Malibu Calling

The more I travel around California, the more I appreciate its unique beauty and incredibly diverse landscape.

Most people imagine California as a beachy state with laid back surfers, blonde girls, record producers and exclusive homes of the stars. However it is much more than that. This weekend has been packed with activities and new adventures. I've never seen the postcard perfect areas of Southern California but this weekend was a fantastic taste.

The trip started late Friday evening after meeting up with Katie on Corboda with my first drive through at In and Out. Katie was pretty stoked, after introducing her East coast boyfriend to In and Out for the first time, that she could educate me too. It was pretty delicious and a cool way to start the trip. The drive down to Malibu was an awesome opportunity for Katie and me to chat some more and catch up about events of the week. After making it to the house and wrestling with the door we were floored by Cara and Dennis' amazing place.

In the Saturday morning sunshine it was even more spectacular. The view is gorgeous in all directions, facing the ocean and backed by Malibu mountains. To start the day we set off to Moonshadows Malibu for brunch and discussed some options for the days activities. Katie and I decided on The Getty Centre to start the day, roaming around for a couple of hours to take in the gardens, architecture and art. The best moment for me was seeing by first Henry Fox Talbot photograph in the flesh in their current Architectural Photography exhibit!

After The Getty we braved some LA traffic to head down to Santa Monica for some window shopping and exploring. 3rd St Promenade was buzzing with UCLA students, middle-school kids and a lot of tourists as we wandered around, looking into stores. We followed the promenade down to the pier just in time for sunset and watched the sun go down as we hit the end of the road. With some chill factor setting in it was time for dinner in Pacific Palisades and a movie back at the house.

Today the weather was not so kind for our adventures yet the scenery was still beautiful. After another fantastic brunch with Cara and Dennis we hit to road and headed down to Hollywood and Highland to check out the strip. Hollywood was different to what I imagined and an experience all the same. Whilst being surrounded by Marvel characters along the street and bumping into people while looking for stars we explored Ghiradelli and the Roosevelt Hotel. After Hollywood Blvd we made our way up to the Griffith Observatory to take a different view of LA. To say LA is a sprawled out city is an understatement and a half. The view from above the city was amazing. With tired legs we headed back to the car, winding our way down Sunset, through Beverly Hills, past UCLA and Bel Air to hop on the 101 back to UCSB. Whilst I thought the day was nearly done the view driving home was something else - fit with mountains on one side and the ocean on the other.

(Apologies for the smogginess, you'll just have to visit yourself to get the full effect!)

Nina

Hiking Adventures

I just climbed a mountain and it was pretty spectacular.
The last 24hrs: Sunset yoga yesterday evening, an insane open mic night at Wyatt's and then up for an early morning 12km hike today.
Ending the week with a trip down to Malibu with my friend Katie. Things are pretty great around here.

Open Mic at Wyatt and Manny's Place

The view half way up

The final view 

The face of one tired hiker

Nadia being photogenic

Our hike buddy Bear!

Triumphantly observing Montecito and Santa Barbara 

A Week in Photos - IV/UCSB

An accumulation of photos from both myself and Lisa Steffan.

Tre Trigo

The pace is picking up over at UCSB as Winter Quarter is in full swing.

This week has been another busy one and it is great to be settling in to a new group and organising some activities for the long weekend. As it is the Martin Luther King Public Holiday tomorrow the students of UCSB have either departed for the weekend to head home to their families, or prepared their livers for a three-day party fit with a football game and spectacular weather. 

Whilst the week began with engaging class time and my first tutorial (section) for the quarter is has culminated in a relaxing time with friends. My crazy schedule this quarter has meant that after Wednesday I sign off for the week and have been filling spare time with reading in the sun and going on errands with friends. 

Thursday I made a solo trip downtown and successfully navigated the Santa Barbara buses to get me there in no time. Apart from some crazy locals I felt pretty happy that I didn't get too lost. After some shopping and wandering around on State St I met up with my friend Katie for some tacos and we made the trip back to campus.

(Finally signed up for excursion club!)

Friday also had some busy plans but due to a shoulder concern for Kaitlyn we lazed around the dorms and went in to downtown for ice-cream in the afternoon. Our original plan for kayaking went ahead yesterday and I was so glad we made the trip. Bobby, Kaitlyn's friend who has graduated from UCSB, returned for the weekend and he drove us to get some delicious Acai bowls for breakfast and then on to the harbour to rent some kayaks. The rental was for an hour so for the most part we paddled around and soaked up the sun. The views back on to State St and the mountains were incredible, it is hard to fathom just how beautiful and diverse the landscape is around this area.

To finish off the day we had some clam chowder bread bowls and enjoyed a few drinks and card games back at Cienaga. 

I'm currently heading out to go and watch Kaitlyn play her first home game with the Rugby team so I will leave it there.

Nina 

Week 2

So here we are, I made it through the first week.

After experiencing the highs and lows that Isla Vista (the neighbouring suburb completely overrun with college students) has to offer, this is quite a statement. Isla Vista or IV as its commonly termed is affectionately known as the largest ghetto in California. Now that's a statistic.

(The view: it only gets better)

Whilst the beginning of the week was quite slow and progressive with new things like new classes, a new schedule and new routine, it culminated in some exciting events. Orientation was held on Friday afternoon on campus and it was the first time I was really able to meet the other exchange students here over winter. It was strange wandering around this week without having had a proper welcome or sign in to the UCSB system but rewarding all the same as I managed to make all my classes without getting too lost.

Orientation was gruelling with regard to the extended talks about 'culture shock' and your new experience in the USA. As well as over-inflated speeches from head of departments regarding the amazing international students that have come through the UC system over the years. However, awkward women's health talks aside it was also pretty good. I was able to mingle with a group of other students, predominantly here from Holland, Chile and the UK about their initiation to college life and set up a network for social events.

(Just because they are delicious)

During the post-orientation mingling I also ran into a fellow Australian here at UCSB named Joel, coming abroad from the University of Sydney. The crazy coincidence is I recognized this guy from my VISA meeting at the consulate in Sydney where he happened to be there on the same day! We must be likeminded as we have managed to end up in the same residence hall here on campus so it has been incredibly convenient to have a friend that's up for exploring and living just downstairs. The other girls and guys were super welcoming too and we had some additional UCSB education from two returned EAP students who had recently ventured to Berlin.

Trevor and Mike (returned UCSB students from Berlin) took it upon themselves to initiate us to the world of IV by inviting us to a night out with them. A night out in IV is a whirlwind of pre-gaming, drinking games and lots of handshakes as you party-hop through a see of intoxicated gauchos. The whole thing was an enormous education, in terms of gaming, drinks, people and culture as IV is quite surreal.

On Sunday we continued the American college experience with a trip to my first college basketball game in the Thunderdome and getting to see a live band play in IV. The game was fantastic and the school-spirit unprecedented. I felt like I had been transported into an American movie. Unfortunately Cal Poly won the game 72/64 but it was definitely worth seeing. Following the game Joel and I went to meet up with some friends in IV and see 'The Firedepartment' play.

Fast-forward to a tired Nina this morning, Kaitlyn and I kept it simple, heading out for brunch and then relaxing until a beach walk and ice-cream trip this afternoon. We went to a place called McConnell's on State St which is amazing, I got a mix of DarkChocolate Paseo with Almond brittle and Cinnamon! Bobby, Kaitlyn's friend was visiting over the weekend so it was great to chat to him about his college experience too.

Although this post is a bit of a download it's a bit of a peek-hole into the fast-paced and interesting life of someone at UCSB.

Nina

Crash Course in College

Week one of classes done and dusted!

We are only at Wednesday but I'm already exhausted so probably for the best. After some near misses, locking myself out of the dorm building and getting lost a few times I feel like I'm finally settling in to UCSB student life. The prolific amount of people who bike around campus has meant that I am constantly doing circles to make sure I don't get hit. Bicycles have right of way so it's either stop walking or jump out of the way. By the same token I'm loving the campus vibe so it's all in good spirits. 

In addition to acclimatising to a drop of approx. 15 degrees as the sun sets in the evenings I've also been enjoying wandering around on campus and meeting people as I ask for directions. Taking advanced level courses has meant that most students are not super chatty however at the same time everyone has been really welcoming and happy to help. 

While killing time on the way to my class after lunch this afternoon I was able to observe just how standardized the student look is around campus. I feel like I missed the memo of an unofficial uniform consisting of Toms, tights of skinny jeans as pants, wavy styled hair (male or female) and a JanSport backpack. In addition optional accessories include a MacBook Pro and skateboard or bike. The comical element of seeing surfy Californian guys skating around on 90's-esque homemade boards never gets old.

Apart from a large amount of time people watching around campus the classes have been incredibly interesting. I'm taking two Anthropology higher level courses - one which explores World-Systems Theory and the other about the move from Agricultural development to Complex Industry. Both of them are great choices as they give numerous case studies of American and Mexican historical communities that I am not exposed to through the UQ syllabus. The third course I'm enrolled in is a Political Economy course which has been surprisingly interesting so far. 

My roommate has been incredibly helpful in showing me around but it was also fantastic to chat to Lisa, Dennis's sister last night at dinner as she is a UCSB Alumni. While Dad, Alice, Cara and Dennis are in Santa Barbara we organised to have a dinner with Lisa, her husband Thierry and Dennis's Dad and stepmother. The food, company and view were spectacular! It is so exciting to be meeting new extended family members that are so welcoming and warm. 

(Incredible flowers on sale at the supermarket!)

After a short stint with a terrible cold and runny nose I'm back in form and looking forward to exploring a few options for new clubs and orientation on friday. I met a returned EAP student from UCSB this morning so at least i'll know one person there! 

I better get to sleep but I hope Australia is treating you well!

Nina