Aly wrote: "Emily wrote: "Besides books, I enjoy hiking, birding and spending time with my dogs. I also love to travel, but haven't been able to do much of that recently. I was an exchange student to Maizuru, ..."That's awesome, what part of Illinois? I live surrounded by cornfields in the middle, between Decatur and Bloomington.

Besides books, I enjoy hiking, birding and spending time with my dogs. I also love to travel, but haven't been able to do much of that recently. I was an exchange student to Maizuru, Japan (in Kyoto prefecture) my senior year of high school, and later taught English as a foreign language for two years in Morocco. Now I have to try to satisfy my travel bug by exploring different places in Illinois, where I currently live. Luckily, it turns out that I love to visit prairies!