Yesterday I arrived in Radcliffe Iowa. My first impressions were that the open space was beautiful and a welcome change from the stuffy environment of city life. The thing that stood out to me the most in my first 24 hours in Iowa is the close connections of the people here. Over dinner professor, Halva-Neubauer recalled memories from high school along with Mrs. Sweeney and Mr. Stole. The concept that they had all gone to middle school and high school together and were still in touch and close is amazing to me. I am only two years out of high school and I have already lost all connection with my friends from those years. This is partly due to my family having moved quite a bit growing up. I don’t have any deep roots anywhere, and it was interesting and so nice to see what that looks like.