California dreamin' just got real!

I haven't updated in a while, thinking I didn't have much to write about, as my time has been full of homework. But actually this post is going to be kind of long as I now realise I've done quite a lot. The first kind of interesting thing I did since my last post was go to the Cheesecake Factory a week last Thursday with friends for someone's birthday. This was good American food.

Last Saturday I went downtown with Steph, Sera and Sara. We went to a Spanish restaurant, Sevilla. The food was really good, and having a Spanish friend there made it even better, as she knew what to order! We walked around downtown, and it was nice to finally see some tall buildings! I now actually feel like I've seen Long Beach, and not just the area around campus :)

Downtown Long Beach:

Sevilla:

Downtown at night:

We then went to see CSULB's Ice Hockey team play against San Diego State. We lost but it was still a lot of fun as it was the first time I'd seen an ice hockey game. It was cool to get into the school spirit and it made me excited for the basketball season to start.

Ice Hockey:

This week my friend Meghan came to visit which was exciting. We both do American Studies back home so she is at university in the states right now too. When she arrived on Thursday I took her for lunch, then showed her around CSULB's campus and took her to 2nd street where there's a lot of cool places to see, like the sweet shop Powell's (where we dared to buy bacon flavoured soda). We walked down to the beach and then had dinner at a restaurant called Simmzy's. It was great to catch up after 3 months! It didn't feel like it had been that long at all! Its quite ironic that we can't arrange to see each other in England but in the US its no problem at all haha!

My new hat, prepared for my future trip to Utah:

Simmzy's, pretty lights:

Thursday evening we had a Karaoke night at mine so some friends came over from the other dorms to join us. After literally being dragged off the sofa to sing, I actually quite enjoyed it and ended up doing more than one song with friends. This was very new to me haha. It's surprising how confident people here are to just get up and sing in front of a crowd of people. Back home in the UK no one would really do karaoke sober!

On Friday we went to Huntington Beach, which I hadn't seen yet so I was excited to go! It was also really nice to get out after the last couple of weeks which have been jampacked with homework. I loved it! I felt like I was living the California dream; the beach, the surfers, the sun. We walked around, went in a couple of coffee shops, paddled in the sea and took lots of photos. We then went to dinner with some other friends to the Cheesecake Factory, again!

Huntington flags:

The beach:

Posters:

Me on the beach:

Surf:

The beach again:

A surfer:

Me and Meg:

Surf shop:

Huntington Pier and surfer:

We heart Cali:

On Saturday, before Meg had to fly back to Utah, me and Matt showed her Cha for Tea and then Signal Hill, which I really wanted to show her as you can pretty much see everything in the area, all the way to downtown LA and the Hollywood sign. Plus, I also hadn't been in the daytime yet so it was really cool for me to see everything and take some pictures. We hung out there for a while, watching the planes, catching up and teaching Matt some things about English culture! We then got lunch from a great sandwich place nearby, Rocco's deli, before taking Meg to the airport where we said goodbye, but hopefully not for long! I plan to visit Utah soon, and see her life in the states.

 On top of the world:

View of campus and the Walter pyramid:

Meg, some miners and me:

A pretty cool picture:

After we dropped Meg off at the airport, we went to the boathouse, which was so pretty. It's weekends like this one when it hits me where I am and how much I appreciate being here. It kind of overwhelms me! I still love the weather, I think I always will love it and the lifestyle that comes with it! Although 7 weeks without rain is starting to feel a bit weird, 32C in October, is this real life?

Stupid seagull trying to steal my sandwich:

I've had a great couple of weeks, this past weekend being a highlight with Meghan's visit. It was great to get out and see things; I hate being inside, I always want to be out and about having new experiences!

I can't believe that on Friday I will have been here for 2 months! Time flies when you're having fun! I've made some amazing friends and had many great experiences!  I should be going to Disneyland on Friday for the first time, which will be the perfect way to celebrate 2 months away from the UK!

I'm also starting to write a list of things I want to do while in the states, so I may post that up soon, so I can tick things off as I go :)

Until next time!

Universal studios, classes, hollywood, tea, frat parties, red cups and a baseball game.

A lot has happened since my last post, but I just don't get the time to regularly update. I'm so busy, the massive amount of homework they give here is nothing like English University. Its been a bit of a shock to the system that we actually have to do the reading. So when i'm not doing that I'm trying to make the most of every minute. Its a bit tricky planning my time so I can actually do fun things, as now I have a TON of homework to do tomorrow! However, I've had such an amazing weekend that I don't mind. But I should start from where I left off, Universal. 30 August: got the metro train from Long Beach to LA for the first time. It took about an hour and is so cheap. At Universal we first went on the studio tour, which was really interesting for me, seeing as I love film. We saw the sets of many films and tv series, but I think the highlights were definitely Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives, the Bones set which had a simulated earthquake and a 3D King Kong experience. After that we went on the other rides, like the Simpsons simulator which was fun, and also the Jurassic Park log flume. We also saw the Waterworld performance, and saw the interpretation of London streets, which was so weird and wrong. We then went to have dinner (who am I, now saying dinner? it's tea) at the Hard Rock Cafe on City Walk.

Universal Studios:

Me and Mr Bean:

 Hard Rock Cafe:

 Amazing California Sunset:

The next big thing I did, was the next friday, 6 September, when we went to Hollywood. We saw the stars on Hollywood boulevard and the handprints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. We then went to see Rodeo Drive, the expensive shopping part. We didn't stay long as we didn't want to be back late. That night, when we got back, there was an event on campus, called Smorgasport. It was kind of like a fair with free food, and lots of different things going on. There was a Photo Booth there which was fun!

Hollywood:

 Capitol Records:

 The Hollywood Sign:

 Me and Mickey:

 Grauman's Chinese Theatre:

 Rodeo Drive:

Photo Booth at Smorgasport:

So, Monday night, 9 September, we had a movie night in my hall, and then I was introduced to Cha for Tea, which was so goooood (I've been back since, and now i'm kind of addicted..) We also went to Signal Hill which was amazing. You can see everything! The photo doesn't do it justice at all.

Now, this weekend. On Friday 13, we went shopping in Orange. On the way we saw a car crash in the lane next to us, it wasn't bad but was so weird to see, it felt like it was happening in slow motion. I bought a few things when we got there, oh and there's a skate park in the Vans shop. Amazing. On Saturday, I skyped my parents, then headed to the pool at the rec center to hang out there for a while. Then had Chipotle for the first time, which was really good. THEN, our first Frat party. This was exciting. Guys had to pay $5 to go in, and then for girls "go ahead, go straight in!" The sexism actually kind of works in our favour. Crazy! The party was really fun, there was a big group of us so it was a laugh. The stereotypical red cups and beer pong were used, just like the movies. I counted the night as educational for my degree (American Studies), after all the reason I'm here is to embrace American culture, right? and this was definitely interesting haha!

Today, Sunday, we went to a baseball game, the LA Dodgers vs. the San Francisco Giants. We had prepared and bought jerseys! The trip was organised by housing, and it was only $10 for the ticket, transport and all you can eat food and drink. It was great to get into the spirit, even though it was hot, and I mean really hot. Sat in the sun for like 5 hours, still no tan (i'm just too British). We ate food, drank a lot, took lots of photos, joined in the songs.. well tried, and in-between all that saw some of the game. The Giants won, so some of our group from Northern California were happy. The rest of us didn't mind, we just liked getting into the American sporting spirit for a day! It's been a great weekend!

The Dodger's Stadium:

 The Game:

 Group Photo:

And, - Some things I've learnt:
 - American English is A LOT different from UK English. More and more differences keep coming up. It's fun explaining it all.
 - Americans are generally so much more chilled than the English.
 - There's way to much homework!
 - Red cups are actually a thing.
 - Frat parties are fun.
 - I'm never ever going to be tired of this lifestyle and the weather.
 - I never want to leave... Sorry Mum (but at least you know I'm having a great time).

 Until next time!

2 weeks doing it the American way

After being in California for two weeks, I only now have the time to sit and write. I already feel like I've lived here for months and everyday has been packed with adventures and new experiences. I knew life would change but I didn't quite realise how different the USA would be. The first thing that hit me was how big everything was, (I know this is well known) but you don't actually realise just how massive the roads, car parks and pretty much everything is, including the food! The language difference is also another aspect I have had to get used to, American English feels like a foreign language sometimes. But people keep saying that I don't even sound English and that I could pass as an American which is strange. My first week was very busy; in short I moved into my "dorms", met many new people from all over the world, explored the campus, ate A LOT, went to the beach, went to the mall, joined the University gym (which is also massive), went to the pool and went to Target many many times. It was a fun and exciting week, the best part being getting to know so many new people and this was before the term had even started. I had international orientation on the Tuesday, but apart from that we were left to our own devices, so we explored the area and picked up new people to add to our group along the way.

Campus - My dorm room:

The Student Union pool:

The Walter Pyramid:

Relaxing by the pool:

Exploring the area - Candy Store on 2nd Street: 

Seal Beach:

Lifeguard station, Long Beach: 

Long Beach sunset:

On Saturday 24th, CSULB changed completely when the American students arrived. Suddenly there were people and cars everywhere and my hall that had previously been empty became full. That night a week of events was kicked off by a game night arranged by the RA's (Residential Assistants). This night made me realise the big difference between American and English University life. Having to be 21 to drink really does seem to impact the social activities that Americans take part in. In England we have Freshers Week, which is basically a week of drinking and partying, here they start classes two days after moving in and the social events are much more tame. We had a BBQ on Sunday which was a chance to meet more Americans and relax. On Thursday there was a Casino Night which was a really fun experience.

Casino Night:

I'm taking classes on film and media this semester which have so far been really interesting, however I'm not looking forward to all the reading and continual assessments. I hope I can get into some kind of routine as the last couple of weeks have been hectic, in an amazing way, but now I need to fit work in too!

For some relief after our first week of classes, on Friday we went to Universal Studios which was fantastic. We got a student deal which allowed us to get an annual pass for only $69 so I'll definitely be going back. I will do another post about that soon. I'm having so much fun I feel like I'm on holiday at the moment, but I do actually have to get on with some work so this will have to be all for now!

2 weeks today I'll be on that plane ✈ 🇺🇸 ☀ #Longbeach #CSULB @thirdyearabroad

— Jen Raynor (@jenraynor24) August 2, 2013

40 days and 40 nights to go.

The countdown begins.