Covering more than 100 acres, City Park offers park-goers everything from bike trails and playground equipment to amusement park rides and canoeing. Shelters and picnic tables provide plenty of room for picnickers.
The warm summer weather gathered sunbathers in City Park. Bagpipe music and frisbees wafted across Union Field and convertible owners were out in force taking advantage of the warm weather. Children played in the fountain across The Holiday Inn and in the jungle gym near the Iowa City Public Library. People strolled in skimpy shorts.
Wearing shorts to class was acceptable in the university, since there was no dress code. I went to my summer classes in shorts, like most of my classmates did, regardless of age or color.
I was enrolled in two courses - Design and Organization of Curriculum with Dr. Jerry Khun and Analysis and Appraisal of Curriculum under Dr. Bradley Loomer, my academic adviser. in the latter course, there were only three students other than me. One man was a high school principal in Williamsburg, Iowa. Another was a principal of an international school in Colombia. The only woman in the class was a third grade teacher in Spirit Lake, Iowa who was working on her principalship certificate.
Summer school was more demanding since I had to attend class daily. There were no requirements or projects to worry about, though. I had to do the readings since I was expected to participate in the discussion with only four of us in the class.
A couple weeks before the beginning of the summer term, I moved to 619 East Burlington Apt. #4 with my two lady companions. Our landlady moved us there from 106 North Governor in response to the other tenants' complaint over the "smell of our cooking."
"In your new place, " Mrs. Liffring-Zug said, "you can do your cooking without bothering the other tenants."
At that time, it did not occur to me that we were being discriminated against because of our culture. We had the new place to ourselves. There was more privacy than there was at North Governor. I occupied a spacious bedroom on the second floor. The two women shared the attic apartment. We had a common kitchen and bathroom.
As soon as we were settled in the new place, we threw a party in honor of two Indonesian friends who had completed their studies at the university and were scheduled to go back to their home country. It was a gathering with fellow Asians - four Indonesians, a Vietnamese, and three Filipinos. We were all away from home and we found ourselves supporting one another in this temporary home.
STATUE OF LIBERTY CENTENNIAL
The 100th anniversary celebration of the Statue of Liberty in New York was the highlight of the Fourth of July celebration in 1986. The pomp and pageantry of the entire Liberty Weekend festivities was telecast live on ABC TV. I watched on television the spectacular show on Governor's Island where the rich and the famous paid a hefty $5,000 fee for a seat. American celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley McLaine, Neil Diamond and a host of Hollywood A-listers participated in the show.
The unveiling of the of the new torch of Lady Liberty by President Ronald Reagan and the First Lady Nancy Reagan was the highlight of the festivities. It was done through a laser beam.
There were other pompous and star-studded shows at different venues in which thousands of dancers, musicians, and other entertainers put on a show the American way.
In Iowa City, Joe and Puri Gallardo treated us to a Fourth of July picnic at their home backyard. After visiting with fellow Filipinos, we walked to City Park to watch the fireworks display, a must in every Fourth of July celebration.
I finished the summer session with an A and a B in the two courses I took.
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