Before we begin,
Day 1 is here & Day 2 is here.
Now, let us begin!
After spending a couple of days living the American dream, it was time to head to the Golden State, California. I had heard so many stories about California from friends in just a couple months that I was excited to see those things in person and experience what it felt like to be in Cali. I must say, I wasn’t disappointed. We enjoyed the drive from Las Vegas to Fullerton & had to bid goodbye to our friends who accompanied us during this drive.
After arriving at Fullerton, the next few days were loosely planned as we had almost a week to explore and see many places. Don’t need to mention, being on a budget living the student life made us limit the number of place that we wanted to check out but there were a few exceptions which we ended up visiting and had a really great time.
Black Friday Sale
Before coming to the US, I had only heard about the thanksgiving celebrations and the Black Friday Sale that they have here. It was my first time to experience those things in person & it was a special one as I was in California for this. I was not sure what I would have done if I were in Connecticut during this time.
We chose to ride 30 minutes to get to a shopping complex and stood in line for a good hour until they open the mall doors. As soon as the doors were open, we were in different lines outside each shop. I found it strange that people stood in line, standing, just to spend money. But, as I was experiencing this for the first time, I had an open mind and went ahead with the flow to experience what the fuss was all about.
Turned out I liked the Black Friday feels. I didn’t mind standing in line for 1 hour and spend my parents’ hard earned money on stuff that I might not need in a couple years, but, I think, I wasn’t thinking at that time and went ahead with the flow. Slowly, I was morphing into a Black Friday shopper as the night progressed.
We shopped a lot and I was paying close attention to the weight of the purchase as I had to carry those back to Connecticut, which was a positive for me, as I ended up spending less than I originally thought. Win-Win situation for us.
There were many cultural changes that I was seeing and funnily I was observing my surrounding from the sidelines and noticing it changing drastically. I was loving the new life and that’s when I feel completely in love with Panda Express. It was during this trip that I got to know about this food chain, as I didn’t see any of its stores back in CT. I loved the concept, the food, and the fact that you didn’t have to wait for your food – one of the perks of living in the US. I didn’t keep track of how many times I ate at Panda Express, but loved every single bit of it, oops, I meant bite! 🤪
The Broad
If there was one place in California that I really needed to visit, it was this one! I had been fascinated by The Broad museum since early childhood and for one simple reason – their display of the GIANT CHAIRS. I don’t exactly remember when I saw those chairs for the first time (may be on a TV or on Facebook), but early on, developed a liking and urge to actually see those chairs in person. When I realized that with education and some hard work, I can get to the US, visiting the Broad museum was one of the things I had on my mind and this dream was slowly becoming a reality.
As the museum is in the heart of the city of Los Angeles, we had to leave early morning from Fullerton to get to LA and then head to the museum as our first stop of the LA exploration. There was a huge line outside the museum with more than an hour of wait, but, I didn’t mind waiting as I *really* wanted to check out this amazing museum. Anupama & I waited in the long line for our turn to get and the good thing was that the entry was free, and that’s why it was so crowded. We ended up reading while waiting and clicking so many pictures.
Upon entering inside the museum, I remember getting awed by my feelings. It was too much to cope up with and I was taking each moment individually. At last the moment arrived and I couldn’t believe that I was standing *literally* under those chairs. Those chairs and table are so huge that you get the idea *only* when you see them in person.
I remember posing in front of them for a long time and clicking so many pictures, unfortunately, I couldn’t find any to post here. It was an awesome feeling though, one that I can’t seem to get enough of.
The rest of the museum was a gentle reminder of the display pieces that I saw when I visited Goa, bringing fresh memories. I chuckled and were out of the museum just in time for the lunch.
USC Campus
After the Broad, it was time to meet a fellow SGGS Alumni, who was a student at USC at that time. USC had been a place which was so close yet so far for me. It was one of the universities that I really wanted to go for my masters, but due to cost of living, tuition fee, and long duration of their courses, opted out of this decision and chose UConn instead. Reflecting back after so many years, I must say I made the right choice. My life would have been better if I would have gone to USC, but I have come a long way post my time at UConn & am really grateful for all the connections that I made during my time there.
Anyway, it was nice to hang out and have some delicious food inside the campus itself. I think it was the first time I was having Indian food in California and I must say, it didn’t disappoint. I am not a big foodie, so it is very easy to appease me with some good food, not too fancy, just enough to fill my appetite. It was a nice hour and a half to hang out and talk before continuing our day of exploration.
Santa Monica
This was the last stop for the day. I was amazed with the spots that my friend had picked up. Going to Santa Monica beach at the end of the day was a perfect end to the lovely day that I could have imagined. I never knew that the piers in the US were so beautiful and well maintained. It was my first visit to the pier and was glad that it turned out like that. Santa Monica is one of the most famous hotspots in the state of California and I was glad that I got to see it in person. It had not only the good board walks, but an amazing sunset too. We reached just in time to witness the sunset and click a lot of pictures. There were many seagulls trying to steal the fishes caught by the local fishermen and getting away with 1-2 fishes, if they were lucky. There were countless teenagers rocking their skateboards and hoverboards, which was a new thing back then. I also saw so many people enjoying the cold water during this time of the year and tried staying away from the water, because I didn’t bring any change of clothes and we were like 30 miles away from Fullerton.
I remember watching in awe all the rides and different attractions that they had to offer and spent about an hour gazing at the seagulls and people enjoying their boats and jet skis. It was a perfect spot to end the day.
Once we were done with this spot, it was time to feed ourselves before heading back to Fullerton. It was around 10PM by the time we reached home and called it a day, which was full of all the amazing places LA had to offer.
CSUF
I spent the next few days at the Fullerton area, exploring different amenities at CSUF (California State University, Fullerton). My friend, Anupama, had to work a couple shifts at her university. As I was studying at UConn Hartford campus, which is a satellite campus of UConn, roughly 30 minutes away from its actual campus which is at Storrs, CT, which I had never been to before, so it was the first time I was checking out an actual campus of an US University.
When I visited CSUF for the first time, it was a grand feeling & I never knew we were missing out on so many things, not being part of the actual campus. But, I guess there are both pros & cons of being on a satellite campus. The biggest pro for me was that I was away from all the distractions that the actual campus has and could focus more on my studies. Well, I didn’t study that much, so not sure how I feel about it. During my many visits to CSUF, I checked out their football field, department buildings, and whatever they had to offer. I had a nice time checking out almost everything I could see in 2-3 days.
Back to Las Vegas
After enjoying more than a week in Las Vegas and Fullerton, it was time to head back to Hartford, CT. It was a hard feeling, especially after enjoying so many beautiful moments and checking out so many memorable spots. This was the first time visiting the west coast and I sure made so many memories during this trip. The most amazing one was my time at the Stratosphere. I will never forget those couple hours, facing my acrophobia and doing what I would not have done. Thinking about those rides at the Stratosphere brings smile to my face and elevates my mood.
So many things accomplished and so many memories made, I would love to return here and live those moments again!
Please check out the instagram gallery from these days!
What next?
stochasticity 
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