Student Blog
Penny the Kitten ⟩
January 25, 2012, by Alix
Last week we adopted a new kitten! Her name is Penny. She’s extremely adorable. She’s also completely fearless, which makes her the opposite of our other cat, Jimmy. (He is afraid of anything bigger than a bottle cap and/or anything that moves.) We read a lot of horror stories about two cats living in the same household and hating each other, so we were nervous about how Penny and Jimmy would get along. But I am happy to report that they are best friends already. They follow each other around all day long and play hide-and-seek. The only problem happens when Penny tries to play with Jimmy’s favorite toy, a fuzzy plush tick (yes, a tick), which he would protect with his life. Here’s a picture of Penny in her favorite little house. Welcome to the family, Penny.
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Back to reality ⟩
January 24, 2012, by Chris
Well, week three of my last semester at USC has begun and it hasn’t quite hit me yet. In less than 6 months I’ll be starting my first level II fieldwork in San Diego. My break was fantastic, aside from the actual winter weather that I did not miss. I had plenty of free time to play basketball with some friends I hadn’t seen in a while and just hang out with my dogs. For Christmas, my girlfriend gave me tickets to the Army All American Bowl game in San Antonio, Texas. It was my first time visiting Texas, but it’s a really cool city.
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Year of the Dragon! ⟩
January 23, 2012, by Floyd
Today is the first day of Chinese New Year 2012 and the corresponding zodiac animal is the Dragon, the Water Dragon specifically. Unlike western culture where we celebrate the New Year on January 1st with the dropping of the ball in Times Square, we celebrate the New Year depending of the lunar calendar.
My understanding of the folktale of the zodiac animals came from my grandmother’s stories she told me when I was little. Thousands of years ago, the Buddha decided to designate animals to the lunar calendar to help the farmers know when the best times to plant and harvest crops. He devised a huge race and invited all the animals throughout the land. The first 12 to cross the finish line would be given spot on the zodiac in the order of crossing. During the middle of the race, there was a long river which many of the animals could not cross, so they had to take time in traveling around the riverbed. Rat and Cat were best friends and decided to venture the race together. The cunning and devious Rat knew that Ox could ferry across the river with ease, so he asked Ox to help ferry Cat and him across the river in exchange for his clear sight and the cat’s sense of direction. Ox had poor vision, so he gladly obliged to ferry them across the river. In the middle of the river, Rat thought to himself that he wanted first place, but worried that Cat would be faster than him. So, being devious and knowing that Cat hated water, Rat pushed Cat into the river while Ox was oblivious due to his poor sight. When they reached land, Rat jumped off Ox and was the first to cross the finish line, following by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and finally, the Pig. When Cat finally reached the finish line, Buddha sadly told him that all the spots were taken already and that he would not be able to be part of the zodiac. Cat was furious and swore revenge on Rat, which is why cats are always out for the hunt for rats nowadays.
Happy Chinese New Year!
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Living in Downtown LA ⟩
January 19, 2012, by Chelsea
Housing and Transportation Living in LA
This year I decided not to live in USC housing and rather live in Downtown, Los Angeles. Although it isn’t as convenient as living on or right off campus, it only takes me 10 minutes to get to either campus and I couldn’t be happier in my apartment! One of the perks of living in Downtown is having so many great food places that I can walk to or that are a quick cab ride away. Some of my favorite restaurants are Bottega Louie, Mignon, and Pattern Bar. At Bottega Louie you can count on everything being delicious. It is Italian-American Cuisine so they have everything from pizza and pasta to burgers and filet mignon. Mignon is a small wine and cheese bar. They also have delicious smoked fish and croquette monsieur. Pattern Bar is in the fashion district, hence the name “Pattern” Bar. I recently tried it for the first time and it has become my favorite location in downtown for tapas, drinks, and ambiance. My favorite dish so far is the Cachapa, which is the owner’s grandmother’s recipe. I would describe it as a sweet corn crepe with Venezuelan cheese in the middle, drizzled with agave nectar, and topped with a sliced strawberry.
Another thing I like about living in downtown is the Peace Yoga studio I go to. Peace Yoga is not just a studio for yoga, it doubles as a raw foods café. In fact, the reason I went to Pattern Bar in the first place was because I met the friendly owner at the Peace Yoga café after class one day and discovered that Pattern bar was right next store. At the Peace Yoga café, Sherri makes the most incredible raw shakes and meals. She gets her ingredients from all around the world: Himalayan rock salt, Madagascar vanilla bean, spices from Bali, etc. Her fresh fruits and vegetables she gets from all the different farmers markets around LA. I love her cacao, coconut and cashew shakes, her raw mango sorbet with strawberry drizzled on top, her flavorful savory sauces for salads or “pasta”, and sometimes I’ll just ask her for a fresh cold coconut to sip on!
I love all of the cultural experiences Downtown LA has to offer such as the monthly Art Walk where hundreds of people walk the streets of downtown and wander into tons of art galleries or stores converted into art galleries that are open late into the night. I love the view from the rooftop area of my building. I love living conviniently close to the 110 freeway. I love the people who live with me and near me. All in all, I guess there aren’t many things I don’t love about living in Downtown!
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I Got a Car!!! ⟩
January 18, 2012, by Kimberly
Housing and Transportation Living in LA
Yep, it’s true. And here it is. Little ‘98 Honda Accord. I finally succummed to the pressure of LA and to my class schedule this semester and had to get one. I mean it is possible to use public transit in LA as I have managed for almost 2 years now but there are some places that are a little harder to get to. I will still probably use public transit for close commutes, but for those far-away, spur-of-the-moment happenings, it will be a great asset. So I’m very excited! (And I know that my friends are too, the ones that have been giving me rides . . . thanks guys!) Actually some of them still ask me if I need a lift occasionally. But now I can pick them up instead. So new year, new mode of transit. I’ll keep you posted on all my adventures. Happy Driving!
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