8. September 2014 | Von Asia Maria Martin Lopez 

California here we come!

Hello everybody!

This year we are around 23 students from the Macromedia University that will spend a semester abroad at the California State University Channel Islands.

California here we come!

The CSUCI is a public university located in Camarillo midway between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. The uni opened in 2002 as the 23rd campus in the California State University system. Our first two weeks at university were quite exciting. Getting to know american students, new professors introducing us to interesting subjects (Marketing, Macroeconomics, Intercultural Communication and Entrepreneurial Management) as well as trying not to get lost on campus. So far our university experience has been great, but it will definitely be more work than back home.

But let me scroll back to the beginning when we arrived. Most of us arrived in California quite early before uni started, either to enjoy and travel around or to take care of important things such as buying a car. Having a car is essential here, not only to get to university but also everywhere else. Some of us were quite lucky and found a good second hand car (we all searched through craigslist) but others had to visit several not so funny areas in Los Angeles in order to have the choice between several shitty cars and decide which one was less shitty.

Most of us live in Oxnard in very nice houses or apartments near the beach. Oxnard is the most popular city in the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is listed as one of the wealthiest areas in America, with its residents making well above the average national income. In 2013, Oxnard was ranked as one of the safest cities in America with violent crime rates well below the national average. It is very useful that we all live so close together, not only can we meet very easily but we also share our cars driving to university. There are only two of our houses which are only two streets apart! That was such a great coincidence when we found out! 😉

The university is going to get harder as the semester passes by, so for now we enjoy our long weekends as best as we can. Last weekend we drove along the beautiful pacific coast way down to Los Angeles, making a short stop at the Santa Monica pier. In Los Angeles we drove through Beverly Hills, Bel Air, the walk of fame and the Rodeo Drive. Others went for a 5 hour hiking tour, visited Santa Barbara or the Sequoia National Park where you can admire one of the largest trees on earth. This weekend we spent the day at Malibu beach which was also great fun and time to relax. Unfortunately Oxnard does not  have many bars or clubs, so we make our own parties at home. Though soon we are going to a bigger city nearby called Ventura, where there’s lots going on at night. We also have e a trip to Las Vegas in mind…let’s see how well that turns out..;)

Well, that’s it for our first blog post! I hope you enjoyed reading !

Greets from California!! 🙂

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