First, you trip over the broken television on the front walk. Next you get your foot stuck in the remnants of a decaying pumpkin. Then, when you finally make it in the door, you will bruise your shin on the dining room table that dominates the entrance. But once you make it into 1021 High St., or "Xanadu, most people want to stay.
This is probably due to the warm feeling of community emanating from the residents, and the smell of cooking which normally permeates the house. "We have about three or four nights a week where we all eat together, said Ben Klooster '08. While the residents of Xanadu have a strong community, they differ from many off-campus houses in that they were not a cohesive friend group before moving in together.
The house formed slowly over the course of last year, initially starting last spring when Klooster asked Nick Blencowe '08 if they should live in a house the next year. Blencowe agreed, but made the stipulation that Caitlin Carmody '08 join them. "Caitlin had no idea he had said that, said Klooster, "she was [planning on] going abroad, and we convinced her to stay.
Carmody rejects the notion that the others "convinced her to live in the house, citing an "existential crisis and asserted that she was "above their powers of persuasion. Once Carmody joined the group, Nate Gates and Emily Reiersgaard, both '08, were recruited as well.
Due to the nature of the house formation, the residents generally spend their time in different small groups that filter in and out. "One time I was sitting out on the porch, and then the outside opened, and three people came in, said Gates. "Then the inside door opened, and another five people filed in, and it just went from 0 to 60, back down to 0 pretty quickly.
Despite coming from different friend groups, they have formed a tight bond around their common interests, which beyond an array of humanities majors, center on quality food, wine and conversation.
When I entered their house to interview them, Klooster was cooking up a teriyaki chicken salad, Reiersgaard was making cocoa and soon Blencowe was making green tea, a common sight in the house. The tea is "just a ubiquitous presence, said Carmody, who said that she contributes by washing dishes, a hated chore at the house.
"These big dinners have been one of the places where we come together the most, said Klooster.
In the spirit of coming together, the housemates go around the table and talk about their "happy moments from the day. The happy moments "are the best part of dinner, said Reiersgaard, before singing the Folgers coffee theme, the "best part of waking up.
Beyond happy moments, these dinners are typified by rapid paced conversations that include many of the housemates favorite topics: patriarchy, the "silent matriarchy, postmodernism, existentialism, and the pitch-black room in the basement where they speculate previous tenants held dead bodies produced from their methamphetamine production.
While in past years 1021 High St. was sometimes referred to as "Meth House, the residents decided to go by "Xanadu this year, taking the name from the 1980 cult classic of the same name, staring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly in an Electric Light Orchestra soundtracked disco musical. "These things should be named organically, like cars and vibrators, added Carmody.
In addition to name changes, they have made additions to the house to change its previous reputation. Before the start of the year the group purchased the dining room table, which dominates the front room. Outside their door is a display of "postmodern art (a broken television facing an armchair) and Carmody has a body-tailored "wee chair, as at five feet she is also known as the "leprechaun of the house. But the most distinctive feature is an inside door plastered with pictures of Dick Williams holding a chicken and egg, with a heart drawn over the central picture, and the headline, "Nothing but Love.
Even though some people could interpret some of these items as mocking, one of the first impressions of "Xanadu is how welcoming they are. "One of my favorite parts about living in this house is that everyone is really kind, said Carmody. "You come home, and everyone asks how your day was. It's really a warm place, though we keep the heat low.
