Walking the Walk with Adani Sanchez

Yesterday's It's My Treat was with my new best friend Adani Sanchez! She chose Sticky Rice, the place where this whole thing started. Can't believe I've been doing these for almost a year! I love exclamation points!

Last time, I forgot to start with the food, so I am going to get to that right off the bat. I had sesame chicken and Adani, I believe, had Pad Thai. And no surprise since it was the same thing I had last time, I liked it. And again, I forgot to ask Adani if she liked her meal. It looked good, but I think we both did a lot of talking so didn't have much time to do any eating. Leftovers are good. And a shout out to our server. They were so nice.

OK, now let's get started. I met Adani when she did a podcast with the Mayor about her project (CU)rbanism. www.curbanism.org Their website says they support walkable, bikeable, accessible cities and affordable housing. What I found most interesting in our conversation was not the details of the walkable cities, but the why behind it. By having walkable cities, people are more able to come together and form communities. You can walk by your neighbors, walk to local businesses and stores. You get to know the people living, working, and hanging out in your area.

One of the things I love most about downtown Champaign is being able to easily walk to so many different types of establishments. Some for food, some for hanging out, some for business, and of course the local government building. And I see the same people over and over again. I don't know if I would call them all my friends, but maybe a better definition is that they are my community, my tribe, and some truly are my friends.

I joked at the outset of the post that Adani is my new best friend. That might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but I do feel like I have seen her around enough to call her and acquaintance, but as is the case with a lot of these It's My Treat meals, I do think we have become friends. That is one aspect that I was not anticipating when I started this project. It is weird that just in the short course of a meal and conversation, I feel like I really get to know people and we do sort of become friends. I know I don't know everything about them, but it is kind of interesting to learn more about them than you would with the usual hi, how are you, pleasantries that usually make up most of our daily conversations.

I'm just going to throw this out there, I think connecting with others even just a little bit can change your life. If you don't believe me, try it yourself. Doesn't have to be a meal or anything formal but just have a conversation with someone you maybe see but don't really know. Ask them about themselves, what they do, why they do it, what are they passionate about? I don't know. Makes me happy at least.

But here is a little more about Adani. She grew up in Texas and is still partners with her high school sweetheart. Awwww. That is so nice. They were together through college and each interned in DC. When they were looking to start their careers after school, they decided to make the move to the area. She fell in love with downtown Urbana. So nice over there, but she now works in downtown Champaign and loves it. Again, it is an easily walkable area with a lot of the things that you need. (I do wish there was a grocery store downtown, but maybe someday something like that will happen).

Family and friends are very important to her. She still goes back to visit family in Texas for Christmas, but that frees up her Thanksgivings for hanging out with friends. It sounds like her friend group is all over the place, so they take turns visiting each other to cook, eat, hang out and relax. Everything you should be doing with your friends.

While I love Adani's mission to make the city more walkable and community focused, some of you may know, my number one policy priority is getting people healthcare. That is why I was surprised and super excited to hear that Adani's job is to help people get healthcare. She works for the Champaign County Health Care Consumers. This non-profit grassroots organization is dedicated to finding people affordable quality healthcare. What a perfect resource to have! If any of you have tried to wade through the paperwork and information about any of the government programs, health insurance or local healthcare service providers, you know that that can be daunting. To have a resource there with professionals who have a better grasp of the system who can walk you through choices and advocate on your behalf is a blessing. Here is the website if you want to find out more about the organization or if you need help getting the healthcare that you need: www.healthcareconsumers.org

I can't be more impressed with the work that Adani is doing. I am so happy to have had a meal with her to learn about all the ways she is making the community better and healthier. Thank you again for joining me.