Welcome to Dead Week

Contrary to the whole idea of dead week spent slaving away in the library, caffeine coursing through your veins, this week at UCSB has been glorious. 

The beautiful sights of new parts of campus, having a bit of an explore after draining my bank account for housing payments. 

In addition to a lot of activities on campus this week to keep spirits high, there have been a number of themed days at Carrillo dining commons. The first one was quite a surprise as the dining area was transformed with enough crepe paper to make a swimming pool cover in purple, green and yellow. Not only were the staff getting into the festivities with costumes and bead necklaces but there was a mullet clad middle-aged man doing song covers. Needless to say the day was a hit and the food was all new and experimental with some fruit punch, catfish sandwiches, stuffed pork roll and fried dessert dumplings. Following themes didn't get quite so festive but our inner nerd and Irish came out with some further festive meals. 

To celebrate finishing all my essays during pre-dead week I got up early to head out for some Stand Up Paddle-boarding or SUPing at the Excursion Club calls it. After hanging out and getting to know some more of the staff and meeting fellow SUPers we carried down the boards and kayaks to Isla Vista beach to paddle out. The weather was incredibly beautiful, as per usual, and the water surprisingly warm for a winter day. 

One of the UCSB events scheduled in the lead up to dead week was Dog Therapy Day! The event was put on by the SRB Student Wellness Centre and the staff provided about 12 puppies for us to pat, cuddle and hang out with to de-stress. The puppy I am pictured with is a black lab just like lovely Whetu back home and she was the cutest. Another dog that Nadia and I got to meet was an actual relative of the dog used in shooting Lassie the movie. Needless to say we were pretty impressed.

The final awesome part of this week was a very impromptu picnic out at Sands to farewell our beautiful friend Laetitia. Whilst I've only been able to get to know her during Winter Quarter she has been a great addition to our motley crew and we will all miss her lots. Belgium can have her back but I can't wait to go and visit her in Europe!

I also can't wait to be on spring break next week and will give you all a full update after an amazing time with family catching up.

Nina

UCLA Weekend

In the midst of some crazy assessment, beautiful weather and the start of dead week ('Swotvac' for the Australians) what do exchange students do?

Go to LA for the weekend of course! 

This past week has had many ups and downs as I've tried to lock myself in Davidson Library for numerous hours trying to finish looming assessment pieces. However it was all worth it to get to the weekend adventures. After a 6 hour assignment cram on Thursday I wandered over to Manny and Wyatt's just in time to see the first batch of Cinnamon Rolls (Cinnamon Snails according to the Danes) come out of the oven, ready for another night of open mic shenanigans. Although there was not the same crowd as last time it was still super fun to listen to Platform Holly do some covers and other maestros try their hand at performing, including this guy who does fire twirling. 

After getting home late and staying up chatting to Kaitlyn it was hard to force myself to get up and awake on Friday morning in time for my delayed Mid-term. However once the mid-term was done and dusted I got a quick okay from Student Health and packed up my things to head down to LA. Joel and I ended up getting a Zimride down to Westwood, which is part of a UCSB wide rideshare system. It was a great alternative to Amtrak as you get to meet a bunch of domestic students and save some cash. 

Upon arrival at UCLA we were feeling a bit wide-eyed. Jess, Joel's friend who we stayed with for the weekend lives in university apartments on Frat Row, Landfair Ave at UCLA. It is reminiscent of UCSB but quite different altogether as the campus sprawls throughout north-west LA and borders the lavishness of Beverly Hills. Jess's apartment is huge and she gave us a little tour before we braved the LA traffic to Anahiem for the Ducks game. 

The Ice-hockey was ridiculously good and our last minute seats provided a great view. The experience wouldn't be the same without the smell of beer, caramel corn and pretzels, we were each feeling very American. In the last third the game was tied 2 all and after penalty shootouts the Penguins succeeded in dominating over the Ducks. 

On Saturday we took it at a slow pace and got up and moving to go check out Santa Monica and The Getty Villa on the way back to SB. The Villa was all kinds of crazy beautiful and the only reason we left was a desire for brunch. 

After getting very lost and seeing a lot of the 101 we made it to Ventura for lunch and then Santa Barbara by early afternoon. It was a beautiful, hot and sunny day, perfect for a walk down State Street to the pier and up to the Court House with McConnells. I had never been to the Court House before and it was pretty spectacular. After climbing two flights of stairs to the chapel level we watched a lovely couple say their vows and headed up to the viewing platform. The lookout at the top of the tower lets you see a 360 degree view of Santa Barbara city and out over the ocean. Jess loved the trip and we got back to IV just in time for a classic sunset. 

The evenings activities were a great initiation for Jess into the IV party scene, pre-gaming and playing True American with the exchange girls, Richard and Joel.

I already can't wait for dead week to be over.

Nina 

ps. My roommate's B team also dominated this weekend at their away game in Arizona, 29-5. I'm so proud!

Spare Spots

So after a fun filled weekend of catch ups and adventures I was pretty tuckered out, and also looking a little spottier that usual...

Last week's excitement came from an interesting source as I started my Monday morning sitting in the contagious room of the UCSB Student Health Clinic getting checked for Chicken Pox. Whilst everyone was slightly on edge at the thought of Chicken Pox going through campus it was still nice to check out the facilities and the doctors were all very nice. 

After drugging up, a lab test and some chins being scratched I went back to my room to rest up for the next few days. Luckily my Anthropology lecturer could accommodate my situation and let me reschedule my midterm for this thursday so I could spend some time in bed. 

By Tuesday night I was feeling a bit better and braved some trivia on campus however instead of trivia we ended up playing Avalon the board game with some residence hall people for a number of hours. This set the tone for Thursday night when we took to round two at Lisa and Nadia's house playing about 10 rounds of Werewolves to everyone's delight. 

By the end of the week my lab results were back and it looks like although it wasn't chicken pox I was now better and back on my feet, ready for the weekend. This weekend was an interesting combination as my friday afternoon kicked off with an economics experiment. After chatting for most of the session the exchange people and myself all went off to grab some food and then reconvened at Cassie's party later that night. Although the party went well myself and Dutch Tim left early and got Freebirds nachos on the way home. 

Saturday's weather kept the pace slow as it poured all day with gail force winds. Instead of trying to study Kaitlyn and I hit the movies and snacks. Evan came over to join us and I was introduced to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia :) To end a very unproductive day Kaitlyn took myself and Joel to a Women's Rugby party hosted by her team at the rugby house. It was awesome fun and the girls introduced me to Gaucho Ball, the UCSB patented drinking game. 

Overall it was a great weekend but this week will feature me chained to my desk as I try to get some essays done. 

This is a belated photo from the themed night for the Excursion Club Party

Pictured above is Nadia and Phillip two greenies who participated in a UCSB Eco Cooking Competition and made some delicious Sweet Potato and Kale Gnocchi!

Hope the weather has been nicer at home,

Nina