Lazy Summer Days
global  

Lazy Summer Days

At the end of last week I was exhausted from ten hour work days, working on weekends, and standing outside all day at amusement parks! So, I decided to take it easy this past weekend, opting out of going to yet another amusement park with my roommate (this time, she and some friends from Lloyd house went to Disneyland). After sleeping in on Saturday, I instead went with some friends to dim sum. What is dim sum you might ask? To put it loosely, it’s like Chinese-styled brunch. Most Chinese restaurants start serving dim sum in the late morning (around 10 to 11 am) until the early afternoon (around 2 to 3 pm), although some restaurants will serve dim sum for the whole day.

A defining characteristic of dim sum is that all the food is usually pushed around in these carts. The servers wheel around the carts to the different tables, shouting out what kind of food it contains, and the diners can then pick out the dishes they want from each cart. Each dish is usually fairly cheap, between $1-$3, though it varies from restaurant to restaurant.

I was actually too busy eating to take any pictures of the food, so here’s one from Google. As you can see, each dish contains about three to four servings so it’s always best to go in a large group if you want to eat an assortment of dishes. Another nice thing about dim sum is that between the time it takes to get all the food and eat it, there’s always plenty of time to catch up with friends. At only $6-$8 per person, dim sum is a great way to get a cheap, satisfying (and very delicious) meal (or two) while spending time with friends…great for the busy Caltech student! Skipping ahead to Sunday now…

This time opting out of going shopping with my friends in Old Pasadena (after all I did plenty of that in Japan), I instead went around with a friend on a food tour of LA. And mind you, this wasn’t just any friend I went around with; it was a friend who had a car. Even though public transportation is much better than what I’m used to (coming from Texas), it still isn’t a very convenient way to get around the city, so it’s always nice to have a friend who has a car and is from the area.

Our first stop? Philippe’s! Known for being the self-proclaimed inventors of the french dipped sandwich, Philippe’s has been around LA since 1908. Even at a little past 1pm, the store was packed! But thankfully, the service was good and with six different lines going, we didn’t have to wait long to get our food. I had never eaten a french dipped sandwich until then but it definitely won’t be my last for certain!

Next stop, Diddy Riese in the Westwood area. With over 1500 review on Yelp!, my friend and I just had to come here, even if it was a long drive. When we got there, the line was extending out of the shop.. and for a good reason. Diddy Riese is famous for their…

Ice cream sandwiches! At only $1.50, you get to choose the two different cookies you want (I got cinnamon-sugar and chocolate white chocolate) and the type of ice cream (mine was cookies and cream and my friend’s was cookie dough) in between them.

Mm.. delicious!!

To end the day on a more peaceful note (and to burn off all the calories we just consumed), my friend and I headed back towards Caltech and decided to stroll through the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Garden located in Arcadia.

Being a botanical garden, they’re known for their beautiful flowers as you might expect. But, something else they’re famous for which you might not expect is their…

Peacocks! There was literally tons of them just roaming around the complex, both males and females and little peacock chicks. Apparently, they even “migrate” (or just roam) all the way to Caltech. My friend, an upperclassman, recounted how they had to herd all of the peacocks last year into a courtyard to be taken back to the arboretum.

And so, after this nice relaxing weekend, I began the work week energized and ready to purify more proteins. Till next time :)

Recommended Articles

Keeping in Touch with Friends from Home
global

Keeping in Touch with Friends from Home

Starting college can be a big transition. You’re moving to a new place, starting a new school and classes, and faced with making new friends in an unfamiliar environment. And, of course, there’s that whole “becoming an adult” thing. But, you’re also leaving a lot behind. Every new beginning means that an old chapter must come to an end. Leaving behind our friends at home may seem difficult, especially if they’re going to be a long distance away from you during the school year. Something I made sure to do was to spend a lot of time with them during the summer after high school. Of course, going to college doesn’t mean you’ll never see your friends again, or that you will no longer be friends with them. Good friendships will last if you put effort into them. It may seem hard initially. Coming into Caltech, it’s a sharp adjustment and many are caught up in the excitement of Orientation, Rotation, and starting classes. It may be hard to remember to check your phone frequently and to make time for phone calls and such. Rest assured that if you have other friends going to college, they’re probably going to go through similar things you will. In this transition period, it can feel like you’re going to immediately lose touch with people that mean a lot to you.

By
American Units of Measurement (As an International Student)
culture global

American Units of Measurement (As an International Student)

Let’s face it: the US loves being just a little different from everyone else. The obvious example? Units of measurement. As an international student from Canada, even I have no clue what’s going on half the time when my friends talk to me and use these weird nonsensical units. And I’ve literally lived on the border between Canada and the States for all my life. After a year here, I’ve finally got a sense of how the two systems of measurement compare and how you can more easily get your bearings with these weird units.

By
Abroad with the Scots
study abroad global

Abroad with the Scots

After a year spent in “soft-lockdown” at home in Atlanta, and as Caltech students prepared to finally return to campus, I was aboard an eight hour flight towards Edinburgh, Scotland. Since my junior year plans were interrupted by the virus who shall not be named, I’m spending my first term of senior year studying abroad through the Caltech - Edinburgh University International Exchange program. I’ve only been here just over a week yet have been exposed to so many new people, perspectives, foods, and classes.

By
Online School.. on Mars
global academics

Online School.. on Mars

When the announcement was first made that fall term was going to be online, I started talking to friends and looking for places to live. We were debating locations around the country: California, Florida, New York, etc.. there were plenty of options. Then it suddenly hit me, what is stopping us from going to Hawaii, covid numbers were better and a two week quarentine would ensure that numbers stayed down… I proposed this to my friend and we agreed it would be an amazing experience, but we didn’t want to get out hopes up. A month or so later we still haven’t decided where to live, Hawaii seemed too far and too difficult to plan. But we couldn’t get the idea out of our heads. We spent some time looking into plane tickets, places to stay, etc… and it actually didn’t seem so impossible after all. A couple weeks later and we were arriving here on the big island!

By