It’s a small room, but one filled with light and color. Music posters cover the brown wardrobes, postcards are taped to the walls, and there’s a touch of Native American decoration on almost everything.
Meet Kristi Whisler and Reka Forgach – this is their room (otherwise known as the “Dankhaus”), the place they go to get away from everything. “I feel like our rooming situation is a little different than most peoples’,” says Kristi. “We’re best friends, not just two random people living together.”
They talk about how they first decided to become roommates, what it’s like to live together, and tell me all about their furniture shopping escapades across America. “One night, we randomly decided to make hoola-hoops,” says Kristi. “I come from a small hippie town where it’s a big thing.” She can’t stop laughing as she explains their adventures at the supermarket shopping for all the materials. She sits next to Reka on one of their beds, and it’s easy to see how comfortable they feel – not only in this room, but together as well. “Our
room is kind of where we go to get away from things that bother us,” says Reka, and Kristi nods her head in agreement.
I spend an hour with them exploring the room – talking to them about their clothes (they have such similar taste in fashion that they don’t remember what belongs to whom), their jewelry (lots of colorful beads and feathers), and what it’s like to room together (they love it). “Kristi’s the clean one,” Reka says. “I think I’m a little more relaxed about it.”
Reka sits in her blue and white Native-American-patterned dress next to Kristi, who is wearing a dark green shirt and an anklet above her sandals. I watch them moving around in all that color, and only in their room – which they have created together – do I learn how genuine their friendship is.
