Rating Iowa City Coffee Shops

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Hello all! I’m back to discuss my favorite thing – Iowa City’s coffeeshops! There are so many, that you will never run out of places to study, hang out with friends, or people-watch. Here are some of the places I tried ranked on a scale of 1-5 (1 worst, 5 best)

  1. Starbucks: 3/5. There are a few different locations on campus and one downtown, which makes getting caffeine quite easy! I always like a good refresher or cake pop, but actually studying there is not for me. It is busy practically any time I go to the one downtown and not much room to sit down. The ones on campus are generally easier to study in because they are located in study areas. Starbucks is also ridiculously overpriced and kind of overrated.
  2. Tru Coffee 2/5. I have personally only been to Tru once and tried one thing, but many people I know love their coffees and food, so I need to go again and try some more things! Their shop is super cute with lots of plants and friendly staff. My chai was served in a cute little Mason jar. However, it tasted kind of watered down and a little too cinnamony for me.
  3. Java House 2/5. Cute art on the walls and nice dim lighting. However, every time I have gone, I find their coffee too bitter despite always getting the sweet stuff. Their caramel latte was good, though. Also a bit on the pricier side. They have great cinnamon rolls!
  4. Fix! Coffee. 4/5. My best-kept secret cafe. It is on the second floor of the Chauncey and Film Scene. Lovely view of Iowa City and gets plenty of sunlight. Offers a student discount early in the fall semester and the baristas are so friendly! They have great chai for a fair price and I love the glasses they pour the drinks in. I like to spend hours here.
  5. Mammita’s 3/5. A cute little coffee shop my roommate worked at! HUGE drinks for the price and great food! Their horchata is so gooddddd. I haven’t been here enough to rate it higher, so I’m staying relatively neutral.
  6. Prairie Lights 3/5. A cute little cafe tucked into the famous Prairie Lights bookstore. A great place to study or read a book and support a local business! They have good iced/warm chai and fun seasonal drinks. The only problem is they exclusively take cash which I do not often have on hand. Relatively cheap drinks!
  7. Encounter Cafe 5/5. Worth the long line!! This place is super popular for its drinks and delicious breakfast menu. Their chai is easily the best I’ve ever had, especially with vanilla pumps! The interior is very cute and sort of farm-themed.

There are many other coffee shops that I have not yet had the chance to visit, but they are all great places to explore and support since Iowa City is home to hundreds of small businesses. Feel free to check them out during your next visit!

-Solenn

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Caitlin Clark Breaks the All-Time Scorer Record!

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Welcome back, everyone!

This past Thursday, our very own Iowa women’s basketball team made history! Senior point guard Caitlin Clark broke the NCAA All-Time Scorer record with 3,569 points, beating Kelsey Plum. She also scored 59 points, the most scored in one game for an Iowa women’s game.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena was loud! When Clark dropped a 3 that broke the record, everyone was cheering and clapping. The energy was unmatched throughout the entire game. I am so grateful I was able to go for only $5 with a student ticket when many were being sold for a few hundred or more! This will definitely be one of the highlights of my experience as a Hawkeye.

At the end of the game, there was a celebration ceremony for #22. The team were all given Nike shirts celebrating Caitlin’s record, which are now on sale on the Nike site and the Iowa Hawkshops! Caitlin’s family attended the game, as well as comedian Theo Von. Carver played a video that brought #22 to tears with various members of Caitlin’s family, former teammates McKenna Warnock and Monica Czinano, her coaches, and other greats. The Des Moines Register printed copies headlining Caitlin’s achievement and confetti poured onto the court to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime achievement.

The love for women’s sports here at Iowa is incredible. Beyond basketball; soccer, field hockey, swim and dive, track and field, cross-country, rowing, gymnastics, cheer, wrestling, and dance all deserve the same energy and are just as fun!

 

Go Hawks!

-Solenn

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Working as a Campus Tour Guide!

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Hello all,

Today I will be talking about being a tour guide!! With this job, I either lead walking tours, residence hall tours, or help out at Admitted Student Days!

I am currently training, so I will start leading tours very soon. There is a lot of information to learn but I love getting to talk with incoming or possible students and sharing why I love being a Hawkeye!

On campus tours, visitors get to explore the east side of campus and visit some buildings like the Iowa Memorial Union, the Recreation Center, and Papajohn’s lecture hall!

During residence hall tours, visitors get to see the lobbies of Burge, Currier, and Stanley!

My campus tour as a junior in high school helped me make the decision to come to Iowa! It really is a full circle moment now to be leading tours at my dream school.

I highly recommend scheduling a tour – hearing about student life from a student tour guide is the best way to know what your experience might be like!

That’s all for now,
Solenn

 

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Ink Lit Launch Party!

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Hello all,

Today I will be writing about the launch party for my literary magazine – Ink Lit Mag! I wrote a post about it previously, so feel free to check it out. It is a first-year teaching magazine that I had the honor of being Editor-in-Chief for this past fall. We had 25 first-year submissions that we celebrated this past Saturday at the Dey House; the home of the prestigious Writer’s Workshop for graduate students.

Several staff members, including me, spoke and shared our letters published in the magazine. Some of the published writers volunteered to read as well. We also had a cake with the magazine cover on it and a ton of copies for people to take!

It was a lovely sunny day outside and I had fun reading my speech in front of a small crowd.

Feel free to get involved in literary magazines, either as a writer or staff member. It is a great experience and accomplishment either way and a fantastic way to make friends in a supportive environment.

Bye for now!
Solenn

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My Spring Semester Schedule!

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Hello everyone! I’m back to discuss my spring semester schedule!

One thing I like about college is switching classes at the end of a semester – it keeps school new and exciting!

Mondays: Earth Science lab and Foundations of an English Major lecture.

In the lab, I work on worksheets with fellow honors students and do lab quizzes based on lectures. It is fairly laid back and a good review of content. My Foundations of an English Major lecture is interesting. My class is full of my friends and peers in the major I know. The professor Dr. Stecopaulos is interesting and engaging to listen to as he reviews the readings.

Tuesdays: Entrepreneurship and Innovation lecture, Oral Expression in French II, Earth Science lecture, Sociology lecture.

I enjoy my Entrepreneurship class a lot, there are a lot of discussions and projects besides just readings and quizzes. Professor Hensley has a lot of real-world connections and brings in guest speakers. My French class is with my professor from last semester, who is just so kind and knowledgeable. I like the small class size and am close with my classmates. We speak exclusively in French, watch lots of videos, and do debates there. My Earth Science lecture is interesting, Dr. Swanson keeps it fun and explains concepts clearly from the textbook. My Sociology lecture is great. Professor Haylett helps break down the readings into understandable language and prepares us for the quizzes super well.

Here is a photo from my Entrepreneurship class!

Wednesdays: Honors Outreach Ambassadors, Foundations of English major lecture.

The first class is basically training to be an Honors program ambassador, which includes serving as a panelist for student visit days and leading tours of the Blank Honors Center. We also suggest ways to improve the Honors program and a lot of really cool things. My Foundations of English lecture is just like it is on Mondays.

Thursdays: Entrepreneurship lecture, French, Earth Science lecture, Sociology lecture, Sociology discussion.

All my classes minus the discussion are similar to earlier in the week. My discussion is the Honors section and I have some friends in there. We do readings and discussion activities, review material, and do group projects.

Friday: Foundations of English discussion

We turn in essays during class, practice writing, do free writing, and discuss the books and readings from lectures. I know quite a few people in here and it is fairly laid back!

And that is my course schedule! I will write some posts about my extracurriculars for those curious.
-Solenn

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Iowa vs. Nebraska Women’s Basketball: The Eras Tour

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Welcome back to the blog, everyone!

Today I will be talking about my experience at the Taylor Swift-themed women’s basketball game this past weekend!

The energy was enchanted Saturday afternoon at Carver with a sold-out crowd to watch Caitlin Clark and the Iowa women take on Nebraska. There were friendship bracelet stands set up for people to make and swap with others.

Taylor Swift songs played during warmups and timeouts, and many people came dressed as different Swift albums. Most of the women on the team are big Swifties, so they shared their favorite songs and albums.

The Iowa Dance Team danced to songs as well, bringing great energy to the crowd!

The crowd got really into it as well, hyping up our Hawkeyes while intimidating the Cornhuskers. Our women played a great game and it was LOUD. We won of course! And the sound system played “22” for 22 of course.

It was by far my favorite game of the season that I have attended.

Cheer on the Hawks at the next game or watch it streaming!

 

Go Hawks,
Solenn

 

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Residence Hall Life: Daum Hall

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Welcome back, everyone!!

Today I will be talking about life in the Honors dorm, Daum Hall. Not only do we have the biggest rooms on campus, but it is attached to the Blank Honors Center, which contains classrooms, study areas, a computer lab, and Honors Program activities.

Daum is co-ed, which is fun having girls and guys on the same floor since we all just hang out and study together. The bathrooms are separated, each locked room containing a sink, toilet, and shower. There are enough that I am never waiting for one to open up, and they are cleaned multiple times a week.

The lounges on each floor are very nice, with whiteboards, tables, and comfy seats. My RA is also super friendly and hosts lots of fun activities like game and movie nights. The Honors Program hosts lots of events like late-night study sessions and we had a Knives Out movie night. On Halloween, there was even trick-or-treating! Daum even has events in our basement lounge space like a Legally Blonde movie night and foosball. The laundry rooms are conveniently there, too.

Daum is also right on the East side of campus, close to most classrooms and the town of Iowa City as well, which limits walking time by a ton. Burge and Catlett dining halls are right there as well, and Fitness East is a five-minute walk.

I highly recommend putting up lights or having lamps to light the place a bit, I find the dorm light to be too bright. My roommate and I got cubbies for our desks to put books since we are readers, it makes it so cozy in here.

We also have a large closet taking up a wall, and there is plenty of room for our things. We also have a sink in our room which is nice.

You can bring your own fridge and microwave or rent them from the University.

We have low beds, but many loft theirs! I also recommend having a rug to cover the floor and a coat hanger for jackets and umbrellas.

Decorate your walls too! Have photos, wall art, artwork, flags, maps, whatever fits your personality.

 

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Finals Week at Iowa

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Hello Everyone!

I am going to do a quick recap of my first finals week experience!

The university offered a variety of events to help reduce the stress of finals, such as pancakes, therapy dogs, massages, and lots of free food! I went to see the therapy dogs and they were adorable!! Here is a photo of me with one:

I only had one actual exam, but the rest were oral exams, projects, and essay portfolios since I’m an English major. I spent a lot of time studying for my Natural Disasters exam and it went well!

I left a bit early since my exam was on Wednesday, so my roommate and I watched Merlin as a reward for completing our first semester! I left for the airport the next day.

There is a lot to remember regarding the residence hall requirements for winter break since we will all be gone for a month, so make sure to check off the list they give you!

Have a great winter break everyone!

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Iowa Aspirations for the New Year!

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Hello everyone!

Here are my university-related goals for the shiny year!

  1. Work out and take fitness classes at the awesome Rec
  2. Catch all the women’s basketball home games
  3. Watch a track and field meet and gymnastics competitions
  4. Work hard in my classes
  5. Get an internship
  6. Possibly study abroad
  7. Get an on-campus job
  8. Work for a literary magazine
  9. Get published
  10. Read more
  11. Find new study spots
  12. Make many more memories as a Hawkeye!

Happy New Year!!

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Fall Break in Arizona – Life Off-Campus

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Hey everyone! I’m back again, but halfway across the country in my hometown of Chandler, Arizona!

I got to spend fall break in seventy-degree weather and sunshine, while Iowa steadily dropped in temperature and got some snow. I thoroughly enjoyed my week off and reconnected with my family and dogs, who I haven’t seen since August!

I also caught up with friends back at home! We went to our favorite coffee shop Dutch Bros – highly recommend it! Pictured is my friend Grace, who goes to a rival school Penn State.

I baked chocolate chip cookies because I miss having an oven, and prepared Thanksgiving Day food – brown sugar sweet potatoes are my favorite.

However, with finals looming around the corner, I spent some time working on projects, like my podcast project for rhetoric.

I watched Home Alone, slept in, read The Secret History, got Olive Garden with some friends, and went running outside! I cannot wait for winter break.

Good luck with finals, everyone!!

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