Bicycles, Kayaks, and Showshoes: Reading and Writing about Travel 2018

Yes, I'm late posting to this blog...anyway, hi y'all!. My name is Alex Escalada and I'm from Cedar Falls, Iowa--about 90 min northwest of Iowa City. Currently, I'm majoring in cello performance; no, I have no idea what I want to do with my life let alone with the degree I am pursuing. In my free time, I like to read, draw, cook, play tennis, listen to music, and hang with my two dogs, Ella and Obie. I recently visited by aunt in San Francisco this summer. We visited the redwoods, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, walked around Chinatown and Japantown, went to every other immensely popular tourist attraction (despite the fact my family goes to San Francisco about every other summer,) etc. Nice to meet you guys!

Hello! My name is Sarah Hager! I am originally from the Chicago suburb of Batavia, Illinois. I am currently a communications major. I am uncertain as to exactly where I want this field of study to take me in the future, but I am hoping it leads me to an occupation involving writing and being social with others, two things I love doing most. In my free time, I enjoy being outdoors with my friends doing things such as hammocking, rollerblading, skiing, biking, running, and catching bugs (yes, I love bugs). The most recent trip I embarked on was a spring vacation to the island of Bonaire, located in the Dutch Caribbean. Each day consisted of snorkeling, consuming copious amounts of seafood, exploring the goat and cactus covered cliffsides, and watching the sun go down over the endless expanse of ocean.

Hi guys! My name is Becca Schoenauer. I am from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin which is an area outside of Milwaukee. I am working towards a microbiology or possibly another branch of biology) and a pre-medicine major. In my free time I like swimming, exploring outdoors, drawing, and listening to music. I also have two dogs who I love being with: named Happy (6 years old) and Luna (3 months old). Over the summer I went on a trip to Lake Powell, Utah. There we rented out two house boats and also brought/ towed 3 speedboats, 2 jet skis, and a few paddle boards behind the house boats. This was done between us and three other families. While we were on the trip we got to go boating all day and then relax on the house boat over 50 miles into Lake Powell/ Glen Canyon.  Glad to meet you guys!

Hello everyone! Just a bit about me, my name, as stated in the title, is Sabrina. I'm from Mentor, Ohio (just outside of Cleveland) and I came to the University of Iowa to double Major in English/Creative Writing and Art with a certificate in Entrepreneurship. In my free time I like to hang out with friends, write fiction, read, and watch Netflix and YouTube. A recent trip I've taken (other then to here of course) is to Destin, Florida with my family. We all got together and rented a house near the beach for a week. The beaches in Destin are absolutely beautiful, I would definitely recommend the trip to anyone going to Florida.

Hello! I'm Lily and I'm from Naperville Illinois, about an hour outside Chicago. I am double majoring in vocal performance and political science. I like singing, acting, hanging out with friends, and doing triathlons, and I am thinking about joining the rowing team. This summer my family and I took a trip to Ludington Michigan where we stayed in a house on the water for a week and went kayaking, boating, swimming at the beach, and walking around the state park. I'm looking forward to starting this course!

Hi, my name is Angela Stansbery. I'm from O'Fallon Missouri which is a suburb right outside of St. Louis. I'm double majoring in English and creative writing and journalism. I watch way too many movies and I love to be active with a background of playing soccer nearly all my life. I was born in Florida so we travel back a lot which is what we did this summer to Okaloosa Island. I love it there but I know Iowa is where I'm supposed to be. I can't wait to meet you all.

Hi everyone! I'm Abbey and I'm from Prattville, Alabama, but I moved to Columbus, Ohio over the summer so I honestly don't know where to say I'm from. I'm majoring in English, but I'm thinking about adding Political Science or Pre-Law as well. In my free time I love to read, hang out with friends and have new adventures! I love to travel and I'm actually used to it because my dad is in the military and we move every several years. A recent trip I took was to Texas to visit some family. It was a long drive but totally worth it! Can't wait to meet you all!

Hello all! My name is Hawan Jang and I'm originally from South Korea, but am by no means an international student here at campus. I've hunkered down in Ohio for several years before settling in West Des Moines. I'm majoring in Neuroscience (though I couldn't completely part with writing). During my downtime, I love to play soccer with friends or devour a good book in some secluded corner. One of my fairly recent trips was to Backbone State Park where I kayaked until my arms fell off. I look forward to meeting you all at the start of a great year!

Hi everyone! My name is Allison Baty and I am from Waukee, Iowa (a suburb of Des Moines). I am currently planning on majoring in mass communications and journalism. In my free time I like to write (I was very involved in yearbook and newspaper in high school), take photos, find new music, and be outside. Over the summer I made the short drive up to Ledges State Park with a group of close friends. While we were there we hiked, had a picnic, and explored the many creeks! I can't wait to meet you all!

Hey everyone! My name's Katie Ann, and I came to the University of Iowa from Tomball, Texas (a suburb of Houston). I'm a double major in Creative Writing and Journalism, and am excited for classes to start. I enjoy reading and just hanging out with friends. I recently went to Ireland on my senior trip, where my mom and I travelled the southern coast and finished with a week in Dublin. The scenery was incredible, as was the history!

Hi Everyone, My name is Sydney Shields (most people call me Syd) and I am from Eden Prairie, Minnesota (a suburb 20 minutes southwest of Minneapolis). My major, as of right now, is Math; but I am thinking of changing it to Environmental Policy & Planning. In my spare time I love to bike, read, and try new things! I try to be spontaneous and find one new thing to do each day. A recent trip I have taken was to the North Shore of Minnesota in early August. I went camping with a friend along Lake Superior and hiked 4 state parks while we were up there! I am super excited to meet all of you and get started at the University of Iowa!  Go Hawks! Sydney Shields

Hi Travel Writers, I'm excited to get to know about your and your past and future travels!  I'll start out by introducing myself and you guys should introduce yourselves on the blog too: I love to learn languages and to travel and to combine the two when possible.  For example, spring semester I took an Italian course and in the summer I spent two weeks in Sicily. Then I wrote a travel essay about how the course did and did not prepare me for the travel experience.  I have published a lot of travel essays about my experiences in Latin America. I've been a rhetoric professor and writing center director for 28 years.  I've got a BA in Spanish, an MA in Linguistics-TESOL, and a PhD in English: Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy. In my free time, I like to swim and hang out with my granddaughters.  The older one (almost 8) and I are currently reading the Babysitting Club series together. See you in class on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30! ...