Campus Life

Although I'm missing out on going back to UC Irvine this fall, it's been nice getting used to a new college campus, exploring and carving out a life that isn't so different than my life in So Cal; I think that says more about what I need in life to keep me happy/sane than about So Cal specifically. I'm getting used to the rain and lightning and thunder that usually strikes between 12-1pm, finding new places to read and drink coffee, heading out to the campus gym, people-watching, and always keeping an eye out for cool happenings on campus. And if for some reason there is not lightning and thunder between 12-1pm, my day just doesn't feel right!

Tunnel of love.

Parts of the university campus are connected by covered, concrete walkways, which are great for when it rains (which is everyday for now, usually between 12-5pm, with the heaviest being around 1pm). The sides of the walkways are lined with benches so people can chill somewhere dry in between classes. What this really means is that when it rains all the couples on campus that previously were snuggling somewhere secluded claim a bench under the walkway and continue their snuggling/snogging. It’s pretty funny and cute, so I call it the Tunnel of Love.

Food.

There’s tons of places to eat on/around campus, mostly pastries (empanadas, donuts, cakes, cookies) and pizza on the main street on one side of campus, and on campus there’s “sodas” which provide cheap, full plates of the “plato del dia” (plate of the day). This usually includes rice, beans, chicken dish (or pasta for vegetarian dish), plantains, salad, juice and maybe a fruit. All for less than $3 usually!! Unfortunately for me, the vegetarian main dishes haven’t look that great, and that’s actually way too much food for me for lunch. Most restaurants also have a plato del dia, but if there’s no vegetarian plato del dia, they won’t substitute a vegetarian dish unfortunately (so I miss out an amazing lunch deal sometimes!). Leaving campus on the farther side, there’s a Hooters, Taco Bell, Subway and TGIF!! I haven’t been to Hooters but maybe I’ll go one day. There’s also a pretty good sushi place and a café (with crepes) that I’ve been to with my Phriday Physicist Lunch group (when I go to lunch with my officemate and her friends, also physics profs). We went to an Indian restaurant this past Friday, all vegetarian, called Cafe Gokul. The 'thali' like plate was the plato del dia, which basmati rice, beet bhajiya, squash & potato bhaji, dal (but was really garbanzo beans not lentils), salad and juice. Someone also ordered Matter Paneer, and that was reallly good. Will definetaly need to go back when I'm craving some Indian food. The owner almost tried to speak Hindi to me, but my brain could not switch over from Spanish to Hindi. My brain tends to freeze up when thinking between Spanish and Hindi, so I have to ctrl-alt-del that process and start over in either English or Spanish.

Some afternoons around 3 or 4pm I join other physics professors for some coffee and pastries at the nearest soda. It's a good break and time to fuel up for the gym, and also get to know other people in the department. They tell funny stories and of course talk about the RAIN.

Gym.

The university gym offers tons of aerobics classes, but it gets packed! Membership is $20/month, amazing. However, I do miss my Abs & Thighs class at the ARC, and my fave instructor Cindy. I do daydream of teaching a Bollywood Cardio class sometimes . .

The classes are also a great way to learn some spanish vocab; I hate memorizing vocab from flashcards, so doing something active and visual helps to learn body parts and directions.

Fashion.

The faculty here seems to dress pretty casual, even jeans and sneakers for some. I try to dress up a bit when I teach (just b/c I brought semi-dressy clothes to CR) and other days stick to my jeans/linen pants and sneakers. I can't imagine wearing fancy shoes/heels, the sidewalks are very uneven and the rain makes them very slippery. I do regret not bringing my black boots, especially since it turned out that I didn't get charged for my 3rd check in bag!

The students dress pretty much like US college students (tight jeans, little tops or long tops, side bangs), although fabric boots are very common here even though they're not waterproof. Piercings are a big deal here too with the youth, tons of nose rings, multiple earrings, thick posts/gauges, even nasal septum rings (bull rings), eyebrow rings and other places on the face that aren't so obvious for piercings.

And of course the most common accessory across genders and generations is the all-important umbrella!