These days is the first time I live alone in America. Also, this is the longest period that I live that far away from my hometown Shanghai. I had so many golden memories and interesting experiences that I wish I could remember forever in the future.
In September 17, after a long travel by plane of 12 hours across the Pacific Ocean, I finally arrived at the lax airport together with my roommate Sherry. I was very nervous when I entered the custom, in afraid of the notorious "Secondary Inspection". Fortunately, the officer there only asked me to provide the proof of my address and then just let me in. I still remember the Excitement when I went out of the airport successfully! People from all over the world, different colors, is just standing beside me!
LA is so large! This is an amazing city, with sea, Moutain, forests. It has both the world class education system and entertainment Industry. The most important thing is that the weather here is amazing! The average temperature is about 20 degrees Celsius. The air is pleasantly crisp. The sun light is a little bit too harsh, however, during the noon.
There are some dark sides, however, in LA. A major difference is that homeless guys are everywhere! They all dress themselves in rags with their faces full of dust, staring at you when you walk by. Sometimes it is really terrifying!
Despite the homeless guys, most of the people here is LA that I met are really nice. People greet each other with smiles even if they are strangers. Interestingly, I hear "Have a good day", "Have a nice one" every day for at least ten times. It feels good when people say something like that to you, even if you know that they might not mean that for real, just for politeness.
I very much appreciate that I have two lovely and nice roommates, Sherry and Yaqi Liu. Sherry is a slim, cool girl studying in applied mathematics in UCLA. Yaqi is a cute girl studying ECE. In the Glendon apartment in Westwood, we have overcome a lot of difficulties during the moving-in period together. We also share the joys of traveling together.
On September 24th, I met Li Xiang, a first year PHD studying pure Math in UCLA. We hit it off and become a good friend with each other because we are all interested in the philosophy and logic. In the night, Li Xiang and his friend drove me and my roommates to watch the famous "blue tears" in one of the beaches in malibu, a phenomenon caused by a sort of bioluminescence effect. It was so romantic, despite the chilly in the night, where the moon, the ocean, the stars and blue tears got together in the night.
On October 1st, we also went for a travel in Yosemite together. The scenery was grandiose there.
We took many amazing photographs. Some of them has been chosen to be my avatar on Instagram. Sherry is really good at photographing!
In the MQST program, I met classmates from all over the world, Indians, Chile, Ireland, USA, Australia etc. I invited some of the classmates to my apartment and cook authentic Chinese for them
I took three required courses in this quarter. Quantum optic labs taught by Professor Ross, who also leads the MQST program, by himself. Quantum computation by professor Hurtson and Quantum programming by Professor Jens. All of the professors are conscientious and responsible. Unlike the classes back in China, students in US often interact with professor in the classroom. And I love this learning atmosphere.
First off, reading through this took me on a beautiful journey of reminiscence. Thank you for taking the time to share your first month's experiences in LA. It’s not just a recap for you, but also a fresh perspective for those of us who’ve lived here longer. The vividness with which you described your feelings and adventures has left me nostalgic about my first days in LA!
It's amazing how different LA might seem when viewed from fresh eyes. The city's vastness, its mix of nature, its educational and entertainment offerings – you've captured the essence quite well. The weather here is indeed one of its charms! Though, I completely agree about the mid-day sun.
The issue with homelessness is…