51���app

Season 1 Episode 1

Ben Binversie:

Pack your bags, turn up the tunes, and start your engines. We're going on a road trip. This is All Things 51���app. I'm your host, Ben Binversie.

On this week's show we'll talk with Will Freeman, 51���app College track and field coach and physical education professor, about his summer road trip. Then we'll hear about 51���app student Mithila Iyer’s exploration of minority theater groups across the country.

This week's show is coming up next, after a word from 51���app College.

The information and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved, and do not represent the views of 51���app College.

More than any other country, the United States is known for the freedom of the open road. From John Steinbeck to Jack Kerouac, many American writers have used the open road as their muse. The interstate highway system fueled the [00:01:00] cultural phenomenon of the road trip.

However, on his recent trip across the country, 51���app track and field coach and physical education professor Will Freeman avoided those well-trodden paths. Instead, sticking to mostly two lane highways in pursuit of a more intimate journey.

At the helm of a Morgan three wheeler, Freeman rode through all 48 contiguous states in just under 80 days. I caught up with him at Saints Rest coffee shop in town and asked him when the idea for this incredible journey began.

Will Freeman:

It ultimately came from luncheon [00:01:30] that I had with Dr. Kesho Scott in American studies. We met for lunch because my wife had given her a copy of my book The Quest, and she had read it and was really taken by it and wanted to talk about it.

So we had lunch and it was just one of those things where people just connect, and it just felt like we were on the same playing field. And by the end of the luncheon, [00:02:00] we had determined we would teach a course together. That ultimately, the next luncheon, was a ... ended up being an all day meeting at Saints Rest coffee shop, where we planned the course.

And that was in like January. We taught it that fall, last fall. And it was called The American Journey. And the idea was to read famous authors who had had [00:02:30] their own special journeys and kind of reflect on those, and then think about our own journeys that we've had and road trips and that sort of thing.

So the culminating event of the course was that the students would plan this trip for me. And they would determine the route. So they were given some priorities, like in terms of criteria. Mom and Pop places for [00:03:00] food, for lodging, two lane highways, hit historical places, and interesting places, and oddities along the way.

Obviously national parks and that sort of thing. So historical places. So they did it.

They put it together for me. Then it became the basic premise of the trip was to ... is that everyone's [00:03:30] life journey matters. And I wanted to meet everyday people along the way, hear about their life journey, and then write about it.

And that's what the upcoming book is about. The way I wanted to do it was I wanted to not have to search them out, but have them come to me. And that was the reason for picking the Morgan three wheeler. It's like a people magnet.

I mean, every stop, every gas stop, [00:04:00] every time I pulled in somewhere, they would come. And that's how I met people and determined okay, this person is really unique and I need to hear more from them.

And I'd set it up. Could we have a cup of coffee, or on occasion it was could we have a dinner together or lunch together. And it just worked out incredibly well.

I didn't expect it to do ... the vehicle to do what it ended up doing. Which was to basically create the future book, [00:04:30] out of the trip.

Ben Binversie:

So you are no stranger to road trips. You've certainly taken a few before. But putting this one in the hands of your students basically, kind of, how did that feel and were you kind of nervous about doing that?

Will Freeman:

No, I wasn't nervous. I mean I ... the thing about the students at 51���app is you know what you're getting, you know? These are thoughtful, reflective people and I knew that they would help in the process. The question was would they get into it? [00:05:00] Would they really engage in it like I was engaged in the process?

And they did. And they did. So yeah, I trusted them. And of course I always had the flexibility on the trip to deviate from a route. And I had to a couple times, due to weather and a delay and that sort of thing. So my goal was to get it done within 80 days and we made it by a day.

Ben Binversie:

So yeah, you kind of talk about the flexibility and part of ... it seems like the goal of [00:05:30] this journey was the journey itself, in many respects. How did you navigate that?

Will Freeman:

Well, you know, having read a lot of writers who did their own special road trips and then wrote about them, one of those writers was Robert Pirsig, who wrote Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. And so my wife and I actually took his path three years ago, and followed his route exactly all the way to California.

And you know, he once said that grass grows [00:06:00] on the side of the mountain, not the top. So the point is that the trip itself is fertile ground, you know. It's not about the end result, it's about what happens along the way. And that's absolutely the way it unfolded.

And I didn't over-plan this. I didn't ... I had goals to try to hit a certain place by a certain time or day, but wasn't holding myself to that. Because I knew that a variety of variables [00:06:30] could change things. And on occasion it did.

And so I didn't want to over-plan it. I just wanted to take in what happened as I went. And I think once I made that decision, the trip became something very special. We tend to over-plan, especially when we do road trips, you know.

And the fact is that it's best done by letting it unfold, at its own pace, [00:07:00] in its own way.

Ben Binversie:

Yeah. Oftentimes it seems like the best experiences on trips come from those unexpected things, you know?

Will Freeman:

Oh absolutely. Absolutely.

Ben Binversie:

Were there any particular stories from people along the road that stuck with you?

Will Freeman:

Oh my gosh, there's so many. I ... we ran into one of the nine remaining code talkers from World War Two and listened to him speak for like an hour and a half. [00:07:30] And he absolutely loved the vehicle. He's 90 years old, he came out and looked at the vehicle and we took pictures.

I mean so we met heroes, you know? We ... and sort of along the same way, I met another veteran who was a homeless man. You know, in the streets of Portland. And sat with him for an hour and a half just talking about his life journey and it's remarkable.

I mean [00:08:00] it's sad in a way that so much of that goes on in this country, and how do we allow that to happen. Especially with our vets. And so I mean it was really reflective stuff, you know.

Everyone I met I would reflect on and then write on that evening for the book that's coming. I would have two writing projects going on every night. One was the book, and one was the blog.

Sometimes I wouldn't get to the [00:08:30] blog till midnight or 1:00 am. I remember one night I was up still writing at 2:00 am, because I knew that there were ... oh my gosh, I can't remember how many thousand of regular readers of the blog. And they were expecting a blog entry every night late and I just didn't want to disappoint.

And there were two nights when I just was too tired, I couldn't do it. And I had to, the next morning, get up early and write it and then I'm [00:09:00] already getting emails. Like what happened, are you okay? You know, it was pretty neat to have so many people following the trip and I really felt like I had a lot of support along the way.

Ben Binversie:

Can you talk a little bit more about the criteria that you mentioned? National parks, unique places, but also specifically Mom and Pop shops. Did you stick to the two lane highway rule as well?

Will Freeman:

We ... I would say we were 95% two lane. There's occasions where you can't avoid it, like when you're around [00:09:30] Boston you have no choice. I mean you're ... to get somewhere as quickly as possible you gotta get on four lanes, you know.

And a lot of state highways that were four lanes. They're not interstates, but you just couldn't avoid it. But for the most part the really interesting stuff's happening on the two lane highways. And I really really enjoyed that and would highly recommend that to people. To get off the interstate.

The problem is that ... maybe [00:10:00] it's not a problem, but the goal of people is to get somewhere as quickly as possible. And what I would say is that take your time and enjoy the ride. Enjoy getting from A to B, not so much we gotta do this quickly and get to point B so that we can enjoy point B.

The real cool stuff's happening along the way.

Ben Binversie:

That's certainly a unique perspective that you get from riding behind the windshield of a Morgan three wheeler, I guess.

Will Freeman:

Originally [00:10:30] the ... I've done these trips before on a motorcycle. And written about it in The Quest. And I really wanted to do something different. There's a lot of motorcycles on the road, so they're not necessarily going to draw people in.

The three wheeler is so unique, like there's two in Iowa, to give you an idea. So and everyone, it's a smile machine. I mean without fail, everybody [00:11:00] that came up to it was smiling and going what is that? You know. What are you doing?

And then they would look at the logos and all the decals on it from the sponsors and what I was doing. And I'd tell the story. I told that story so many times. My guess was that every ... I would stop on an average five times per day, for either just get out of the vehicle and stretch or get gas or get a drink.

And every single time [00:11:30] people would come up and I'd have to tell the story again. You know, what am I doing, what is this vehicle about. So that was probably an up to an hour a day, times 79 days.

That's how long I was telling this story. And I never got tired of it, because they're standing there smiling the whole time just mesmerized by what I was doing. And so I really enjoyed sharing that with people.

And that's what opened the door to some folks that felt compelled to tell me more. [00:12:00] And then I would end up writing about them.

Ben Binversie:

So you left on commencement day. Where did you head first?

Will Freeman:

I went south. The idea was to go through Columbia, Missouri and meet up with William Least Heat-Moon, who wrote Blue Highways. And I had gone down to visit with him prior to the trip, I wanted to get his perspective on the trip, and had a wonderful afternoon with him.

And he invited me down, said you come on down, [00:12:30] spend the day, I'll buy the drinks. So we ended up going to a kind of a hamburger bar and we never did have a drink. We ended up like just downing Coke after Coke after Coke as we talked.

And I mean mesmerizing guy. And a truly great writer, travel writer. And so I wanted to go to honor him, because his name was one of several that were on the vehicle, out of respect for Steinbeck [00:13:00] and Least Heat-Moon and Pirsig and Lindbergh, you know, who wrote The Spirit of St. Louis. Which was a driving force in this thing.

Anyway, he emailed me right before I started the trip and he was having surgery that day. So I ended up not getting to see him, which was fine. I mean I didn't alter the route, I still went through Columbia and that was an overnight. The very first overnight.

And then just followed the route as the students had planned.

Ben Binversie:

Were there any challenges [00:13:30] along the way? You mentioned weather, but other than that. The Morgan held up? Any other problems?

Will Freeman:

I had one issue in California, in San Francisco. I was in The Presidio and the motor just quit while I was driving in The Presidio. And unfortunately it was on a steep hill, uphill.

Ben Binversie:

Of course.

Will Freeman:

Traffic all around me. And so somehow I got out of that mess and got it into a parking lot. And fortunately the [00:14:00] Mr. Morgan, the guy in the United States who's known to be the guy with Morgans, lives in Bodega Bay, right up the road.

So they came down and got the vehicle, took it up there, fixed it. It was actually ... wasn't the fuel pump like we thought. It was a fuel line issue, where the line was too close to the cylinder head and was getting too hot and causing all kinds of issues with the fuel delivery.

So once they insulated that and taped up that [00:14:30] line, we had no other issues. I'd never had a single problem after that, the whole trip.

Ben Binversie:

Reflecting on the journey, what are the big takeaways for you personally and then also in terms of writing your book? The stories that you saw across America as well.

Will Freeman:

You know, America's a big country. And there's a lot of cool people out there, a lot of neat people. And my goal was to meet not the famous people, but just everyday people. And let them know that hey, your journey matters. You [00:15:00] know? What you've gone through matters. Tell me about your parents and their parents and how did you end up here. You know? In this state, in this city, in this little town.

And so that's important. I think that's a takeaway, is that every single life journey matters and is a story worth telling. That was one.

The other thing is that very very rarely did anything political come into a conversation. Even given everything [00:15:30] we're going through right now. And I kind of like that. I didn't ... I'm trying to escape from all that like everybody else, you know.

And so that was kind of fun, just to leave that out of the mix and not have to address that. Only when it was brought up a couple times did I have to respond.

Other than that, you know, a lot of cool cool surprises out there. A lot of interesting places I never would've thought [00:16:00] were there. You know? And many of those were I just came up on. I didn't see them coming, I didn't plan to go. A lot of remarkably beautiful places where I'd just pull off the road.

I had to pull off and just stop and reflect on what I was looking at, you know? And it's a beautiful place, America. And every state has its own personality.

And sometimes I would cross a river going from one state to the next, and it was almost [00:16:30] like immediate. You could feel the difference, you could see it in the topography. That was remarkable to me, how every state, sometimes ... they all have their own personalities. Sometimes multiple personalities.

Like eastern Oregon and western Oregon. Totally different states. You know. And yet one state. So that was neat, just sort of getting the feel for ... and you could sense that in the people too. And the accents.

[00:17:00] I mean I ... in Virginia, I was on the parkway, Blue Ridge Parkway, and I pulled off just because of this beautiful view up there. And a lady pulled in behind me in a pickup truck with her 15 year old granddaughter. And they had been following me and they just loved the looks of this thing. They wanted to talk about it and what are you doing.

I could barely understand them. I mean the accent was so rich and so strong. [00:17:30] And I just thought how cool is this, you know? Everywhere I go there's a different personality, there's a different ... the way people talk. And I'm sure the way people think, you know, is different.

That really brought it home to me, though, that man, this is a big place and there's a lot of unique people out there. And all of them worth writing about.

Ben Binversie:

It sounds like it was a great journey and thanks for taking the time to talk with me about it. And I'm looking forward to reading the new book as well.

Will Freeman:

Thank you [00:18:00] so much.

Ben Binversie:

Will Freeman is a track and field coach and physical education professor at 51���app College. His trip across the country in a Morgan three wheeler will be the inspiration for his next book.

Links to Freeman's blog, his previous work, and pictures from his incredible journey are available on the website, 51���app.edu/podcast.

This seems like as good a time as any to make a plug for a wonderful little website you may not know about. It's called the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. You know how many languages have these [00:18:30] amazing words to describe complex emotions and thoughts?

Take schadenfreude for instance. Which is a German word which means the pleasure derived from someone else's misfortune. The English language lacks these kind of words. Is it because our feelings are so particularly nuanced and complex that they can't be captured in a single word?

I don't think so. But for whatever reason, we don't have a lot of these words. But John Koenig is working to change that, by inventing the words for [00:19:00] these complex emotions. My favorite word? Sonder. The realization that each random passerby is living a life just as vivid and complex as your own.

Kind of like Will's journey. Everyone has a story. Check out the website at and maybe come up with a few new words of your own.

Continuing with today's theme of travel, fourth year student Mithila Iyer of India took a journey of her own recently. As the recipient of the Fischlowitz Fellowship, she set out [00:19:30] to explore the rise of minority theater movements across the US. In California, Texas, DC, and New York, interacting with directors and cast members from the productions.

I asked her where the idea for this trip came from.

Mithila Iyer:

So I first heard about this fellowship because a friend of mine won it. Someone I knew kind of peripherally and I thought that was for a topic that was really interesting, which is music culture on the home of this person's personal heroes.

And at that time, that semester was the first semester that I had really started [00:20:00] getting into theater. Which is what my fellowship's based on and is what I'm really passionate about. So I'd actually applied for this fellowship twice.

The first time was basically just studying structure, studying historical buildings and how those impacted cities and theater communities around them. But obviously I didn't get it that time.

And I think as the year went on, as I realized more the multitude of things that I was interested in that [00:20:30] contributed to my desire to study minority theater culture.

Ben Binversie:

So your theater experience kind of started at 51���app?

Mithila Iyer:

Yeah.

Ben Binversie:

Is that fair to say?

Mithila Iyer:

Yeah, absolutely.

Ben Binversie:

Okay. And you've been involved in some student productions in the past?

Mithila Iyer:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Ben Binversie:

Why did theater become a passion for you?

Mithila Iyer:

So I think theater initially became a passion for me at 51���app, was because this was the first place that I had the option to go after something that I was at least like a little bit interested in. While I enjoyed [00:21:00] consuming entertainment, like media, movies, whatever, I think 51���app was really the first place where I actually had the chance, or the self-awareness, to pursue something that was a little bit out of my comfort zone.

Like I auditioned for all three main stage productions my fourth semester. Didn't get a call back for any. Then I auditioned for Sophia Nayaar’s play in the spring, which was a student directed production. And I somehow got lucky and got into that.

And I think [00:21:30] it started from there. And then the next fall I like did more theater. And yeah, I think that's really how it started, because I knew that this was something that I wanted to keep doing. No matter how difficult it was initially and this semester I'm in my first main stage production.

Ben Binversie:

That's awesome. Yeah, it sounds like an incredible journey just from not getting any callbacks from your first audition and not having any experience with it beforehand, to now being in the main stage production and doing this travel fellowship as well. [00:22:00] So it sounds like you incorporated into your life pretty well.

Did you have any previous experience traveling in the United States? Outside of from Des Moines to 51���app and back?

Mithila Iyer:

So initially ... well, I do have family in California. So I have visited them a couple of times. But that's very interesting and very insular, in the sense that when you go visit your family some place you're mostly just generally staying with them. And not really experiencing the place as you would otherwise.

[00:22:30] I went to Williamstown one time, my cousin graduated from Williams, woo hoo. But nothing independently. And nothing outside of Chicago to 51���app, or Des Moines to 51���app travels.

Ben Binversie:

Okay. So this was a big personal step for you then? Like taking this fellowship and going to these places on your own?

Mithila Iyer:

I think it was definitely a big personal step, because it also gave me a lot of agency in the sense that I chose where to go, for how long to stay, who to stay with, and exactly what to do there.

[00:23:00] In that sense, it really was the first kind of independent, purposeful travel that I undertook. Because previously I was either traveling to come to college or to see family or to see a friend. So in that way kind of like charting my own direction was the first time that I'd done something like that.

Ben Binversie:

So academically, how did your interest in theater and human rights kind of come together with the vision for this project?

Mithila Iyer:

Ooh, that's a good question. So I took intro acting [00:23:30] the spring of my first year, which is probably why I got a callback. But I think that also had a lot to do with more time I spent taking different classes here at 51���app.

Like for example I took an economic development class, the fall of my second year, which I really enjoyed. And realized that human rights was something that I was interested in working in. And development as well.

And naturally with that realization came the fact that this broad [00:24:00] umbrella isn't just ... comprised of so many more tinier things that contribute to just like fundamental rights that people have. Whether it's something ... whether it's concerning migration or seeking asylum, or whether it's something as different or diverse as artistic expression.

So I spent the whole year taking classes that were at least tangentially related to what I was interested in. Which is basically development and human rights. [00:24:30] And I think that ... the fact that these two came together has to do with two things.

The first is I didn't get it the first time and I was really racking my brain to think about what I could do to make the most of this possible opportunity. And the second was the fact that even at 51���app, I'm an economics and French major so those are two disciplines that are kind of not exactly ... not what you would consider a person to do at the same time, even though they are in a weird way complimentary.

And I've always tried to look [00:25:00] for ways to combine my passions, or to be able to do both at the same time. And I think that's how the idea of minority theater culture came about, because it was something as simple as thinking about representation. South Asians in mainstream American media, influential ones.

The more I saw myself, or people who look like me, or people whose experiences were at least a little bit similar to my own, the more I wanted [00:25:30] to think about how these communities came to the place where they felt like they could, or they felt it was important for them to have a voice artistically.

So I wanted to travel to five cities, and that wasn't because I had picked out five cities specifically. But that came about because of the different minorities that I arbitrarily chose to study. I went to ... I'm going to go to San Francisco and I previously have been to [00:26:00] Los Angeles, New York, DC, and Fort Worth.

And in each place I would go to either one or two plays, hang out there a little bit beforehand, interact with people in the show or people who were connected to the show at all. I've had email exchanges with directors and with people who run specific theaters in specific places, speaking to me more generally about their mission and how that particular show or event connects [00:26:30] to what they're looking to do as part of a larger purpose.

Ben Binversie:

What did you expect to really find in these different theater productions that you were looking at? Was there a specific research question that you wanted to investigate, or were you just looking at it holistically at how they represented minorities in their productions?

Mithila Iyer:

I think I was looking at it more holistically, and I think my research question wasn't really a question. It was more I guess I just wanted to see [00:27:00] why these companies produced what they did, why they felt the need to create art, to create performances, that spoke to these particular themes, particular experiences exclusively.

So that was something I was pretty interested in. What I did not expect to find was the fact that several performances, several plays, had themes that were pretty universally relatable. Whether it [00:27:30] was about a teenager being pressured to like choose between different kinds of colleges and feeling guilty about leaving home, or whether it was about moving to a different state for another job.

But I guess kind of seeing that in conjunction with the larger themes of what the theater and what the play was trying to represent was really interesting.

Ben Binversie:

Is that theme something that you can relate to? Having to choose a college and being away from home?

Mithila Iyer:

Yeah, for sure. It was [00:28:00] definitely very very interesting to see the different kinds of things that I could relate to. Because there was one about the college thing. There was several more about feeling guilty, quote on quote, about leaving the place that you were from to go to another place, to resettle or whatever.

And I guess like as an international student, I didn't ... I guess I didn't relate to that so much as really understand why people would think that was an important [00:28:30] thing to speak about. Because as a senior, that's also something I'm thinking about. Like where am I going to end up next.

But it was interesting to see that these kind of themes are basically universal and don't just relate about a particular person staying in a particular country, or yeah.

Ben Binversie:

What did you learn about yourself throughout the process of applying for this fellowship and then going to these places and thinking about, you know, how did you maybe grow or how [00:29:00] were you challenged as a person, or as a student?

Mithila Iyer:

I think independence is the biggest thing. Like most important factor that I realized is important on this trip. I've also learned that how important it is to be self-reliant. Like for example whether it came to budgeting, ticketing, planning, dealing with missed flights, or dealing with accommodations or things like that.

But also something as simple as going out to eat alone at a really famous restaurant. Which might seem fine when you're sitting down for a meal in D Hall, [00:29:30] but when you're in Fort Worth trying to decide between tacos, it was interesting. It taught me a lot about myself.

It really taught me that I can take on whatever I choose to take on. And sometimes more than I thought was possible.

Ben Binversie:

That's a good takeaway from the trip. So what were the most rewarding aspects of it for you? Outside of like the independence that you gained. What about just interacting with the people involved in these productions?

Mithila Iyer:

Well, I think something that everyone really appreciated, or that [00:30:00] I was fortunate to find nearly every theater I went to, was the number of people who were willing to just talk to me about why they were at the production and why they were involved in the production.

And this wasn't just limited to theater admin staff. But to this play I went to in Washington, it was at a Hispanic theater and the number of people in the audience who spoke to me and asked me about why I was there really kind of showed that it's important to bring [00:30:30] these specialized stories, these kind of experiences that people have undergone, to a wider scale. In the sense that just more people knowing, talking about them was something that I think most people really appreciated.

Because obviously like I'm not Hispanic or I'm not any of these other communities whose theaters and whose tales I went to listen to. But the fact that I was there, I was appreciated. I was made to feel welcome. I thought that was really nice, and heartwarming.

Ben Binversie:

[00:31:00] So you are now in your fourth year at 51���app and you're not quite done with the travel aspect of this fellowship. You're still going to finish up and travel to San Francisco in November. But right now you have your sights set on a different international travel fellowship, which is taking up a lot of your time, the Watson Fellowship.

Which a lot of students here at 51���app find themselves applying for. That doesn't diminish your chances at all. It's not ... as they say, it's not about the other applicants, it's about you. It's a project that's really about fit.

[00:31:30] So tell me about your Watson.

Mithila Iyer:

So the Watson, which is deadline is in like three days so I'm a little nervous, is something that I started thinking about, I think, once I got the Fischlowitz Fellowship, when I was coming back from Los Angeles. Which was the first place I went to.

I want to study migration with the Watson, both forced and voluntary. And this comes from a number of places. This comes from the academic [00:32:00] experiences I've had of studying migration. Whether it's my econometrics classes, or whether it's to do with studying French colonial literature from the French diaspora.

Or whether it's to do with my family's own personal experiences moving from Pakistan to India during the time of partition. But it's mostly because I am a fourth year who has grown to think of Iowa as home, coming from a large, really bustling city. And it's just me trying to come to terms with that as well.

[00:32:30] So my project will be called, “Is Home Where the Heart Is”, and it will be exploring migrant communities around the world. I will be going to Mexico to ... I will hopefully be going to Mexico.

Ben Binversie:

Fingers crossed.

Mithila Iyer:

Fingers crossed. To work with deported Dreamers and people who've been made to move back to a society that other administrators or other people believe is theirs, even though they don't necessarily identify with or want to integrate back into that.

I will be going to Kenya, [00:33:00] more specifically Kakuma in northeast Kenya, which is one of the oldest refugee camps in the world. And has displaced people from Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and northern Kenya itself. I will also be going to the United Kingdom, England and Birmingham specifically, to explore the stories of the South Asian diaspora, which is the largest ethnic minority in the United Kingdom currently.

Which I think is really interesting, because you have all this talk of chicken tikka masala [00:33:30] is the UK's national dish. But then you also have Sikhs and Muslims who migrated there, a lot from India but then of course from other countries and the diaspora from Pakistan specifically as well. Who migrated there not out of an immediate conflict or immediate need to move, but looking for upward job mobility.

Then I will go to Kosovo, where I want to work with ethnic Albanians who were driven out during the conflict in the late 90s. [00:34:00] And the majority of whom have returned back, which is incidentally the reason I want to go there in the first place. What does it feel to come back to a society that shunned you in the first place? How have you reintegrated, do you think you've reintegrated, do you think this is home, or do you think another home is more what your experiences have been in line with.

And then lastly I want to go to Greece. More specifically Lesbos, which is an island in the Aegean Sea closer to Turkey. Because it hosts [00:34:30] a number of refugees from a number of conflict ridden places. Including Syria, the Mediterranean, North Africa, Balochistan, and Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

So that is what I'm going to hopefully do over the course of my Watson year. And I'm incredibly excited, although a little stressed at the moment.

Ben Binversie:

That makes sense. And that sounds like an incredible project.

Mithila Iyer:

Thank you.

Ben Binversie:

So I hope in a few months I can talk to you again about your upcoming [00:35:00] Watson fellowship. But for the moment we'll just keep our fingers crossed.

And it sounds like this Fischlowitz Fellowship has not only kind of provided you with some key tools in terms of independence and ability to travel and self-reliance, but also kind of sparked a desire in you to think about the possibility that you might do something like a Watson Fellowship.

Mithila Iyer:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Ben Binversie:

Well, thank you for taking the time to talk with me today, Mithila.

Mithila Iyer:

Of course.

Ben Binversie:

I appreciate it. And best of luck.

Mithila Iyer:

Thank you very much.

Ben Binversie:

[00:35:30] Mithila Iyer is a fourth year student at 51���app, where she studies economics and French. Her travels were made possible by the Fischlowitz Travel Fellowship, sponsored by Teresa and Merle Fischlowitz, class of 1953.

The fellowship is awarded annually to one 51���app international student to pursue casual yet purposeful independent travel in the United States, focused on deep exploration of a chosen theme.

To see photos of Mithila's trip, check out our website, grinnell.edu/podcast.

[00:36:00] And with that, we'll wrap up this week's episode. The very first in what will be a long series of exciting interviews and stories about 51���app's past, present, and future.

Music for today's show comes from Brett Newski, whose new album, Life Upside Down, is available now. This song, Ride, is from the new album. And I'll let him take us out with that.

If you'd like to contact the show, email us at podcast@grinnell.edu. Find us on Twitter with #AllThings51���app, or check out our website, grinnell.edu/podcast, [00:36:30] for more information about the guests from today's show. And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast, wherever you listen.

On the next show, we'll talk with Noga Ashkenazi, class of 2009, who directed the movie Saints Rest. Which is filmed and takes place here in 51���app, and is receiving rave reviews at film festivals all over the country. And rightfully so.

We'll also talk with the current and previous owners of Saints Rest, Sam Cox and Jeff Phelps, about the coffeehouse that has become a home for so [00:37:00] many 51���appians over the years.

All that, next time on All Things 51���app. I'm your host, Ben Binversie. Stay weird, 51���appians.

One last note. If you want to hear more songs about the open road, check out my curated on the website.

(music)