Semester two: Changes, The Beach, LA and MOCA.

After my Christmas at home in England with my family and then my fun but exhausting trips, I was excited to settle back into life in Long Beach. I had decided to move into on-campus dorms where the majority of my friends live as it is much more convenient. I was even going to be living in the same building as friends, where I had spent a lot of time in my first semester anyway, so I felt very lucky and happy with my decision. I checked into my new room, met my new roommate and with the help of my friends moved my stuff in. That first night was really fun, seeing everyone after so long, it felt like the beginning of my year abroad again!

My new classes started the next day and I was making a change from the first semester in which I had taken all film classes. I was now taking a mixture of subjects, 'Religion in American History', 'The U.S. in the Twenties, the Great Depression and WW2', 'Celebrity in American Culture' and 'Women in the History of U.S. Film'. 

That day we also got some good news (for us anyway) that Steph and Sera had missed their flight connection to Sydney and so would have another day to spend with us in Long Beach. So the next morning, we got up at 6am to pick them up from LAX. It was surreal as we had already said our goodbyes, but they were excited to surprise everyone and I was excited to see them again! We spent the day on campus as we were all tired, them especially, but it was great for us to have more time with them before they went back to Australia.

The only photo I have of the day, Steph sleeping:

The following weekend was Kim's birthday and I tried Sushi for the first time which I enjoyed, but I can't say the same for Sonnee and Sara! It seems to be something that people from California grow up with, unlike us Europeans. The other highlights of the weekend were the basketball game and also going to see American Hustle at the cinema.

At the beginning of February was the Superbowl. I don't really enjoy American football as I still don't have any clue what is going on, but I watched it anyway and the team I was rooting for, the Seattle Seahawks, won 43-8 against the Broncos, a huge victory!

On the 21st February I had a great day when I went with friends from my building to the beach to have a bonfire, play some American football and have S'mores. Then the next day I went with Sonnee and Sara to LA using the Metro blue line. We got off in Downtown LA where we saw the City Hall, the Courthouses and the Los Angeles Times building.

The beach at sunset:

The LA City Hall:

The Los Angeles Times building:

We then went to the Old Town part of LA (El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Park), which has a pretty church and the famous Olvera Street. This is filled with colourful Mexican stalls and restaurants and the traditional music played by live musicians gives the street a charming atmosphere.

The church:

Praying:

Olvera Street:

We then walked up to the Disney Concert Hall which is a very impressive building, designed by architect Frank Gehry. It opened in 2003 and is still one of the most impressive structures in LA, serving as home to the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. It has become an iconic building, and seeing it in real life did not disappoint.

Walt Disney Concert Hall:

We then grabbed a burrito for lunch before heading to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) which had a great student price and some very interesting art including a very eery clown piece.

Some of the artwork:

Heading home at sunset:

The following weekend was rainy, the worst it has been the whole time I've been in California. There was thunder and lightening, making it hard to do anything very exciting, but we did go to Seal Beach for brunch and kept ourselves entertained by watching the Oscars on TV. It was weird that the awards were happening so close to us, if only we could have gone and met some celebrities! 

Thanks for reading, I have more exciting posts coming up! :)