The author came from the University of Cape Town to study at UC Santa Barbara

UC students may also study at Cape Town.

Impressions of California
From South Africa to Southern California

by Anita Ballantyne, UC Santa Barbara / University of Cape Town, South Africa

Upon leaving South Africa for my adventure in the USA, I was incredibly excited. Nothing could ever have prepared me for the experience that lay ahead. I could not believe that what had once been a dream had now materialized into an experience so tangible. I am sure that underneath all my excitement there was a tiny trace of insecurity. For the first time in my life I would be in an unfamiliar environment in which I knew only two people from my home university. Having never been to the United States before I also had no idea what the American culture or way of life had in store for me.

Having spent hours surfing the UCSB website I thought I had a pretty good impression of what to expect and I found that being a little familiar with the literature on the academics, residences and services helped me a great deal. I arrived equipped with enough information that allowed for informed decision making and transition.

Social Aspects
Meeting new people started the moment I arrived. During the international orientation I was allocated a sharing room with another international student. By the end of our first night I had already met a dozen or so students from around the globe. The international orientation went on for three days and involved mostly informational presentations and talks on everything from health insurance to how to react to an earthquake! Most of the information was relevant to me but some was more geared towards those students embarking on a four year academic career at UCSB and some talks were for graduate students. The late afternoons were left free for us to walk around and acquaint ourselves with the beautiful campus and beaches. There were organized social events in the evenings at which we were able to mingle with both UCSB and international students. I found that it was great having some UCSB students there to chat to and find out all the ins and outs of the campus and how things work. This was when I learned things like how and where to purchase a bicycle, where to grab a good lunch and how to catch the bus downtown. This information was invaluable in gearing up for the start of term. It was also useful to receive a checklist of things to do before the start of term the following week, like how and where to open a bank account, a trip to the housing office to get our room allocations, how to register online for classes and how to get access to classes that were already full.

On the third day we met some UCSB students who were to become our ‘buddies’ or ‘mentors’ for the quarter. My buddy, Katherine, was a senior student who had spent her junior year on a study abroad program in Glasgow, Scotland. She was the best resource I could ever have asked for and she took me to buy a bicycle, linen and other necessities for the start of the quarter.

On the Saturday, a van arrived to ferry us to our residences for the quarter ahead. I was allocated a double room within an eight person suite at San Rafael, a mostly junior/senior, transfer and international residence. The weekend was spent meeting my suite mates and bunking our beds and unpacking. This was a real bonding time, getting to know the people I would be living with.

My suite mates were all Californian but of different cultural heritages - Asian, Irish, Chicano and Hispanic. I did not realize that California had such diverse people. Throughout the quarter I learned all about the different origins of the American people and celebrated Chinese, Jewish, Irish, American, Hispanic and Chicano festivals. My cultural capital expanded enormously.

Eating in the dining commons was an experience in itself. It was here that I was truly exposed to American culture and social behavior. I was amazed to see that complete strangers would just come and join you at the table and start chatting away very comfortably. I experienced the warmth and genuine hospitality of the Californian people. The dining and recreation experiences were definitely the medium through which I met most people and I continued to meet and make friends there throughout the quarter.

During ‘Welcome Week’ events were organized within and between residences just like at the University of Cape Town (UCT). I tried to go to as many as possible including beach frisbee and soccer games, bike tours through the student town of Isla Vista, trips downtown to Santa Barbara, ice-cream socials, pizza and video nights, a tour of the marine science laboratories, kayaking, stand-up comedy nights and campus tours. In one week I had met and made contacts with a few dozen people and had been exposed to the many aspects of American culture. What I experienced was all so exciting and new, I had so much energy! I tried to be as open to new experiences as possible and took part in almost every event I could attend.

As well as recognizing the academic opportunities open to me, I was also aware of all the other aspects of campus life available to me and so I made every effort to get involved in as much as possible without compromising my academic responsibilities. I joined the Ultimate Frisbee sports team, which allowed me to learn a game I had never played before and meet people while I was enjoying it. I also joined the hip-hop dance class with my roommate Valerie, which played an important role in developing our relationship while doing something together. I then decided that since I had been involved in leadership roles at UCT, it would be interesting to see what it would be like in an American University. My Residence Advisor had already informed me about the opportunities within the housing governance structure and encouraged me to apply for a position. I spoke to my Residence Director about me only being at UCSB for one quarter and she said I should still apply anyway. I decided to apply for the position of Programming Vice President for my residence. The application process was an experience in itself, involving making posters to advertise yourself and publicizing what experience you had, promoting yourself by chatting to people in the dining room and within your residence and submitting a formal application form complete with one’s details and proposal.

Continued...

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