As a sophomore at the University of Iowa, I have had roughly one year to get acclimated to Iowa City. Throughout this year, with my friends, I have explored various places and had many adventures. So without further ado…here is my list of favourite things about Iowa City.
- The Iowa City Public Library. I love the library! Not only does the library lend member unlimited physical books for three weeks with the option of renewing them online, but we also have access to online ebooks without ever having to go to the library!
- Prairie Lights Bookstore. As a booklover and addict, I love Prairie Lights. When I first got here, it was one of the first places that I went to; I regularly go there to attend readings and admire the aesthetics, even if I can’t afford to buy books! I even bought JK Rowling aka Robert Galbraith’s latest novel, Lethal White, from Prairie Lights the day it was released in the U.S.! Best of all, I got to read my own short story there during the launch of the Ink Lit Magazine Fall 2018 because I was published in the magazine!
- Blaze Pizza. As the first place that I ate at when I arrived in Iowa City, I have a huge fondness for Blaze Pizza. My family and I arrived at about 8:30pm at the Iowa House Hotel and we walked downtown to Blaze and shared a white top pizza without bacon (I’m vegetarian) and a Caesar salad with lemonade. Now, I’ve discovered that there’s a Blaze Pizza app that gives members freebies when we eat there enough times and collect enough points! Yum!!!
- The buses. Now you might think that public transportation is a weird thing to fall in love with, but I mostly just appreciate how cheap it is. All the buses that circulate Iowa City are free and the ones that run to Coralville or Walmart just cost $1 for a trip! It’s excellent, because access to the Coral Ridge Mall means access to Barnes and Noble (obviously a fave), Hot Topic (I’m a HUGE Harry Potter fan), Victoria Secret Pink (I LOVE cute sportswear for dance), this amazing pretzel place called PretzelMaker (where I consume all the calories I’ve burned in dance and then some…) and so on. Ubers are so much more expensive…needless to say that the buses are a huge bonus.
- Pocket Points. This is a phone app that collects points for students when we lock our phones during class. I don’t know the mechanics of it, but the app takes advantage of the GPS locator on our phones and collects points while we are in academic buildings on campus, including Halsey Hall (the Dance Department building) and Space Place (where we dancers perform). These points can be used for discounts on meals, clothing and so on. Here I am, the cheapskate! ;P
- YoTopia. I just love frozen yoghurt. Doesn’t everyone? And YoTopia is one of the places that Pocket Points works at…YUM.
- My friends. I saved the best for last. People in Iowa City are incredibly friendly and I have yet to encounter any racial prejudice or discrimination for my non-white status. I guess friends are something that you can make anywhere, but people in general in Iowa City are extremely kind and generous. Not all of the friends that I have made are through classes and that is an indication of how welcoming the atmosphere in Iowa City it!
There are probably some things that I’ve forgotten that I love about Iowa City, but if I compile a gazillion other things, I’ll write another blog post about that. I hope you guys love these things just as much as I do!
Officially a sophomore,
Emily