Visiting Iowa City

I simply loved it.

The town is a college town with particular cultural flair; some claim that Iowa City is a well-kept secret within the Midwest due to its culture, progressiveness, and emphasis on education. There many very good k-12 schools in the area and the prestigious Iowa Writer Workshop and other graduate programs have created a diverse community with an over representation of people with degrees. I heard time and time again that professors leave to teach at well-known schools and consistently return to Iowa City for the atmosphere.

The people are different, there's no doubt about that. I've never experienced people this friendly and open before and there were many instances during which I was pretty weirded out in a healthy, humbling way.

The campus is exudes collegiality in both its architecture and social feel and the surrounding area revolves predominately around the university. I didn't realize how many prestigious programs there were out side of the business, law, and writing programs until I got here, but it'll be a pretty amazing place to be for the next 1-3 years.  I'll post pictures as soon as I can get them off of my dad's camera.

I feel that it's quite the fit for me. It'll be an amazing experience to live somewhere completely different from what I've known and this seems to be the place to do it. There is an overwhelming number of people from large cities which influences the lifestyle and social views of the town, which is probably why I felt so comfortable during my visit, yet there are enough drastic differences for me to feel like I'm out of my element (which is a good thing).

I also signed a lease on a house yesterday. It's a two-story house with a GIANT basement that Mackenzie (my new roommate) set up as a gym/laundry room, an adorable kitchen and living room, and two cozy bedrooms. She has a Great Dane, another really sweet dog with blue eyes (probably an American Eskimo mix), and two very loving cats. One of the cats came into the bathroom with me and leaned against me on the toilet while "making muffins." I'll be having a yard and my own driveway for the first time in four years!

The law school is possibly the ugliest building on campus from the outside but is very modern and conveniently-built on the inside. It looked like some architect decided to build something groundbreaking and modern during the 80's and then realized five years later how ridiculous of a mistake they had made. But, the library is stunning and is second to only Harvard in number of collections and there are tons of student lounges and study areas throughout the building. Many students informed us that they rarely leave the law school and venture to other areas of campus but that it's the perfect community to study in. Others told us that they frequently study in the coffee shops and lounges downtown. Either way, everyone informed us of the importance of keeping an easy-to-follow routine.

I'm excited for August.