Sydney Life

Time certainly flies when you're having a great time! It's hard to believe that I've already been in LA for a month and that I've survived the 3rd week at UCLA. So here are my impressions of LA and UCLA so far ...

UCLA
The campus is pretty, helped by the fact that it always seems to bathed in warm, welcoming sunlight! My classes (neuroscience, immunology, psychology) have been interesting and so far, difficulty, content, workload and pace seem comparable to my classes at USYD. The only issue has been getting accustomed to the quarter system ... I feel as though we have just begun our studies and already, midterms are looming next week!

We kicked off the quarter with BruinBash - a great event consisting of a free concert, dance and film screening of a movie not yet out in theaters. The entire student body was there, enjoying the music of Clipse and LMFAO, as well as watching the new Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx film for free!

The students here in general seem more studious. UCLA students know how to have fun, but they study hard too. I think it's part of the school spirit (which is HUGE) - the knowledge that they have made it into one of the most prestigious universities in the US.

School spirit encompasses EVERYTHING. Students proudly wear their Bruin t-shirts / hoodies / pants / hats to class, and the apparel is not only sold at the official UCLA store, but can be seen all over Westwood and surrounding areas. This school spirit is most obvious at sports games, as I quickly discovered at the football match last weekend.

The Rose Bowl stadium was a mass of blue shirts, chanting as one, "Go Bruins!". The baking heat and UCLA's recent, less-than-impressive football record did not stop thousands of students (me included) lining up for hours for the bus to the game. Unfortunately, we were beaten (quite badly) by Oregon, but the school spirit never wavered! The cheerleaders and the band made sure we were kept upbeat!

LA
I quickly learned that LA's an exasperating city to get around in. Its public transport system is notorious, and has made me appreciate the buses and trains in Sydney! However, I have managed to explore the more easy-to-reach-without-a-car locations:

Santa Monica - Really nice beach and pier, with great shopping too!

Hollywood - To be honest, Hollywood was a little bit of a letdown. I think I was expecting something a little more glamorous and was surprised that everything seemed to be of smaller scale and grandeur than portrayed on television. However, it was definitely great to see the Kodak Theater (home of the Oscars!), the wax museum of the famous, the Chinese Theater and the Walk of Fame. Beware though, the area is packed with people intent on taking money off tourists (my friend was cornered by people dressed up as Star Wars characters although she insisted she had no money to give them)!

Rodeo Drive - Home to the ridiculously-expensive, high-market stores in Beverly Hills. Great for window-shopping though!

I regret to say I haven't had any celebrity sightings yet. The fact that the first person I walked past on the street on my first day in Westwood was talking on his cellphone about having dinner with Billy Bob Thornton got my hopes up, but it seems that it doesn't happen frequently (although a fellow exchange student saw Jennifer Aniston, while an American guy I met claims he lives in the same neighbourhood as Travis from Blink 182).

I'm having an awesome time here, but there have been plenty of things I've needed to get used to. There is no doubt that Westwood is a money-consuming area to reside in - tipping on top of an already expensive bill has been quite painful. But luckily for me, southern Californians seem quite laid back like Kiwis and Aussies, so there hasn't yet been any major culture shocks.

With Halloween coming up (and midterms of course), the next couple of weeks should be busy!