Category Archives: New Experience

culture, entertainment, L.A. Life, New Experience

Unusual Things to Do in L.A.

By Rachel Priebe

Los Angeles is full of many wonderful tourist attractions, making it hard for the average person to get bored. However, as someone who has lived in the area for a while, I often find myself wanting to venture out beyond the Hollywood sign and LACMA. The following is a short list of some of the lesser-known gems I have come across while exploring L.A. These are some of my top “weird” things to do in L.A., but of course, there are many more!

Have a picnic in an abandoned zoo

Located in Griffith Park are the ruins of the old Los Angeles zoo, which closed in 1966 after the opening of the current one. The zoo is now a picnic area and hiking trail and contains old animals cages and exhibits. This is a unique place to see some of the LA views and walk around or have a picnic!

Address: 4801 Griffith Park Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Photo by Rosalind Chang on Unsplash

Explore the Bunny Museum

“The Hoppiest Place on Earth” is a little ways away, located in Altadena (which is right next to Pasadena). While this is a little further away from the USC area than the other places on this list, its novelty is well worth the drive. It contains the world’s largest collection of bunny-related items, such as bunny sculptures, stuffed animals, rose parade floats, and much more. They even have real bunnies that roam the museum!

Address: 2605 Lake Ave, Altadena, CA 91001

Shop at the Oddities Flea Market

This market is usually held at the Globe Theater in early October. It is for lovers of the macabre and contains vendors selling abnormal decor, jewelry, and much more. This is a great place to check out if you want to get some unusual accessories or buy a unique gift for a friend.

Address: 740 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Attend a free class at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute (HMI)

Founded in 1968, this college trains students to become licensed hypnotherapists. If you want to get a taste of what students learn there, you can attend one of their free classes. These classes are only two and a half hours long on a weekday evening. They offer several free classes each month. They are on unusual subjects, such as energy healing, dream therapy and self-hypnosis.

Address: 18607 Ventura Blvd Suite 310, Tarzana, CA 91356

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Visit the Museum of Death

This is the perfect place to visit in October to get into the Halloween spirit! That is, if you can handle its rather disturbing content. It is located right on Hollywood Boulevard and contains a collection of artifacts and art related to death. Among other items, it contains taxidermied animals, crime scene photographs, and letters written by serial killers. It isn’t a traditional museum experience, but it is definitely an interesting activity to fill your day!

Address: 6031 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028

I hope you enjoyed learning of some of these suggestions for new things to try in LA. While these activities may not be for everyone, there is always some attraction or place to visit in LA that will appeal to your interests!

Featured Image by kaleb tapp on Unsplash

Rachel is a recent USC graduate who studied Film and Television Production. In her free time, she enjoys public speaking, volunteering, and filmmaking, particularly documentary filmmaking. She was born and raised in Southern California, but enjoys traveling and has been all over North America and Europe. She spent her first semester of college in Paris and has been studying French for a number of years.

athletics, college, entertainment, exercise, New Experience, student life

More than a Pre-Med student: My Introduction to Ballroom Dancing

By Richard Petrosyan

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3 minute read]

As a current senior at USC, I am nearing the end of a busy collegiate career as a pre-medical student in neuroscience. As such, I am beginning to reflect on what I’ve done throughout college not only to achieve my academic and extracurricular goals, but also to enjoy the journey. Even though much of my time has been devoted to my studies and extracurricular interests aligning with my intent to follow the pre-med track, I remember one of my most valuable experiences that allowed me to take a break from my routine. Recently, I took a class in Ballroom Dancing with the USC Kaufman School of Dance, an unforgettable semester-long experience that will stay with me beyond college. You might be wondering why this was such an impactful experience for me, so let’s take a trip down memory lane and delve into why I enjoyed this class so much and why you might want to consider taking this course.

Photo by Dom Fou on Unsplash

When I came to my first ballroom class, I had absolutely no experience with dancing. Sure, I had danced at parties and at home before, but ballroom dancing? To me, this was movie material, with attractive Hollywood actors dressed like there’s no tomorrow, moving about with grace and elegance. So needless to say, the bar was high. But what made it more challenging was that boys and girls had to partner with each other. The prospect of close contact with one another made us all shy at first, as none of us knew each other and ballroom dancing was uncharted territory for us. Fortunately, we had a remarkably warm and welcoming teacher who put us at ease through his humor and many activities encouraging us to get to know each other. We’d gather in circles and would regularly switch partners so as to feel comfortable working with everyone. 

Teamwork was really important in this class. As we learned new dances, from the waltz to the tango, getting used to the moves demanded collaboration between students. The first step was to hear the teacher describe the moves, but it was easier to watch him perform them with the TA. It required a whole new level of understanding to repeat the moves on my own. Surprisingly, it felt particularly difficult to repeat my moves alone but easier to do it jointly with my partners. It was a bit like when math rules are easier to apply in calculations rather than to recite word for word. Mutual understanding between partners helped us make faster progress and, before we knew it, we were making each other spin, bend, dip, and jump at a head-spinning speed. Full choreographies were exhausting, but the endorphins and the mental satisfaction were worth it. As a group, upon attaining a certain level, we even acquired the taste of ballroom dancing so much that we’d organize to practice and have fun outside of class, which produced some memorable moments.

Photo by Preillumination SeTh on Unsplash
Continue reading More than a Pre-Med student: My Introduction to Ballroom Dancing →
college, Food, L.A. Life, New Experience

Hungry? Here are some of my favorite food spots around LA!

By Chelsea Pelchat

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3.5 minute read]

One of my favorite ways to explore a new city is by taking a deep dive on Yelp and trying out as many food places as my bank account allows for. From frequenting late-night taco stands to celebrating the end of midterms with Korean BBQ, exploring the LA food scene has been a major highlight of my college experience. Since the start of my time at USC, I’ve been avidly documenting my favorite dining experiences in a list on my phone’s Notes app. I wanted to share a few highlights from this list:  

Photo by The Creativv on Unsplash

Brunch/ Lunch:

  • Yeastie Boys Bagels: If you’re like me and you love grabbing a good old fashioned bagel for brunch, this place is for you. The bagel trucks are located on Sunset Blvd, Ventura Pl, and Melrose Pl between the hours of 8 A.M. and 2 P.M. I promise this one’s worth getting out of bed for. From what I’ve seen, the two most popular orders are the “Game Over” (consists of a cheddar bagel with scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, and jalapeno spread), and my personal favorite, the “Lox Deluxe” (consists of a sesame bagel with smoked salmon, tomato, red onion, capers, and a scallion spread). Be sure to check out their Twitter for updates on hours and location!
  • Joan’s on Third: Although a bit far from campus, this family-owned space has a short rib sandwich that is to DIE for! I had been hearing about Joan’s for months before I stopped by, and let me just say that it truly lived up to my expectations. During the pandemic, Joan’s had a great to-go order system set up with plenty of outdoor seating as well. Besides the short rib sandwich, other popular items from their menu include the Chinese chicken salad and BLT.
Photo by Arturo Rey on Unsplash
Continue reading Hungry? Here are some of my favorite food spots around LA! →