When students put down their pencils, return their rented textbooks, and submit their final papers on December 14, they breathe a sigh of relief. It’s finally winter break – no more tests and no more work. For those staying around USC over winter break, the time off from school is the perfect opportunity to explore Los Angeles. While LA isn’t typically thought of as a “winter destination,” this is all the more reason to see all the city has to offer – areas that may be packed during peak tourism season in the summer are equally as great in the winter, but with less crowds. If you’re looking for some things to cross off your LA bucket list this winter, check out some of my favorite destinations below.
LA Live Ice Skating Rink
Ice skating is a great winter activity, perfect for an evening out with friends. The ice skating rinks at LA Live and Pershing Square are decorated enough to make you feel like it’s the dead of winter, but you never need to wear more than a coat to feel warm enough. LA Live is just a few minutes away by public transportation or Uber, and there’s plenty to do when you hang up your skates. Grab some friends, get some dinner and watch a movie after! Continue reading What to do in Los Angeles Over Winter Break→
Heavy torrential rain poured down on us as the children ran around their school playground, which consisted of three mangled tires placed sparingly across the uneven field. As they skidded down what had become a mud slide, they hauled us along, all the while screaming with glee. All of a sudden, a tiny girl came leaping towards me, enveloping me in a hug; Sam and I had become fast friends on our first day at the school. Gesturing for me to follow, she grabbed my hand, laughing as we ran into the gathering room to dry off. Around me, I saw my classmates engaged in the same process, playing with the children they had formed connections with, while cleaning themselves up. Laughter and friendship were in the muggy air. I had never laughed, or smiled as much in a place than I had during that trip, especially fitting seeing as we were in the ‘land of smiles’. Looking around, I was in disbelief that we were already halfway through our trip.
My heart was racing as I stepped off the plane and into the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. The exhaustion I felt from the twelve-hour flight melted away almost instantaneously. Having never lived on my own before, let alone in another country, I had no idea what the next five months had in store for me but I was excited to find out.
I crammed my massive suitcases into a taxi and did my best to pronounce the name of the street my apartment was on. After I arrived at my apartment I unpacked quickly and attempted to map out a way to get to my first class, which began the next day.
After about two hours of taking the wrong metro lines I managed to locate my classroom and ran inside. The professor gave a brief introduction to the course and began to explain our first assignment. We were to conduct a semester long ethnography on a Parisian café of our choosing. This meant we needed to choose a café and visit it at least 3 times a week for two hours at a time until the end of the semester, making detailed observations of everything and everyone while we were there. Initially, this assignment did not seem too intimidating to me; I mostly saw it as an excuse to drink copious amounts of coffee.
