I grew up in a place where getting to know your neighbor was nearly unheard of. As a girl scout, I would go door to door trying to sell some Samoas™, only to be met with security systems, angry guard dogs, and (what I imagined to be) people hiding from the threat of walking outside and interacting with anyone (I still managed to sell over 500 boxes a year, go figure). During Halloween, instead of having a majority of houses with the lights on, pumpkins aglow in the night, and patrons handing out mounds of candy to gorge on, most houses were pitch black, with candy left at the end of the driveway as a warning of a threshold not to be passed. The neighborhood prided itself on a strict and damaging version of privacy that prevented much friendly interaction.
Needless to say, I rebelled against these and other experiences by becoming a very outgoing person. I found a love of total immersion in new surroundings, regardless of circumstances. Once I got here last year, it seemed to me a no-brainer to explore Middletown fully. But as soon as I did, I was greeted with a lot of mixed messages. People talked about Middletown being shady and of the “townies” being crazy, and generally had a very stuck up attitude about the place we had chosen to live for (presumably) four years. Also, as it was freshman year and all the experiences were new, fresh, and ultimately hazy in nature, I never did the exploring I wanted to until this fall. I wish I had started sooner because Middletown has an amazing culture all to its own.
The first thing you’ll notice as you’re heading down to Main Street is the presence of classical music blasting through speakers like a fly buzzing around your ear that you just can’t kill. It’s playing because the city council thought that if there was singularly detestable and snooty sounding music resonating through the main drag, it would keep away all the perceived degenerates of the Middletown community. It didn’t work. Treat it like the sirens that continuously go off; it’s all a part of the white noise of this town. Instead, head over to Court Street and go into Klekolo.
Klekolo. Say it with me. Clay-co-low. Not only does it have the best coffee and spiced chai (trust me, seriously) on the planet, this is where you’ll meet every one of those people who the city council considered the degenerates when they picked some poor rendition of Mozart to infect through the town: Punks, anarchists, drug dealers, graffiti artists, and other people who generally make me feel elated and intellectually buzzed when I talk to them. Inside there is awesome music that you probably have never heard before, amazing artwork, and lots of chess sets to play with. One night I went with a few people from town to a concert in Hartford, rocked out, and then backtracked to Klekolo where someone had poured mounds of chalk on the ground. An artist landscape soon appeared of chalk graffiti, the talent of which has yet to be surpassed by any Butts Tunnels art I have seen. You need to check this place out immediately.
The other place of interest off the top of my head is Sweet Harmony Café. Go down to Broad Street Books, take a left, and keep walking until you see a blue cottage with the Sweet Harmony sign on the outside. Go inside and get something to eat. Anything. I recommend pairing a homemade amazing wrap or sandwich with the chocolate chai with a chocolate covered pretzel, served in a goblet, that needs to be tasted at least once. And on the first Friday of every month they hold a dessert night. Ahhh it is so good and so friendly, you ’11 just want to curl up and eat till your stomach explodes twice.
Ultimately, it’s important to get to know Middletown because we are guests here. Wesleyan is a part of Middletown, not the other way around, as some people would lead you to believe. So get out there and explore! I guarantee that it will be well worth your time to explore where you live. Just be friendly and assume nothing. All it takes is walking down the road and saying “Hello.”
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