Sorry, but I've been very quiet again, partially because I haven't been doing anything exciting lately, partly because I'm feeling fairly anti-American and I don't want to come across racist.
Don't get me wrong, I've met some really nice Americans, but generally I've found them to be very hard to get to know properly and some even plain rude for no reason. In fact some of my new room mates are very rude - when I've cleaned up after them (even when it wasn't my turn on the rota) they have seen me do it and yet not even thought to thank me, yet they are quick enough to ask me to tidy up, etc. At times I feel like their mother.
Anyway I'm not here to slag off my room mates but comment on something I noticed when I decided to take advantage of the free HIV testing that was offered on campus today (for the record I don't have HIV, not that I thought it was at all likely, but better safe than sorry!). As I sat down to await my test results (which only took 20 mins) I looked around and was surprised to see that there were around 20 girls there, and yet only 4 men. Are men less sexually responsible? I tend to think that is the case, although having said that a friend of mine last year had one of the free Chlamydia tests offered on campus and proudly announced that he didn't have "knob rot!" when he found out his results. Generally it strikes me that men take less responsibility, leaving women the job of sorting out contraception, mainly because the failure will leave us in a much worse position than the men.
If I was writing an article for a newspaper I would come up with lots of statistics to support my thesis based on rather meager evidence, but I'm writing a blog dammit, so I can be as biased as I want!
On an entirely different note student politics here has really impressed me, the recent primaries (bloody stupid reason to have an election, get the party to choose the Presidential candidate, don't drag it on, especially when at the end of the day it makes little difference) led to lots of campaigning, varying from political protests to signs places everywhere around Isla Vista imploring people to vote for a particular candidate. Today there was even a big anti-war protest, which last year drew 1500 people and succeeded in shutting down the highway the leads straight to campus (yes thats right, highway 217 leads straight to campus!), quite what this did to stop teh war in Iraq I have no idea, but their hearts were in the right place. Unfortunately I had a class I really had to go to, so I couldn't make it, but I have seen the photos that show a large police presence and I've discovered that there were 3 arrests. Almost harks back to the 60s and 70s, which as my lecturers keep telling me, was the place to be.
Anyway, I've got to get back to actually doing some work (occasionally I'm forced to!), so I better go - but I'll leave you with these thoughts - be politically and sexually responsible! (God, I sound so dull, really must get out more.)
Showing posts with label Isla Vista. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isla Vista. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Halloween, night one.
It's Saturday morning and I'm writing this from the library, I am not, however, a swot, I'm just forced out of my apartment by Halloween. By pure chance I have ended up in one of the most famous party universities in the whole of the US and IV is particularly known for Halloween. Most normal people think that Halloween is a one day "holiday" (I hate that American term - if its a holiday then give us a day off!), however IV residents know better, why have a single day of drunken debauchery when you can have at least a week? And this year Halloween falls on a Wednesday and so instead of having just one weekend to party we get two (+ midweek of course).
Halloween in IV is so famous that people come from a long way around to experience it. My room mate has 4 guests who refuse to let me get a moments peace. From the moment they entered the apartment yesterday afternoon loud music went on which magnified my slight headache, they then proceeded to take over the main living area and my bedroom. I had no where to go and not enough time to go and do my homework anywhere else. To say I was pissed off is an understatement. Eventually I was able to escape to Oz's.
Halloween was certainly a big event. When Oz and I returned to my apartment to put our costumes on (he had completely failed to come up with a costume - thankfully there was a spare male costume lying around) I was astonished to see loads of people (around 15) squashed around the kitchen table playing some drinking game that involved hitting hands on the table and yelling. By the time I had got changed (evolutionary regression into a cave girl takes a while) a full blown party had started. Having only had a beer I felt far too sober for all this and gladly went to our fridge and a few jello shots that had been made earlier. I don't like my room mates friends at the best of times, particularly not when they are plastered and I am only mildly pissed. Her male friends tend to be stoner idiots with whom it is impossible to to have a conversation with on anything other that alcohol, drugs or sex. Her female friends tend to be high pitched, and most importantly, American. Thankfully my English next door neighbour was hosting her own Halloween party and I was only to grateful to escape next door, her friends were much easier to get on with.
Eventually Oz and I made our not entirely sober way down to where the party really happens, Del Playa Drive, affectionately known as DP. Its the road right next to the ocean and once we had made our way past the police barricades we got onto the floodlit road. All around us were women wearing very little (some were literally just wearing their underwear), there were people dressed as bongs, sailors, naked men (with fake penis), a variety of furry animals (wear a pair of knickers, a basque and a pair of said animal ears et voila - sexy mouse/cat/bunny/whatever), police men, guys dressed as gifts from God (a present with a label reading: To Women, from God), army girls and whatever other skimpy costume you can think of. I was fairly unimpressed by DP, it wasn't nearly as busy as I had been told it could be and there was no music playing.
Oz was getting really tired so we went back to my place and he almost begged to stay over to avoid the five minute walk to his place, but I kicked him out saying it wasn't fair for my room mate to have a strange man in the same room as her. Unfortunately my room mate didn't extend the same courtesy to me and I awoke at 4.30am to the sounds of her boyfriend snoring loudly. I was unable to get back to sleep and had to leave the room and sleep on the living room floor so I awoke fairly earlier and got out as soon as I could to avoid the American girls.
I haven't represented the true extent of IV Halloweens, I think that only a bit of history and some crime statistics will suffice. IV has held a damn good Halloween since at least the mid 1960s, but in the 70s there were riots and people burnt down a bank and the police actually shot and killed some students. That was how IV gained its Halloween notoriety and huge police presence (including police on horseback). This year there will somewhere in the region of 150-200 police officers on the street every night ready to arrest people for a raft of offences - Driving Under the Influence (they were doing spot checks for this one), Drug use, Public Intoxication (only if someone is acting v.drunk, they don't have enough cells for everyone who was intoxicated), Minor in Possession (Under 21 with alcohol), Sexual Offences (People have been raped, I was v.glad to be there with Oz) and possessing open containers of alcohol. This week our student paper has been full of advice about how to avoid getting arrested and dire warnings about the penalties (usually at least a years driving ban, which seeing as I can't drive doesn't bother me at all). Last years Halloween Weekend there were 290 citations, 291 arrests and 40 hospital visits. The police had set up at least one emergency medical tent complete with at least 5 stretchers. Its all a little bit scary. But I survived last night without getting arrested or injured. Hope I succeed tonight...
Halloween in IV is so famous that people come from a long way around to experience it. My room mate has 4 guests who refuse to let me get a moments peace. From the moment they entered the apartment yesterday afternoon loud music went on which magnified my slight headache, they then proceeded to take over the main living area and my bedroom. I had no where to go and not enough time to go and do my homework anywhere else. To say I was pissed off is an understatement. Eventually I was able to escape to Oz's.
Halloween was certainly a big event. When Oz and I returned to my apartment to put our costumes on (he had completely failed to come up with a costume - thankfully there was a spare male costume lying around) I was astonished to see loads of people (around 15) squashed around the kitchen table playing some drinking game that involved hitting hands on the table and yelling. By the time I had got changed (evolutionary regression into a cave girl takes a while) a full blown party had started. Having only had a beer I felt far too sober for all this and gladly went to our fridge and a few jello shots that had been made earlier. I don't like my room mates friends at the best of times, particularly not when they are plastered and I am only mildly pissed. Her male friends tend to be stoner idiots with whom it is impossible to to have a conversation with on anything other that alcohol, drugs or sex. Her female friends tend to be high pitched, and most importantly, American. Thankfully my English next door neighbour was hosting her own Halloween party and I was only to grateful to escape next door, her friends were much easier to get on with.
Eventually Oz and I made our not entirely sober way down to where the party really happens, Del Playa Drive, affectionately known as DP. Its the road right next to the ocean and once we had made our way past the police barricades we got onto the floodlit road. All around us were women wearing very little (some were literally just wearing their underwear), there were people dressed as bongs, sailors, naked men (with fake penis), a variety of furry animals (wear a pair of knickers, a basque and a pair of said animal ears et voila - sexy mouse/cat/bunny/whatever), police men, guys dressed as gifts from God (a present with a label reading: To Women, from God), army girls and whatever other skimpy costume you can think of. I was fairly unimpressed by DP, it wasn't nearly as busy as I had been told it could be and there was no music playing.
Oz was getting really tired so we went back to my place and he almost begged to stay over to avoid the five minute walk to his place, but I kicked him out saying it wasn't fair for my room mate to have a strange man in the same room as her. Unfortunately my room mate didn't extend the same courtesy to me and I awoke at 4.30am to the sounds of her boyfriend snoring loudly. I was unable to get back to sleep and had to leave the room and sleep on the living room floor so I awoke fairly earlier and got out as soon as I could to avoid the American girls.
I haven't represented the true extent of IV Halloweens, I think that only a bit of history and some crime statistics will suffice. IV has held a damn good Halloween since at least the mid 1960s, but in the 70s there were riots and people burnt down a bank and the police actually shot and killed some students. That was how IV gained its Halloween notoriety and huge police presence (including police on horseback). This year there will somewhere in the region of 150-200 police officers on the street every night ready to arrest people for a raft of offences - Driving Under the Influence (they were doing spot checks for this one), Drug use, Public Intoxication (only if someone is acting v.drunk, they don't have enough cells for everyone who was intoxicated), Minor in Possession (Under 21 with alcohol), Sexual Offences (People have been raped, I was v.glad to be there with Oz) and possessing open containers of alcohol. This week our student paper has been full of advice about how to avoid getting arrested and dire warnings about the penalties (usually at least a years driving ban, which seeing as I can't drive doesn't bother me at all). Last years Halloween Weekend there were 290 citations, 291 arrests and 40 hospital visits. The police had set up at least one emergency medical tent complete with at least 5 stretchers. Its all a little bit scary. But I survived last night without getting arrested or injured. Hope I succeed tonight...
Friday, October 12, 2007
The daily commute
Everyday thousands of students cycle into campus despite living a short walk away. They are everywhere getting in pedestrians and motorists ways. Campus has lots of cycling lanes but every time you have to cross them you take your own life into your hands, running across them every time there is a 2 second gap. The cyclists never stop unless they are pretty sure they are going to hit someone. I was just leaving campus the other day when Oz called me and the distraction caused me to almost get run over, all Oz heard was "shit!".
Until yesterday I hadn't braved joining in with the cyclists, I valued my life too much, but I was running late for classes that always started early and so didn't feel I had much choice. Damn it was scary and frustrating, no one cycles that quickly, they frequently have the phone jammed under their ears chatting away (some Americans rarely seem to be without a phone attached to them, they can talk for hours, I can manage 2 minutes at most). They also don't understand how to use roundabouts, there are v.few in the US, but the campus cycle routes have several, they don't realise that if you're going to turn off you need to be in the outside and this frequently results in collisions or halts.
Cyclists reign in Isla Vista (the area next to campus where most students live), they pay no attention to the rules of the road, never stop when there is a stop sign and never ever signal. I'm very glad not to be a driver as they have an unofficial speed limit of 20 mph otherwise they will kill the cyclists who zooms straight across the intersection without looking. I dread to think what happens when someone unused to IV drives around it.
Added to the problems of errant cyclists there are the pedestrians who walk in the middle of the road. This is partially due to the fact that the sidewalks either don't exist or randomly stop and start - it is just easier to walk in the middle of the road. There is a running joke that if you want to spot freshmen (first years) just see who is walking on the sidewalk.
At night everything becomes a lot more difficult, the roads aren't that well lit, cyclists don't use lights and cars have to crawl around. I get quite scared about cycling at night, but then I too don't have lights and stick to the cycling lanes whenever possible.
If I survive this year without being hit it will be impressive.
Until yesterday I hadn't braved joining in with the cyclists, I valued my life too much, but I was running late for classes that always started early and so didn't feel I had much choice. Damn it was scary and frustrating, no one cycles that quickly, they frequently have the phone jammed under their ears chatting away (some Americans rarely seem to be without a phone attached to them, they can talk for hours, I can manage 2 minutes at most). They also don't understand how to use roundabouts, there are v.few in the US, but the campus cycle routes have several, they don't realise that if you're going to turn off you need to be in the outside and this frequently results in collisions or halts.
Cyclists reign in Isla Vista (the area next to campus where most students live), they pay no attention to the rules of the road, never stop when there is a stop sign and never ever signal. I'm very glad not to be a driver as they have an unofficial speed limit of 20 mph otherwise they will kill the cyclists who zooms straight across the intersection without looking. I dread to think what happens when someone unused to IV drives around it.
Added to the problems of errant cyclists there are the pedestrians who walk in the middle of the road. This is partially due to the fact that the sidewalks either don't exist or randomly stop and start - it is just easier to walk in the middle of the road. There is a running joke that if you want to spot freshmen (first years) just see who is walking on the sidewalk.
At night everything becomes a lot more difficult, the roads aren't that well lit, cyclists don't use lights and cars have to crawl around. I get quite scared about cycling at night, but then I too don't have lights and stick to the cycling lanes whenever possible.
If I survive this year without being hit it will be impressive.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
America at last!
I have finally made it to the land of the free! After travelling for about 24 hours I finally arrived in Goleta, CA and found my apartment which from the outside looks like a motel. I managed to mess up my wi-fi access on the first night and have been without it for a few days, so I'm writing this on my third day here.
According to some of the bumpf I've been given I'm meant to be in phase one of cultural adjustment: Euphoria, "You are excited about the newness of your environment and initial discoveries of your host country." With me that lasted only a few hours before heading straight towards phase 2: "Culture shock - You begin to realize all of the cultural differences between home and your host country and you may not be happy with these differences. This is a common homesickness period." Whilst I'm not homesick I'm already fed up of not knowing what the hell is going on, I cannot trust myself at all. Most previous assumptions that I've used my whole life I now have to rethink, its all the tiny things that get me, like not hailing buses - in America if there is someone waiting at a bus stop then the bus stops, even if they don't want it. I have made a fool of myself about this and many other things. I'm only now realising what I've let myself in for.
Just before I left my next door neighbour told me that America isn't really that different from England, that I wouldn't encounter too many problems. Maybe that's true for tourists, but living here is entirely different. I have to ask help for everything. When I first went to Uni in England it took me a little while to adjust and I had to ask questions, but that was more a matter of geography, not basic things such as what something is called, or whether it is possible to buy jam. I know that soon enough I will know these things, they will seem automatic, but at the moment I feel that I'm on a steep learning curve and I'm going to have to work much harder than the average student just to keep up.
I actually really like the place I'm living in, its a suburb of Goleta called Isla Vista (or just IV) that is populated almost entirely by students, it is really relaxed and is full of underage drinking and illegal drug taking. It is so different from my home Uni. Its a short walk (or cycle - there are loads of bikes everywhere) from both the beach and campus and everyone is really nice. I got invited to a party that was being held in the flat below me and one of the guys just knocked on the door and invited me down. I went and had a few beers and met some new people, they weren't the kind of people i would usually hang out with but it was a good experience non the less. There is an English girl living next door to me and she's been really helpful, she brought me some tea bags earlier and we've had nice long chats (it was her boyfriend who fixed my wi-fi). I like the place, but I don't feel like I belong here yet, I can't relax properly, but when I do I know I'll love it.
This blog was meant to be light hearted, but at the moment I'm suffering from jet lag (my body wakes me up at about 6am) and fatigue brought on by thinking about everything. Hopefully when I reach phase 3 (surface adjustment) I'll be able to tell you about all the silly things I see, such as gas stations called Jiffy Lube and an English pub in Santa Barbara that has "No Wankers" written on the door, but at the moment I'm too tired and have to pack for going to San Fransisco tomorrow. I'm looking forward to just being a tourist and not having to try and buy things such as duvets (which I discovered are called comforters)or blue tac (tac), I think it will be much easier and more fun. I am now definitely able to see why foreign students often hang around together, its just easier. Hopefully I'll fight this urge and will come as close as possible to assimilation.
According to some of the bumpf I've been given I'm meant to be in phase one of cultural adjustment: Euphoria, "You are excited about the newness of your environment and initial discoveries of your host country." With me that lasted only a few hours before heading straight towards phase 2: "Culture shock - You begin to realize all of the cultural differences between home and your host country and you may not be happy with these differences. This is a common homesickness period." Whilst I'm not homesick I'm already fed up of not knowing what the hell is going on, I cannot trust myself at all. Most previous assumptions that I've used my whole life I now have to rethink, its all the tiny things that get me, like not hailing buses - in America if there is someone waiting at a bus stop then the bus stops, even if they don't want it. I have made a fool of myself about this and many other things. I'm only now realising what I've let myself in for.
Just before I left my next door neighbour told me that America isn't really that different from England, that I wouldn't encounter too many problems. Maybe that's true for tourists, but living here is entirely different. I have to ask help for everything. When I first went to Uni in England it took me a little while to adjust and I had to ask questions, but that was more a matter of geography, not basic things such as what something is called, or whether it is possible to buy jam. I know that soon enough I will know these things, they will seem automatic, but at the moment I feel that I'm on a steep learning curve and I'm going to have to work much harder than the average student just to keep up.
I actually really like the place I'm living in, its a suburb of Goleta called Isla Vista (or just IV) that is populated almost entirely by students, it is really relaxed and is full of underage drinking and illegal drug taking. It is so different from my home Uni. Its a short walk (or cycle - there are loads of bikes everywhere) from both the beach and campus and everyone is really nice. I got invited to a party that was being held in the flat below me and one of the guys just knocked on the door and invited me down. I went and had a few beers and met some new people, they weren't the kind of people i would usually hang out with but it was a good experience non the less. There is an English girl living next door to me and she's been really helpful, she brought me some tea bags earlier and we've had nice long chats (it was her boyfriend who fixed my wi-fi). I like the place, but I don't feel like I belong here yet, I can't relax properly, but when I do I know I'll love it.
This blog was meant to be light hearted, but at the moment I'm suffering from jet lag (my body wakes me up at about 6am) and fatigue brought on by thinking about everything. Hopefully when I reach phase 3 (surface adjustment) I'll be able to tell you about all the silly things I see, such as gas stations called Jiffy Lube and an English pub in Santa Barbara that has "No Wankers" written on the door, but at the moment I'm too tired and have to pack for going to San Fransisco tomorrow. I'm looking forward to just being a tourist and not having to try and buy things such as duvets (which I discovered are called comforters)or blue tac (tac), I think it will be much easier and more fun. I am now definitely able to see why foreign students often hang around together, its just easier. Hopefully I'll fight this urge and will come as close as possible to assimilation.
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