They're obviously close friends, though ironically, their colleges are rivals to each other. Anyway, my friends were nice enough to offer me tours around their campuses. As someone who hails from a private college whose campus building only takes form of a black long box stretching over an arroyo on Pasadena hills, other campus visit experiences are always priceless.
Mind you that this is not the first time for me to visit these two campuses. I've visited USC a lot more than UCLA since one of my closest friends in De Anza also studies there, and we often hang out at Downtown LA. USC has always been one of the spots we picked to hang out in. Vast campus grounds always left me with a distinct impression. It is always inevitable for me to compare USC and UCLA campuses to my own campus, and jealousy often follows afterwards. My college, as mentioned is just a black long box-shaped building in an isolated area on Pasadena hills. We barely have vast campus grounds, parks, fountains, and multiple buildings in one huge campus ground. My campus feels very squeezed in just a small area. Actually, my campus has two buildings, but they're very far apart. The main building, the one that I've mentioned, is called the Hillside. The name pretty much sums up the campus' location. The other one, South Campus, is the secondary campus building located in the city of Pasadena itself, and it's actually pretty close the Old Town.
None of these two buildings are like traditional university campuses.
So when I first stepped into UCLA for the first time after I transferred to LA, I felt a huge different. The campus, is obviously, vast. I'm sure it's one of the biggest UC campuses, probably the second biggest after UC Berkeley? I don't know. Last time I went there was when I took a short Spring break trip during my times in De Anza. However, the effect of the campus visit this time hit me even more. The first initial impression I got from UCLA campus is, there are so much more breathing space!
So when I first stepped into UCLA for the first time after I transferred to LA, I felt a huge different. The campus, is obviously, vast. I'm sure it's one of the biggest UC campuses, probably the second biggest after UC Berkeley? I don't know. Last time I went there was when I took a short Spring break trip during my times in De Anza. However, the effect of the campus visit this time hit me even more.
The long campus tour with Bella has finally concluded. By the sunset, we walked our way to our ultimate destination: the dining hall. The dining hall is located within the dorm complex. The dorm complex, even on the weekends, were so full of energy and activity. Some students walked out of their dorms and headed out towards the campus grounds, some headed out towards different directions, and some were heading to the dining hall like Bella and I did. To access the dining hall, we had to pay $8.00 and that credit could only be cashed out via Bruin card. Imagine $8.00 for an all-you-can-eat on-campus experience. Bruin people, I envy you!!
None of these two buildings are like traditional university campuses.
So when I first stepped into UCLA for the first time after I transferred to LA, I felt a huge different. The campus, is obviously, vast. I'm sure it's one of the biggest UC campuses, probably the second biggest after UC Berkeley? I don't know. Last time I went there was when I took a short Spring break trip during my times in De Anza. However, the effect of the campus visit this time hit me even more. The first initial impression I got from UCLA campus is, there are so much more breathing space!
This Bruin bear stood proudly in the Bruin plaza.
A park stretches at one corner in UCLA campus adjacent to class buildings. Imagine walking to-from class on that track in a fresh, sunny morning!
An inverted fountain that impresses me much as it creates an impression as if it's sucked down by gravity into the unknown. Rumor has it that freshmen were initiated to touch the water. However, if current students touch the water, they will have an extra quarter before graduation. Speaking of a delayed graduation.
Campus walk, yay! I did experience this in De Anza, but not anymore in my campus. We do have long hallways in the campus, but they're obviously indoor.
A stadium, people!!!
...and finally, the so-called landmark of the campus: Royce Hall. Doesn't the architecture just remind you of a mixture of Spanish and Romanesque churches?
I'm not sure about this building right here, but doesn't it look gorgeous with that sunset light reflecting on it?
So when I first stepped into UCLA for the first time after I transferred to LA, I felt a huge different. The campus, is obviously, vast. I'm sure it's one of the biggest UC campuses, probably the second biggest after UC Berkeley? I don't know. Last time I went there was when I took a short Spring break trip during my times in De Anza. However, the effect of the campus visit this time hit me even more.
The long campus tour with Bella has finally concluded. By the sunset, we walked our way to our ultimate destination: the dining hall. The dining hall is located within the dorm complex. The dorm complex, even on the weekends, were so full of energy and activity. Some students walked out of their dorms and headed out towards the campus grounds, some headed out towards different directions, and some were heading to the dining hall like Bella and I did. To access the dining hall, we had to pay $8.00 and that credit could only be cashed out via Bruin card. Imagine $8.00 for an all-you-can-eat on-campus experience. Bruin people, I envy you!!
Anyway, I gave $8.00 to be deposited to Bella's Bruin card, and we were good to go!
There was an interesting moment as we were entering the dining hall. The welcome staff that cashed out the hall's entrance fee greeted Bella and I with “Annyeonghaseyo.” Bella spontaneously told her that we were not Koreans. “Oh, we said that because today's food theme is Korean.” replied the staff. What could've been better than that?
The dining hall was overwhelmed by countless UCLA students, unless some of them came from other colleges like me and managed to gain an access to the dining hall like I did. The dining hall was superbly HUGE. The interior and the vibe were comparable to that of a 5-star-hotel restaurant. Even more, the food theme always changes in a regular basis. I really do love the atmosphere of the dining hall. College students plopped on the seats in the hall, engaged in warm conversations. I barely see anyone studying or having their eyes locked to the computer, because oh, I forgot to tell you earlier: all backpacks and computers must be stored into provided lockers.
Apparently, the portions we got in each counter were unexpectedly small, but that's okay because we could always come back and have some more since it's all-you-can-eat. Unlike what the staff said earlier, not everything in the dining hall were of Korean cuisine. Some of the counters served other Asian food. One of the favorites the ones that I can't resist to add more is this Thai coconut milk soup. I ate up to probably 3 bowls of it, probably because the texture and the taste resemble an Indonesian food called Lodeh.
It was a fulfilling, early dinner. I drove back home, not realizing that I might have a slight food coma. I slept, feeling all satisfied that night.
There was an interesting moment as we were entering the dining hall. The welcome staff that cashed out the hall's entrance fee greeted Bella and I with “Annyeonghaseyo.” Bella spontaneously told her that we were not Koreans. “Oh, we said that because today's food theme is Korean.” replied the staff. What could've been better than that?
The dining hall was overwhelmed by countless UCLA students, unless some of them came from other colleges like me and managed to gain an access to the dining hall like I did. The dining hall was superbly HUGE. The interior and the vibe were comparable to that of a 5-star-hotel restaurant. Even more, the food theme always changes in a regular basis. I really do love the atmosphere of the dining hall. College students plopped on the seats in the hall, engaged in warm conversations. I barely see anyone studying or having their eyes locked to the computer, because oh, I forgot to tell you earlier: all backpacks and computers must be stored into provided lockers.
Apparently, the portions we got in each counter were unexpectedly small, but that's okay because we could always come back and have some more since it's all-you-can-eat. Unlike what the staff said earlier, not everything in the dining hall were of Korean cuisine. Some of the counters served other Asian food. One of the favorites the ones that I can't resist to add more is this Thai coconut milk soup. I ate up to probably 3 bowls of it, probably because the texture and the taste resemble an Indonesian food called Lodeh.
It was a fulfilling, early dinner. I drove back home, not realizing that I might have a slight food coma. I slept, feeling all satisfied that night.
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Stay tuned for the upcoming post about my next campus visit: USC!
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