Dancing, Working, and Culture Shock

By Jannessah Harper

Chicago is a melting pot for all people: Christian and Jewish, Hispanic and African American, young and old. One of my reasons for participating in the Chicago Semester program was to experience a new culture. Holland, MI is a lovely town, but it is a place where I did not get to taste the diversity that inhabits the city of Chicago.

As part of our nursing course while attending Chicago Semester, the five other nursing students and I were encouraged to participate in a health service activity. The opportunity arose for us to take part in a “Go Red” campaign put on by the Phi Kappa Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. The “Go Red” campaign is a national movement to fight against heart disease for women.

For the event, the other nursing students, our nursing instructor, and I traveled to the south side of Chicago to a local school. In this community, many of the families and women are burdened from stress, long work hours, and a lack of appropriate healthcare. I arrived at the school slightly intimidated and completely unaware of what it was we were entering into. All I knew was to bring my stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, and was told there would be line dancing. Being an Oklahoma native, the only kind of line dancing I have encountered involved cowboy boots, country music, and way too much denim. This was not what I found as I entered the gymnasium of the school. The room was filled with African-American women dancing, laughing, and greeting each person. There was a sense of community and love that was inescapable.

 One of the best identifying factors for an individual being at risk for heart disease is a high blood pressure. We had tables set up inside the gymnasium for the women to come and have their blood pressure taken by one of the nursing students. Information on ways to reduce blood pressure and a sheet for recording blood pressures were given to each person that came. Personally, prior to this experience I believed that this type of screening only helps to inform people on the importance of health management rather than actually having an immediate effect in an individual’s health. For one woman, the screening provided at the “Pink Goes Red” event identified an abnormally high blood pressure that would need further medical attention. The Chicago Semester nursing instructor provided more information to the woman about the risks of having such a high blood pressure along with clinics that offered free medical attention since she did not have insurance. I began to realize after the event, that even the smallest health screening could make a difference. It just takes a little bit of extra attention to an individual to realize a difference can be made.

 I am seeing new sides to this city I get to temporarily call home. I’m learning that to embrace this time in Chicago requires risk, passion for adventure, and the willingness to be attentive to the individual.