THE ANNEX

Eleni Zaras 

Hometown: Arlington, VA

Major/Year: History of Art, Junior

First Year on the Council

What are your favorite words to live by?

 ”The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.” - Jack Kerouac in On the Road

What hobby do you do in your spare time?

It would be disgraceful to come from a Greek family and to not enjoy food and cooking. I wouldn’t be able to take on my mother or grandmother in the kitchen yet, but I absolutely love to cook. I discovered this summer that my new favorite cooking utensil is a tagine; not only was I able to make a luscious dinner with it, but it is also really a beautiful dish. I prepared (with the help of my mom and older brother) lamb with apricots, dates, and a variety of spices. 

Our lovely tagine!

What is your favorite place in Ann Arbor?  

Definitely Comet Coffee. The baristas know and love coffee, they’re fun to chat with, they’re always playing good music, and I’ve never once been disappointed with my drink.

What are two things you can’t live without?  

1) My collection of books. I love to read and I can’t imagine not having a constant shelf of books at my disposal.

2) My cat, Cayenne. He’s seven years old, over sixteen pounds, and endlessly entertaining. 

Just a normal afternoon.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?  

Realistically, I have no idea. But I cannot deny the appeal of being like one of the people in this photo: hurrying purposefully across a boulevard in Paris in the rain.