Wednesday, September 24, 2008
hi everyone, greetings from LA!! It is the afternoon of tuesday in LA now. 15 hours time difference from Singapore. It had been a hard time trying to recover from jetlag but I think i'm more or less jetlag-free.
LA is fun and nice. Sunny. Which is nice and bad. It can be a bit too sunny in the afternoons such that it becomes so warm and hot you think you are in Singapore but when you step into the shade it feels cool. quite strange.
I'm enjoying the sightseeing so far. I've been to downtown LA, Little Tokyo, Hollywood, the Walk of Fame, Kodak Theatre, the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Santa Monica and Venice beaches. It is quite an experience travelling around LA especially cos the public transportation system really is very bad. The bus and metro routes are not complimentary which means that you end up having to walk ALOT. And the frequency of the bus is very low. It is normal to wait for at least 20 min for the bus. Interestingly, there is a federal law forbidding passengers to communicate unnecessarily with the bus drivers and many drivers choose to interpret it as not being able to help us as to where to alight. One driver even said it is the passenger's responsibility to know where to alight. hello? like tourists will know where to alight. And the buses are in seriously bad condition. Rather surprising, given that you would think that being in the US and especially, LA, every thing ought to be glittery and nice. well, it isn't. The cracks in the roads are bad and many roads have so many small holes in them you would think there was a war just recently.
oh, and we saw Evangeline Lily from Lost at the Kodak Theatre with her friend. But we, being nice people, decided not to bother her and ask her for a photo.
UCLA campus is HUGE. And there's no shuttle bus service. So I have to walk super long distances to get from one place to another. I'm sure i'll get prettier and thinner legs after 3 mths:)
yesterday, I have to walk 20 blocks because one of my friends had to get bedding stuff like blanket and bedsheet. And there wasn't any store near UCLA that sold those. goodness, and those roads are just not meant for walking. I felt like I was climbing Mt Everest. haha.
And, apparently someone from the international office at UCLA thinks that Singapore is part of Hong Kong. seriously. we couldn't believe it.
Lessons start on thursday. Cannot wait to start studying. finally. it sounds crazy because everyone is busy with midterms now. but for me, i'm dying to start studying.
anyways, take care!! hope to talk everyone soon! I miss Singapore and everyone in Singapore, which includes everyone in the class, ALOT!
cheers,
kx
rmb to sign off! sang at 8:26 AM
