them. What comes to my mind is a British painter’s depiction of the White House. The description was talking about how the painting itself was very pinkish and gave a romanticized view of the place. But the description went on about the history of the White House and how it was mostly constructed with slave labor despite the painting’s portrayal. I thought it was an interesting spin because I would just look at it and think, ‘It’s a painting of the White House.’’’
We weren’t able to spend as much time here as we’d hoped, but I’m glad Luisa got a lot out of her brief stay. Hopefully, it will inspire her to visit again.
The Michigan Daily Arts meeting
“I love the newsroom, I think it’s so cute and so pretty. There’s this vibe of like history and culture that a lot of U-M buildings have. The newsroom was interesting because my university experience is in a STEM school with very little space dedicated to the arts or creative expression or just the humanities in general. Seeing such a huge beautiful space dedicated to the arts really set U-M apart from (my university) because we are just filled with labs and study spaces which is okay because we’re a STEM school, but seeing a space for arts was a very refreshing change of scene.
I have no thoughts on the Arts meeting because I was locked in to Stardew Valley.”
Luisa does STEM; I do arts. Not that she doesn’t work with oil paints in her spare time or that I can’t run a spreadsheet when needed, but that’s just how it’s shaken up. She’s always been this genius. I am so proud of her and all her achievements, whether it’s hearing over the phone about a Hackathon she’s won one weekend or learning about her latest climbing stint. But I remember how well we did in English class together, how we’d finish our assignments early and start playing Tetris Online. How she listened to my figurative readings and explained her more literal ones. How she likes to read and always commended the short stories I wrote for class. How I stayed with our professor for a higher level course and she took the standard one. How I owe to her so many of the fond, foundational memories of what I hope to make my career one day — what I’m making a career of right now.
Hola Seoul
“It was so delicious, I’m thinking about going back. I liked the cubbap, there were less noodles than I thought there would be and I would rather they pack it horizontally instead of vertically so I don’t have to eat seven pieces of chicken to get to the bottom. I envy you guys for having a good quality decently-priced Korean place (near you) because that’s not really a thing where I live.”
Luisa and I haven’t lived in the same city for almost two years now. When she arrived at my dorm, one of the first things she did was express her excitement at seeing a Chili’s on the way there, saying she didn’t have one where she was coming from. For a brief moment, I was puzzled; of course she does, the Chili’s is like a 10-minute walk from her place. We always go there after school for special occasions. And if not, there’s a Chili’s near my place at walking distance if she wants to come over. It took me longer than expected to realize my mistake. I’ll remember to send her a pic of my cupbap the next time I get it, which is sure to be soon enough.
Burton Bell Tower
“The Bell Tower is super cool. Very tall. I wish I could climb it, but that’s probably very illegal. I find it very cool that you have access to restricted places like the radio station and newsroom.”
I pointed out landmarks in all cardinal directions after playing a simple tune for her. You can see North Campus from up there. I pointed out Michigan Theater, the Diag and my dorm. I named several buildings, too. We stood in silence, quietly admiring the view. I love her so much.
Pinball Pete’s
“I really enjoyed the ball thing (Skeeball). I was really good at it, I would say. I think my favorite was Deal or No Deal because it is something we played so much at Larcomar. It was so reminiscent of those times when we tried to record (the cases) with a slo-mo camera it still didn’t work. This time we somehow managed to pick the 200 ticket thing first try, which was awesome. (Dance Dance Revolution) was fun (though) it’s not like one we have at home, which hopefully we can play when we go back.”
The latest in our long list of traditions is playing Pump It Up, a Korean variant of DDR, at a local park. I’ve missed the hours we would spend there, sweating and heaving outside the arcade parlor under sports clothes and the summer heat. I tried to get back into the genre several times through the DDR in Pinball Pete’s, especially when I was there with friends, since it’s the cooperative aspect that really makes it. I know it’s supposed to be competitive, not cooperative — trying to see who gets the higher score and all — but it didn’t feel that way when all the dances began with holding hands for luck and ended in congratulatory double high-fives. Luisa’s favorite songs were the techno remixes of classical music and we played them so much I could do the steps for you right now.
Playing with Luisa this weekend was a blast. I don’t know what came over me, but I was twirling between steps, doing fun jumps and singing along to the semi-familiar tunes coming out of the only slightly bit-crunching speakers. We were in lockstep, just like the old days. Up, up, down, right, up-down, left-right. I felt her mirror my moves through the woosh of air she left behind. I heard a small curse when a combo was lost, but it didn’t matter. We were doing it, we were dancing together. We were together.
That’s all it ever comes down to, really. We are always together. We manage to find a rhythm and we keep in time. I update her about my life and she tells me about her internship. She congratulates me on a trivia win with my friends and I ask about her roommate. We go weeks without direct words excluding traded memes and liked stories. She’s always there on my peripheral, moving at the same time, perhaps toward some other goal, perhaps in some other place, but we are dancing together. We’ve always been dancing.
Digital Culture Beat Editor Cecilia Ledezma can be reached at cledezma@umich.edu