U of M program puts students in Detroit for a semester

People in coffee shops and restaurants will treat you like royalty — they will start to remember your name and your favorite items as you become a regular, as I have at Avalon International Breads. I’m Carolina, sweet cream butter scone and large "meaning of life" coffee blend. Strangers on the streets will say good morning, hello or start a conversation with you, and they will open the doors for you as you pass. In the eight years that I've been in the United States, I’ve never encountered people friendlier than those in Detroit.

I’ve had some very interesting conversations with strangers in this city — people sitting next to me at Avalon while I devour my sweet cream butter scone or people sitting at the bar at Cass Cafe ordering the same local beer I’ve grown to love (Ghettoblaster, on draft). And it doesn’t take long to learn that Detroit is a city of communities. As the city tries to recover, communities and personal relationships thrive.

Population loss to the suburbs and to other states is no secret here, and as a result, there are too many empty lots and less than a million people living in a city designed for two times that many. But on the bright side, those who live here know and help each other, because most of them cannot rely on anyone but themselves and the people around them.