Living the california dream

I am in the United States since the beginnig of August. Overall we are eight people from Macromedia of cologne and we all share one flat in Port Hueneme (it is also possible to live at the campus, but it is very expensive, another place to stay is Ventura or the area around). Though our flat is really small but we have a pool, a whirlpool and we live directly at the beach.

In the first two weeks we did a little roadtrip, for this we rent two cars of „sixt“ (it is much cheaper to rent them from the german website).

We have been to Yosemite Nationalpark, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Camel-by-the-sea, Big Sur, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. We also went to a football game in San Diego. It was a great time and we saw amazing citys and landscapes, but you shouldn’t underestimate the distances. Here are some pictures from our trip:

At the end of August we had our orientation days at CSUCI. There we met the other international students from germany and oll over the world. They gave us some general information and a lot of rules we have to obey. We also get our schedules – we were surprised that we just have three or four days of class. But therefore we have to do a lot of homework. We also have to purchase a lot of books, but we can rent them for a few months so that we neend’t to buy them for a lot of money.

What we really like is that we are all in different classes so that we have to meet other people.
The system here allows us to gain points in several exams, presentations, group works and homework. So that if you fail the final exam you can pass the course anyway. The professors are nice but also very strikt with their rules. So you are not allowed to miss class for more than one time for example.

The campus is very nice but also very big, I think we will need a few days to orientate.
The CSUCI is in the middle of nowhere, so you are dependet of a car – whether you live on the campus or in the area around. My roomies and I decided to rent two cars instead of buying them, it is much easier in terms oft the insurance for people under 25, but it is also very expensive (nearly 9,000€ for four months).
Attention – you have to be early to get a parking place and you have to buy a parking permit for 195$ for one semester.

The university gives some offers to do some sports: zumba, kayaking, standup paddeling and sailing.  I’m going to have a kajak lesson in october. I will have a lesson of instruction and after this we will go to Channell Island for sunset kajaking. There is also a small gym at the campus and every student is allowed to use it. We also can join to the clubs here at CI. They have a lit of offers for doing sports like surfing, soccer, hockey and they have also clubs like red cross, vegan, organic ….. I’m going to the soccer and surf club, I’m very curious how it’s gonna be!

Some generell information:

I didn’t expect that the food is so expensive. While I need 150€ for a months in germany I need round about 200$ to 250$ in the US. But the people here earn a lot of fruits and vegatables at the fields, there you can buy a lot of fresh things for a few money.

The locals told us not to hang outside in the evening because it is too dangerous. But here is no party at all so it is not too tragic. 20 Minutes from here – in Ventura – are some nice bars, but you are not allowed to go there if you are not 21. The „Tavern“ is a hotspot there, it is a nice bar with an outside area, livemusic and a lot of young people. If you want to party you can go to Los Angeles, there are of course a lot of clubs.

That’s all for today, I’ll keep you updated!

See you soon,

Viola