First Week in Cedar Falls

Seriously, it's about time for a new blog post! So I'll once again resist the urge to finally watch the Game of Thrones episode from last Monday (yes, I'm a bit behind!). Instead, I'll listen to some La Dispute (really good post hardcore reminiscent of At the Drive-In) and try to catch up with last week.

So, what am I doing in Iowa? Through a recommendation of my Editing and Publishing class's teacher Dinty W. Moore, I found an internship at the North American Review. I already told you that, but you might have forgotten. Together with my good Athens friends Sam and Bob, I arrived in Cedar Falls last Wednesday, and the three of us couch surfed that first night. Before going to bed, we went to some bars on Main Street and found this stylish micro brewery that has a thing for bicycles, were invited to a drink and then challenged for some pool and gambling (the latter, we declined) in a cool, more 'townie' bar, and finally had a last beer in the somewhat classy Voodoo Lounge.

The next morning, Sam and Bob dropped me off at another couch surfer's place who'd host me for the next four nights, and then left for Denver, Colorado. Jessica and I had a coffee and talked for an hour or so, and then I had my first day at the NAR. I met some of my colleagues and could already get started reading texts on Submittable, the online submisssions database that the NAR uses. After work, two colleagues took me to a garage sale. Big mistake. I had no intention of buying anything, but then they had this deal where you could take anything you wanted for just $5. Big mistake. Have you heard of Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy? I had only scarcely, and then I read the blurb, and I wanted the entire boxed set. Then I saw even more Asimov books with the eponymous "Foundation" in the title. Turns out there is one novel that precedes the trilogy and three that come after it! And yes, I took all six of them. And no, I will probably not read all of them. I'm almost through the first novel of the original trilogy, it was pretty cool in the beginning but then somehow drags along...And, just as a side note (but a striking one!), there is not a single female character on the first 150 pages or so. Out of 200! Then, two women are briefly introduced (one even gets to speak!), but only for the sole reason to wear---yes, jewelry!!! Aside from that, from what I see in Foundation, I would claim that George Lucas got at least some of its inspiration for the Star Wars universe from Asimov. Even tough, oddly enough for space science fiction, Foundation offers not a single non-human alien...

Anyway, I also got a copy of Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle and Steinbeck's Cannery Row. I think that puts my summer reading...bulk at 26 books. Impossible, but I'll find a way to select. I didn't even buy all of these books myself. At least two were presents, some others I got for free, others were too cheap not to buy. You see, it's not easy!

That night, my colleague's very talented daughters Amelia and Melina were playing a show at the Hub. Great voices and lyrics, their entirely acoustic songs not unlike First Aid Kit, or probably early Tegan and Sara.

Back home, Jessica's black cat, Belle, and I had already became bffs. (It seems like every second American I meet has cats!) From the second night onward, she jumped on my couch/me and then curled up next to me or on my tummy and purred as I fondled and tickled her. Even though she woke me up more than once in the middle of the night by jumping up and down, I enjoyed that quite a bit. 

On Saturday, my colleague Jordan and I sold some of the NAR's latest issues at the Hearst Center for the Arts. James Hearst was a local 'farmer poet,' pretty well known, and friends with Robert Frost. What I read of his poetry is really good. 

Since I had the entire Sunday off, I decided to go out a bit. Cedar Falls is a small town, but it is an American town, so it sprawls. It took me almost an hour to get from Jessica's place all the way North to the Cedar River, and that was only the point where 'nature' starts. Island Park already features a small but pretty dense patch of wood, a kinda marshy area. And I have a thing for marshes; the dead still water, like oil, like a thick black mirror from which the tall and obstinate trees protrude, bearing their bright green foliage that prevents most of the sunlight to reach beneath the treetops. Another two and a half miles to Black Hawk Park into even denser woods and marshes. This did not look at all like the Iowa that pop culture shows us every once in a while! 

On my way back, I found the best reading spot in Iowa (arguably), a beautiful meadow that leads right to a miniature bluff along one of the many small side streams of the Cedar River. On the opposite shore and in the stream, fallen trees from previous floods. And almost nothing to hear but birds. But, alas!, since I am not yet prepared for a life in the woods, I went back into town, passed the historical Ice House and Cedar Falls's tiny first school building, and then met Jordan at Cup of Joe's. We discussed favorite bands and got nostalgic over video games, then picked up Hannah, and drove to the bowling alley where Tanner joined us. Well, I did not lose. Neither did I win, but that's okay. After that, a good Mexican dinner, and back home.

On Monday, I moved to my new apartment and met my roommates. Our house is in really good condition. Maybe that's why it lacks the soul, character, and beauty of my house in Athens. However, after two and a half weeks--good weeks!--on other people's couches, it's good to have my own room again.

For the weekend, I've planned my first road trip that I'll do all by myself. 9 hours out West, then some hiking and camping in southwestern South Dakota's Badlands. Got a nice little tent and some gear, so I'm good to go.

Cedar Falls, IA

I have a new home. Cedar Falls looks like I'll like living here quite a bit. A college town not unlike Athens, OH,-well no, there is probably no college town like Athens, but anyway, somehow comparable to Athens-Cedar Falls has a pretty Main Street with some cool bars and then another street closer to college with some restaurants and cafes. And many places just look very classy and, well, excuse the word, hip. Sidecar Coffee, Voodoo, Cup of Joe, the Single Speed micro brewery. And good music! Never heard Vampire Weekend in an Athens cafe. But I should stop comparing. As a faithful reader, you know how much I loved living in Athens. Cedar Falls is not gonna make me forget about that. I'm just happy I've landed in an apparently cool place again.

Westward, ho!

This morning, Sam, Bob, and I left Athens for the summer. They'll live in Denver, and I'll live in Cedar Falls, Iowa. I got accepted for an editing and publishing internship at the North American Review which is published at the University of Northern Iowa, and I'm pretty excited to get started. Apparently, we're in for some rain along our way out West. About 11 hours to go. Stay tuned.

The End of Spring

Thursday night. In the kitchen, Chris gives Tony a haircut. And I’m sitting in the living room with Tim, both of us staring at our laptops, ignoring the freeze frame of the Red Green Show on TV. I am re-reading my last blog draft, written on Saturday:

This is the end of the spring semester. I don’t even know where to begin, what to say, how to speak. I have to be careful not to drift into whiny complaining about the fact that this part of my life is over. I have had the best time living in Athens and studying at OU. I have met the nicest people here, friends that I am not willing and not ready to let go. This, right here and right now, is the downside of making great once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I should be happy about everything that’s happened to me over the last months, and I really am, but there is a profound sadness overshadowing the gratefulness and happiness right now. Saying goodbye is rarely easy, but it’s especially hard if you have the feeling that you might never see the people who’ve become your friends ever again.

            Today was graduation day at OU. Some of the people I’ve met here have finished their undergrad studies and are about to leave town.

And that’s where that draft stops. For reasons of time, I think. I’m a little less emotional about all of that today. When I wrote that bit on Saturday night, I did not even have to say goodbye to everyone yet. I would see my roommates and some friends again on Sunday. What made Saturday feel so final was the fact that most of my friends here were graduating that day. The ceremony was held at OU’s Convocation Center. Since I’d never been to the Convo before, it was pretty overwhelming. A huge circular structure with more than 13,000 seats, mostly used for basketball games. That day, most of the seats were filled with the students’ relatives. Flags of all (or many?) nationalities hanging from the ceiling. In the center, hundreds of black folding chairs had been placed, and an orchestra was playing. And then, when all the graduates-to-be (I think around 4,000!) marched in in their black gowns and caps, the band played that graduation song you have heard in more than one Hollywood movie. The entire ceremony was pretty touching, it really got much closer to me than I had expected. After all, my friends’ graduation made me realize once more that the spring semester was over now. So we heard speeches, the national anthem, more speeches, and then every single student was called by name. Every single one. 4,000 students. But it was pretty well organized; two people were reading the names alternately, in a quite fluent succession. Mildly impressive.

After those two to three hours, I and Sophia (we had met during the ceremony) searched for Natalie and Geeg and their families, took some photos with them, and then we all walked home, one last time to the house we’d lived in for the semester. We had already moved (most of) our things out that morning, so that now, all that was left was some furniture, some basic kitchen utensils, some boxes. I was already well aware of how much I would miss our house. All the good memories connected to it. So we had one last great feast, and I got to know some more family members of Geeg and Nat. After all of that was over, Nat and I went to Jackson’s house where we hung out on the porch talking to this funny guy, and then I joined Jimmy’s family in the living room for some music, playing the guitar for the first time in many many weeks. Then, off to the bars until the inevitable hour of 2a.m. Not yet the final goodbye.

Sam and I met Geeg, Nat, Kara, Joe, Hannah, and Tom for a farewell brunch at Casa. Had to wait one and a half hours for a table, but there was no hurry on our very last brunch, anyway. Having finished our meals, I had to say and hug goodbye to most of the others. Not cool. However, Tom and I went to Justin’s house, and the three of us walked around one last time, up Mound Street and down, back to Justin’s. Geeg brought Natalie over, and that was about the time when I had to bid farewell to Geeg, Nat, Sophia, and Justin.

I walked around a bit after that, along strangely empty and quiet streets lined with old furniture and trash that former residents had just left in front of their houses. Went to that place high above Athens to enjoy the weather and the view. Didn’t quite succeed in reading. I then went back to Sam’s place which was my home until yesterday when I moved to Tim and Tony’s apartment where I’ll stay until next week when I’ll also leave this town that has become so much of a home to me. So quickly.