Destination Berkeley II; Change
Change.
A seemingly innocent, harmless concept yet one with the ability to arouse such primal emotions of fear, anxiety, resentment and regret. Will it be worth the risk? What if I don’t like it, and then I’m stuck with it? Should I just take the chance? If not now, then when? Everything about California, everyone I’ve had to speak to, everywhere I’ve been going to, has been a massive change for me. That’s not to say I’ve been culture shocked, because truthfully that only happened when I was told none of my lectures were recorded. And that’s also not to say I don’t like the change, it’s just now my current life has altered, and so I too must adapt.
To kickstart my time at Cal (the usual shortening for UCB), I had the opportunity to attend two orientations – International (BIO, 19/8) and Golden Bear (GBO, 20-26). From getting sun-burnt repeatedly, to going to an outside (lit (in two senses)) silent disco, and playing Super Smash Bros with 3 gamers and ALMOST winning (special shout-out to my cousins for that) and attending a comedy show from an America’s Got Talent participant, orientation events were quite an interesting, eclectic mix. Whilst these events are largely non-compulsory, I attended just about everything I physically could manage (I say physically because GBO’s schedule is absolutely next level; full 10-12 hour sun-drenched days that extend until you can no longer spot your toes and time was barely cushioned with breaks). Of the two, BIO was less memorable but defined by me winning a free mobile phone from a raffle (I couldn’t believe my luck either) and by local students encouraging international students to get free textbooks via a Russian website. Setting a precedent for the rest of the week (ie, of EXHAUSTION) the first day of GBO included all transfers (juniors only ie students in their third year of a four year degree) and freshman (first years) being made to stand like strands of spaghetti “ready to be thrown into the pot” for over an hour in the bristling heat (1) waiting for this photo to finally be taken.
Another one of my highlights of orientation week was the Company Visit. Having missed the official due date of preferences and so feeling a bothering ache because I couldn’t visit LinkedIn (can you imagine?!), I scrolled through the sparse remaining choices and picked Woods Bagot mainly due to my persistent interest in design & architecture and their Melbourne presence. In hindsight, I regret nothing. I absolutely loved it all and found myself constantly marvelling the view of San Francisco from their office, their office set-up, how they conduct their work and especially the innovative projects we were shown (from trying to solve the issue of LA’s parking, to seeing them construct their own chair for a competition).
Woods Bagot. An Enquiring Minds Partner in Melbourne.
1). I’m positive the weather in the bay area is the nicest during late August until early October, with consistently warm days (yet, notably quite cool nights). Strange enough, air conditioners are rare in the bay area (definitely cultural), even in school libraries, so on days where it’s been 35-37 degrees (at least ~5 days by now) it’s been downright unbearable.
This is the second in a series of articles. You can find the first article here.
(Next post; Orientation ends, disorientation begins.)