Student Blog
Living in LA

We don’t want tricks; we just want treats! ⟩
November 13, 2019, by Japeth

International Living in LA

As someone from the other side of the world, I haven’t had a legit Halloween experience. So when my cohort asked if we were down for some trick or treating, we immediately said yes! Everyone was just so excited because it was something that’s new to most of us.

Last Halloween, we had two celebrations: the first one was during our Quantitative class and the second one was when we went to Pasadena to do trick or treats. Dr. Myka Persson organized a potluck lunch for the MA1 cohort. We brought our food to share to everyone and Dr. Myka baked Halloween pumpkin cookies using their own family recipe! It was really delicious . . . like I ate 4 of it. I love how our professors at USC Chan practice occupational balance.

Now this is the part that I always look forward when blogging – sharing with you all the pictures!

Until our next adventure, Fight On!

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Making Peace with my Commute ⟩
November 6, 2019, by Kevin

Housing and Transportation Life Hacks Living in LA

Growing up in a small town, the longest “commute” you have is around twenty minutes to go across town. Generally, people enjoyed driving and on Sunday I would go on a drive along the lake with my dad to relax and enjoy the open roads. Parking was plentiful and free. People used their car horns only for emergencies or to give friends a quick “hello” as they passed by. For much of my life, driving was a preferred occupation and something I looked forward to as part of my day. Soon after moving to Los Angeles, that all changed and driving quickly became one of my most stressful and unenjoyable occupations. My shortest commute is around twenty minutes, roads are rarely open, parking is sparse and expensive, and car horns are a little less friendly. What once was one of my most enjoyable thirty minute daily occupation was now my least enjoyable two hour daily inconvenience.

Quickly, I realized that I had taken on this pessimistic attitude toward driving and it was impacting me negatively. After coming to this realization, I chose to reframe my attitude toward my commute and find ways to make the time more enjoyable and relaxing. My first discovery on my quest to making my commute enjoyable was podcasts! Listening to podcasts and audiobooks brought back much of my enjoyment for the drive itself. Within a few weeks, I was hooked on several podcasts including Stuff You Should Know, Modern Love, and Ted Talks Daily. I now looked forward to a long drive because it gave me time to listen to a great story or learn something new.

Along with listening to podcasts, I made some other changes to my driving routine to create a more relaxing experience. First, I started using the app Waze to estimate my drive time for the next day and I would automatically add thirty minutes to all of my trips. This additional thirty minutes allowed me to relax when I encountered unexpected traffic, time to find parking, and take the slow lanes where I tend to find more friendly drivers. Next, I started walking or riding my longboard places that were close to my apartment and I found that I would usually get to my destination faster than if I had taken my car. Lastly, I began to pay more attention to the routes I took each day so I could take my eyes away from my phone’s GPS system. Knowing my daily route gave me the opportunity to relax because I was no longer concerned with missing a turn or getting lost. 

Making these changes has brought back my enjoyment of driving and reduced the stress in my life. Recently, I even started going on Sunday drives again down the coast and it feels just like when I would drive along the lake with my dad. Moving to a big city came with a lot of change, but I am happy to say that I have made peace with my commute.

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California Love ⟩
October 8, 2019, by Noelle

Getting Involved Living in LA

I have been based in Los Angeles for four years now and have lived in Southern California my whole life. Not a shabby place to be by any means but when I found out that we could go “out of area” for level II fieldwork, I jumped at the chance. Now the story of how I got to New York is a long one involving waiting tables, countless meetings with the fieldwork team, and a lot of persistence . . . but I’ll save that for another blog post.

I spent three glorious months in the city that never sleeps and as much as I missed the beach and predictable weather, I was not ready to come back home. In an attempt to ease the blow, I returned with a new resolution — to rekindle my love of Los Angeles. When I was in New York, I was determined to make the most of the limited time I had. I spent many happy hours on rooftops and patios, took side trips to museums, flea markets, parks, walked home from fieldwork on nice days just to take in the city. What’s stopping me from doing those things in LA?! Well, besides school, work, and traffic, NOTHING! But seriously, I have taken this city for granted and considering I don’t know how long I’ll be here after graduation, I thought I’d better start taking advantage of it.

So here are some things I’ve been doing to keep “New York Noelle” alive:

• The Graduate Student Government (GSG) hosts fun outings (with discounts!) like happy hours at trendy bars, local sporting events, and volunteer opportunities — all of which are great ways to explore the city and meet other grad students. I would recommend getting on their email list to get regular updates!


Me and my best friend at a Dodgers game in September. We got to sit in the section that had unlimited food so thanks GSG!

• There are also lots of social events that happen with other OT students. Student organizations like OTSC and PTE plan fun outings like happy hour hangouts and roller-skating.
• I’m on an informal trivia team with a group of math PhDs (I actually met them at a GSG event). University Park Campus has a weekly trivia at Tommy’s Place, but we also like to try different restaurants/bars too.
• To make studying a little more exciting, I’ve extended the radius of my study spots. I live at the OT House close to the main campus so the local coffee shops and libraries are convenient and lovely, but after 4 years, very familiar. I’ve found some hidden gems in Korea Town, Echo Park, Hollywood, Santa Monica etc. that make studying for adult rehab feel like an event!

So far this resolution has served me well. My wanderlust is satiated and I feel lucky to call Los Angeles home.

This week’s song rec: Who doesn’t love 2Pac’s “California Love”? But if you want to try something completely different check out Joni Mitchell’s “California”.

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Hike to Hollywood! ⟩
October 2, 2019, by Japeth

Living in LA

Hiking is one of the best ways to exercise while looking at a nice view of nature! However, hiking can also be a very tiring occupation since it demands a lot of effort as we move around. Hiking to the Hollywood sign is just one of the many touristy things that anyone can do while they’re visiting Los Angeles. Last September 21, my classmates and I did the Hollywood hike. It took us nearly 2 hours to get to the top! It was indeed a very exhausting hike since we had to endure the heat of the sun but on the positive side, we all enjoyed each other’s company. There were times when some of us would stop whenever we find a spot shaded by the trees and make it as a short break and take it as a time for some jokes and small talks.

Hiking to the Hollywood sign on that day was actually our friends’ idea! Since our friends from Saudi Arabia were celebrating Saudi National Day and they were celebrating it by hiking, they were kind enough to invite us to join them. When we reached the top, we had some time to take selfies and pictures of each other. And needless to say, the view from the top was beautiful! We spent another hour at the top sitting and enjoying some Arabic Coffee, bread, and dates all the way from Saudi Arabia.

Of course, who wouldn’t be amazed by the ever-beautiful LA sunset? Sunsets are always a good view to see after a long day. To me, it brings so much peace and calmness. Sunsets always remind me that after a long and tiring day, we can all take a break and rest, and shine again the next day.

Until next time, fight on!

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Dreams are our Reality ⟩
September 18, 2019, by Japeth

Diversity Getting Involved International Living in LA

As I previously mentioned, USC Chan really knows how to welcome each and every student. Everyone makes sure that students feel the warmth and excitement of the entire Chan Division. Another way of them welcoming the international students is the Annual Welcome party at the Program Director’s house! We are very lucky to be able to spend time together as a cohort, together with Dr. Sarah Bream, Dr. Daniel Park, Dr. Emily Ochi, and other OT students from the Global Initiatives.

It was kind enough of the faculty to prepare a bus ride, food (both meat and vegetarian!), desserts, and games! While Dr. Ochi was busy preparing the snacks and desserts and Dr. Park was also busy grilling the burger patties, the students from Global Initiatives made sure that we take time to get to know each other more and learn from everyone’s experiences. We played a game called “Two truths and a lie”. In this game, each of us needed to say two honest statements that pertain to ourselves and a lie that should really sound like an honest statement too! Here’s the catch: the more the lie sounds real, the more everyone gets confused, and of course the more the game gets exciting!

After the game, Dr. Park called us to go to the backyard to start eating! (I actually ate two vegetable patties and one meat patty, that’s how yummy they were!!) Now, I’m sure you are wondering how the title is connected to this content . . . hang on, were getting there! The highlight of this welcome bbq party, to me, was not just the yummy food or the games. It was the part where we had to write on a piece of paper, things about us and our dreams or wishes for this academic year. Most of us had a graduation wish among our three wishes. Of course, who doesn’t want to graduate, right? Almost all of us had the same wishes and it made us all feel even more connected with each other. Dr. Ochi and Dr. Park also shared their own work! All I can say is that both of them are genuine and caring occupational therapists that act not only as our mentors, but also our family away from home.

I am sure that after a year filled with fun and learning, our dreams will turn into our reality!

FIGHT ON!

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