Well aloha, friends! Melissa here, writing to you from the opposite side of the country. It's been a whirlwind of a few days but I've finally gotten a few minutes to sit down and blog about the first few days in California. Boy, has it been interesting.
I've been here for orientation the past few days..today is the final day of Session 111, which is reserved for international and out-of-state students, which means that almost everyone here is unfamiliar with California. To be honest, around 50% of the students seem to be from China, Singapore, Korea, or Japan.
Translation?
Asians. Everywhere.
It's not a bad thing, of course. It's cool to meet so many people from such a variety of places. I've made friends from Russia, France, Singapore, China, New Zealand, Canada, and of course, places in the U.S. I guess our session is a great example of how diverse this school is....which makes me realize just how white Massachusetts (and the rest of New England, I guess) really is.
I mean, in my community, I knew basically all of the Asian families because there really weren't that many. I was the only Asian on my volleyball team, one of the only Asians in my friend groups....I guess it dawned on me when I got here that the place where I grew up was an extremely Caucasian-dominated place.
I feel like I'm in a bit of a weird situation...of course, on the outside, everyone can see that I'm clearly Asian. At the same time, I act and think so much more like the Americans here, not at all like the hundreds of international Asians. It's just weird, I guess. Sometimes I feel like you're automatically judged because of your appearance, but that's nothing new. I'll just have to get used to it.
Orientation so far has been pretty good! I arrived on the 13th for early arrival, and was picked up by my mom's friend and her husband. They live in Irvine, so it wasn't too long of a drive for them to come to LAX and bring me to UCLA.
After checking in at Rieber Hall and moving all of my luggage into my temporary room at Rieber Terrace, we had lunch and then they headed back to Irvine. I spent the next few hours exploring, meeting new people who were just arriving, and walking around with them.
I went into Westwood with a group of friends we roped into joining us, we watched the UCLA/Texas football game in one of the lounges (Although it was a stressful and nerve-wracking game, we came out on top!!), and then headed back to another lounge to congregate with the rest of the Early Arrival kids.
There were a ton of us in that room, and we played some ice breakers with the NSAs (New Student Advisers, who were current upperclassmen at UCLA) and figured out where everyone was from. Then they brought us into Westwood for the night, where everyone either pigged out on Diddy Riese or In-N-Out. Some of my friends and I got bubble tea at a coffee shop nearby, and then joined our other friends who were eating burgers. I am still an In-N-Out virgin, but that cherry will surely be popped soon. It's only a matter of time.
Over the past few days, we've done so so much walking. That's one thing UCLA will do for you: it'll tone and firm your calves, thighs, and butt, no question. Literally, there are hills everywhere, as well as lengthy sets of stairs on the Hill (the residential area of campus), so you're getting a good workout in just by walking from your room to class.
On the first actual day of orientation, we met our NSAs for the next 3 days. My NSA has been Ollie, who's been a lot of fun to hang out with. In our group of 8 students, I am the only American. Everyone else hails from India, China, Canada, Singapore, and Russia. Crazy!
We had a lot of speakers (funny ones, sleep-inducing ones, etc.) that day, welcoming us to orientation and the first year of college. In the afternoon, we explored some of the clubs on campus who'd gathered at dinner to give us more information about joining. I signed up for a bunch of interesting clubs, like Model UN, the Daily Bruin (student newspaper), Running Club, and even Ballroom Dance! We'll see which ones I end up sticking with....
That night, there was a cute show put on by the NSAs called Cabaret, which was essentially a collection of skits, songs, etc. There were a lot of jokes and insults directed towards our rival, USC, and a lot of parodies of well-known pop culture bits, like SNL and Frozen. They also had Club Jamba that night once the show was over, which was like a dance party. We danced for a bit, but it really wasn't all that great or fun, so we left and headed back to the dorms.
Since so much is crammed into every hour, each day has felt like 3 or 4 days. For me, orientation reminds me of summer camp because we get split up into little groups and we get to know each other and walk around carrying identical knapsacks and whatnot...which of course isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's been fun to experience everything with so many people.
The second day of orientation gave us a lot more free time and independence regarding choosing what we wanted to do with our time. There were a bunch of different workshops regarding your major, internships, research, living in America, etc. We had a lot more free time today to choose what we wanted to do.
We also had to meet with our NSA twice on this day in order to figure out our desired class schedule, and also to just get to know them better. I went into Westwood with a few friends that night, and had to sprint back to the Hill to meet with Ollie...let's just say there's a ton of walking every day.
The third day of orientation included a few "discussions" and presentations on social life in the morning. In other words, they educated us on alcohol, sex, rape, and other related topics. Sounds super fun, right?
We also went for an all-inclusive tour of the campus, laden with crazy stories about anything from pranks pulled on USC, to secret treasures in different buildings. There are tons of ridiculous, interesting facts and stories that I learned. It really makes me want to be a tour guide during the school year. I feel like that'd be a great job for me...but I'd also love to work at the gym or the Student Activities Center.
The tour finished up with us getting "bruin-tized"in the Inverted Fountain on campus. We all repeated the official oath and then dipped our hands in the water. Apparently, you can't touch the water again until you've finished senior year....and if you do, you have to spend an extra quarter at UCLA. I don't want that to happen, that's for sure.
It was a fun three days of orientation! I'll post soon about what I've been doing since then...it's just been a crazy few days! Can't believe I've been here for around 2 weeks...it feels like so so much longer! I love it here, though. Really, really happy so far!
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Heading West: LA Bound!!!
Welcome, friends! At this point, I'm still living at home and working at my internship everyday. Most adults seriously have begun to question my assertion that I am, in fact, going to college. In California. When? Soon.
Ohhh, quarter system. Whatever; I don't mind having a longer summer. AND, I leave on Saturday morning. Isn't that friggin' insane? One. Day. Left.
There were some points this week and last week when I started to get serious jitters. What craziness was going through my mind? Here's a collection of examples:
"Hooooly crap. UCLA is like, huge. The freshman class ALONE is 5,000? Competition is going to be insane! What was I thinking??"
"I'm gonna be a straight-up mess dragging my luggage from LAX to UCLA. A straight-up mess. I have, like, 3 huge suitcases!! It's gonna be awful. Why did I say I was going to do this all on my own??"
"The flight is 6 hours...think about it. You're literally flying to the opposite side of the country. Why didn't you just choose Brandeis?"
"Are people going to hate me because I'm from the East Coast?"
"All of the people on my plane are gonna be so pissed at me when I lug all my crap to my seat. Sorry, people. I have my entire life for the next few months in these bags....it's all legit, I swear. They're my essentials."
"Everyone in LA will be tan and perfect and gorgeous....and then there'll be me. Remind me again why I thought this was a good idea."
"Wait....I'm not gonna see Bella (my cat and the love of my life) for how long??"
Soooo yeah. I freaked out here and there, once or twice, about random things. However, I've gotten past that hump and am just psyched and beyond excited to go. I finished packing last night, and obliterated all of my fears and doubts as I crammed and finagled all of my crap into my suitcases. Getting everything in order for my departure made it all real, and I was just so excited when it finally sank in. This is real. I'm going to California and I'm going to college and I am so flipping excited!
It's not that I'm not nervous or scared about going anymore. I'm just focusing on the excitement and adventure and thrill of college that has always been by my side while I fret and wring my hands. It's so much better to focus on the positives, don't you think?
I trust that everything will be fine. I really do. Time to head to the glittering Los Angeles, folks.
Are you ready?
Ohhh, quarter system. Whatever; I don't mind having a longer summer. AND, I leave on Saturday morning. Isn't that friggin' insane? One. Day. Left.
There were some points this week and last week when I started to get serious jitters. What craziness was going through my mind? Here's a collection of examples:
"Hooooly crap. UCLA is like, huge. The freshman class ALONE is 5,000? Competition is going to be insane! What was I thinking??"
"I'm gonna be a straight-up mess dragging my luggage from LAX to UCLA. A straight-up mess. I have, like, 3 huge suitcases!! It's gonna be awful. Why did I say I was going to do this all on my own??"
"The flight is 6 hours...think about it. You're literally flying to the opposite side of the country. Why didn't you just choose Brandeis?"
"Are people going to hate me because I'm from the East Coast?"
"All of the people on my plane are gonna be so pissed at me when I lug all my crap to my seat. Sorry, people. I have my entire life for the next few months in these bags....it's all legit, I swear. They're my essentials."
"Everyone in LA will be tan and perfect and gorgeous....and then there'll be me. Remind me again why I thought this was a good idea."
"Wait....I'm not gonna see Bella (my cat and the love of my life) for how long??"
Soooo yeah. I freaked out here and there, once or twice, about random things. However, I've gotten past that hump and am just psyched and beyond excited to go. I finished packing last night, and obliterated all of my fears and doubts as I crammed and finagled all of my crap into my suitcases. Getting everything in order for my departure made it all real, and I was just so excited when it finally sank in. This is real. I'm going to California and I'm going to college and I am so flipping excited!
It's not that I'm not nervous or scared about going anymore. I'm just focusing on the excitement and adventure and thrill of college that has always been by my side while I fret and wring my hands. It's so much better to focus on the positives, don't you think?
I trust that everything will be fine. I really do. Time to head to the glittering Los Angeles, folks.
Are you ready?
Thoughts on Senior Year
I thought I'd take a moment to look back at the past year before moving on to college, which is rapidly approaching as we speak. It's kind of crazy to think about just how fast everything has flown by...
Exactly one year ago, I was taking on the most challenging year of my life. I had signed myself up for 6 AP classes, was playing on the varsity volleyball team every afternoon in the fall, was the Vice President of the National Honor Society, and was the President and Founder of my club for UNICEF. I still wanted to be involved in my volunteer work as a suicide prevention hotline operator, I had arranged to go on a trip to the Galapagos Islands in February, I was working on a mural for the history wing, and I wanted to continue to be available to spend time with friends.
On top of all this, the biggest task I faced was obviously applying to college. I was terrified that I wouldn't end up at a school that I liked, or that my parents liked (they naturally were super interested in my college process as well), and I also worried that I'd get rejected from all of my choices. The typical fears of a college applicant.
Reflecting back on everything one year later, this year was insanely important for shaping who I am as a person. I learned so much from all of my classes and mastered the art of balancing my workload and schedule so that I didn't want to collapse at any second from the stress and pressure.I grew to love (some of) my teachers and form even stronger connections with my friends. And of course, I have so many memories from that year, both good and bad, that I will always carry with me.
I'm so thankful for everyone who gave me tidbits of advice on college applications, or checked in on me while I was pushing through that year. I felt so much more prepared after talking to older friends and adults, and that makes a world of a difference when you are literally freaking out about college or high school or life.
One of the biggest pieces of advice that I'd give to current seniors is this: "Keep things in perspective." There were quite a number of times last year when I thought the world was just going to implode, or that the sky was about to come crashing down on me. I thought I wouldn't be able to live a decent life, that I'd have to give up my hopes and dreams for my future, and start working at a cubicle or at a fast food restaurant for the rest of my days.
The reality of it all is this: You're still going to be just fine. You live in a peaceful area with fresh air, you go to a great high school (despite what you think, you should appreciate what your school offers), and I promise you that everything will be just fine. If you're reading this, you have the luxury and privilege of owning a computer. Most likely, you're able to put clothes on your body every day, you're able to reach into the fridge and grab something to eat without having to worry about buying something else, and you have people in your life who love and support you.
Please just try and keep things in perspective. We're not in a country ravaged by war right now. We don't have a disease spreading throughout our communities. We aren't starving or being ruled over by an evil dictator....because there are people like you and me who are going through all of that. Is it really fair to complain about our petty little issues when others have so much catastrophe in their lives? I know they're first world problems, but we shouldn't magnify them so that they dominate our lives.
Appreciate your life. Appreciate the people in your life. Work hard. Listen to the advice that older friends/family give you. Do your best. It'll be okay.
And enjoy your Thursday! Just 2 more days until I leave! Things are starting to get REAAAL, people.
Exactly one year ago, I was taking on the most challenging year of my life. I had signed myself up for 6 AP classes, was playing on the varsity volleyball team every afternoon in the fall, was the Vice President of the National Honor Society, and was the President and Founder of my club for UNICEF. I still wanted to be involved in my volunteer work as a suicide prevention hotline operator, I had arranged to go on a trip to the Galapagos Islands in February, I was working on a mural for the history wing, and I wanted to continue to be available to spend time with friends.
On top of all this, the biggest task I faced was obviously applying to college. I was terrified that I wouldn't end up at a school that I liked, or that my parents liked (they naturally were super interested in my college process as well), and I also worried that I'd get rejected from all of my choices. The typical fears of a college applicant.
Reflecting back on everything one year later, this year was insanely important for shaping who I am as a person. I learned so much from all of my classes and mastered the art of balancing my workload and schedule so that I didn't want to collapse at any second from the stress and pressure.I grew to love (some of) my teachers and form even stronger connections with my friends. And of course, I have so many memories from that year, both good and bad, that I will always carry with me.
I'm so thankful for everyone who gave me tidbits of advice on college applications, or checked in on me while I was pushing through that year. I felt so much more prepared after talking to older friends and adults, and that makes a world of a difference when you are literally freaking out about college or high school or life.
One of the biggest pieces of advice that I'd give to current seniors is this: "Keep things in perspective." There were quite a number of times last year when I thought the world was just going to implode, or that the sky was about to come crashing down on me. I thought I wouldn't be able to live a decent life, that I'd have to give up my hopes and dreams for my future, and start working at a cubicle or at a fast food restaurant for the rest of my days.
The reality of it all is this: You're still going to be just fine. You live in a peaceful area with fresh air, you go to a great high school (despite what you think, you should appreciate what your school offers), and I promise you that everything will be just fine. If you're reading this, you have the luxury and privilege of owning a computer. Most likely, you're able to put clothes on your body every day, you're able to reach into the fridge and grab something to eat without having to worry about buying something else, and you have people in your life who love and support you.
Please just try and keep things in perspective. We're not in a country ravaged by war right now. We don't have a disease spreading throughout our communities. We aren't starving or being ruled over by an evil dictator....because there are people like you and me who are going through all of that. Is it really fair to complain about our petty little issues when others have so much catastrophe in their lives? I know they're first world problems, but we shouldn't magnify them so that they dominate our lives.
Appreciate your life. Appreciate the people in your life. Work hard. Listen to the advice that older friends/family give you. Do your best. It'll be okay.
And enjoy your Thursday! Just 2 more days until I leave! Things are starting to get REAAAL, people.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Short & Sweet: Weekend Trips in New England
Happy Thursday! It's almost Friday, which means it's almost the weekend! (And for me, it's essentially Friday, since I don't have to work tomorrow...much excitement. Such joy.)
Hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend :) It's weird to think that I've had such a very relaxing few days leading up to the long weekend this year, as well as after that short vacation period has gone by.
Usually, I'm already caught up in the flurry of school assignments, projects, and homework, so I lug along a pile of readings and packets to do on the car ride to the lake or something. However, this year, school has NOT started yet, which means I get to enjoy myself a little longer! You're not gonna find me complaining.
As exciting as it is to not have anything to worry about this Labor Day, it SUCKS to be the only one around town who hasn't left for college yet. I'm rather antsy to get going, actually. Seeing my friends making new friends in college, and having fun, and going out is really depressing when you're still at home, and that plane ticket won't be whisking you away to beautiful Los Angeles for another nine days...
But that's not what I wanted to talk about today. I've been traveling around New England a bit these past few months, and it's been quite lovely, so I wanted to do some reviews. Hopefully this helps you get an idea of these two places, or helps with your next trip to New England!
Cape Elizabeth, Maine
The prettiest lighthouse at Fort Williams Park
That's about it for my recaps! I know that was a lot, so I apologize...but if you take anything away from that post, it's that Cape Elizabeth, Maine is lovely and you should go visit, and Burlington, VT is also nice, but not as welcoming and ideal for a weekend getaway in my opinion. Both good places, though! Hope y'all had some great trips this Labor Day Weekend as well, or at least got to relax...
Talk to you soon!
Hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend :) It's weird to think that I've had such a very relaxing few days leading up to the long weekend this year, as well as after that short vacation period has gone by.
Usually, I'm already caught up in the flurry of school assignments, projects, and homework, so I lug along a pile of readings and packets to do on the car ride to the lake or something. However, this year, school has NOT started yet, which means I get to enjoy myself a little longer! You're not gonna find me complaining.
As exciting as it is to not have anything to worry about this Labor Day, it SUCKS to be the only one around town who hasn't left for college yet. I'm rather antsy to get going, actually. Seeing my friends making new friends in college, and having fun, and going out is really depressing when you're still at home, and that plane ticket won't be whisking you away to beautiful Los Angeles for another nine days...
Is it so bad that I want to leave already?
But that's not what I wanted to talk about today. I've been traveling around New England a bit these past few months, and it's been quite lovely, so I wanted to do some reviews. Hopefully this helps you get an idea of these two places, or helps with your next trip to New England!
Cape Elizabeth, Maine
The prettiest lighthouse at Fort Williams Park
We headed up to Maine for a wedding (Congratulations, Yan and Craig!) and ended up staying an extra day to just relax and have fun. It was also the first wedding that I'd ever been to, which is rather sad, so I was super excited for this trip. Originally, the plan was to head up on Friday night, spend the night in a hotel, and then have the morning and early afternoon to wander around Cape Elizabeth before the wedding started.
Instead, laziness and procrastination took over, and my parents decided to have a relaxing Friday night at home, sleep in, and then run (walk) out of the house for some errands in the morning around town. After a lot of yelling, last-minute packing, and quick changing of outfits, our Toyota Highlander was speeding out of our driveway....at 11:30 am. Oooops.
Word of advice: DO NOT do what we did and procrastinate. Leave as early as you can to beat the hordes of people going up to Maine or Vermont for the weekend. Trust me, traffic will absolutely kill your plans and leave them to die if you leave that late. Our car barely moved at 5 mph the whole time....worst traffic I've ever experienced.
We ended up spending over 3.5 hours in the car (without stopping for lunch, only to run to the bathroom in a ridiculous frenzy, wearing our dresses/suits) and still were late to the wedding, which was at 2:30 pm. How late? We could hear Pachelbel's Canon playing as we ran to the church from our car. Disgraced, we had to wait until the bride and her father had walked down the aisle until we could tiptoe in and steal a pew. It was pretty bad.
Anyways, after the wedding, we went to Peak's Island for the day, and that ended up being terrific. There are a handful of islands around that area, and we went to the closest one by ferry. There are bikes to rent, and also cars there, but the best mode of transportation is the golf cart. You can rent them right when you get off the ferry, and they're surprisingly reasonable in terms of price!
I got to drive most of the time, and took a recommended scenic route along the ocean that was absolutely fantastic. We had the water on one side, and all of these charming, adorable little oceanfront cottages on the other. It wasn't particularly crowded, so driving was a breeze. I was on Cloud Nine the whole day.
We stopped quite a few times to just walk around, take in the sights, and watch the sailboats. We all laughed as my dad grabbed fistfuls of seaweed and mussels, lamenting the waste of not cooking them for dinner. You can take the man out of China, but you can't take the China out of the man, folks.
I'm pretty surprised by the fact that Peak's Island only had one ice cream shop, but that was the sad truth. It was in this other shop, right near the ferry dock, and there was obviously a huge line. We waited for our ice cream, though, and I tried the Rocky Maine Shore (your choice of ice cream with chocolate rocks and blueberries) while Jason got the classic Mud and Dirt (Ice cream, gummy worms, and crushed Oreos).
Once we had gotten off the island and were back in Cape Elizabeth, we went to a local seafood place for lobster rolls. I love Maine; it has such beautiful scenery and landscapes, but also has the quaint feel of a bustling place with lots of tourists, visitors, and locals alike. At night, there are lots of people out and about, and I hope I can come back at some point when I'm older...it seems like a great place to go. In conclusion, I can understand why so many people want to go up there, but I refuse to sit through that traffic another time. We will leave early next time, mark my words.
Burlington, Vermont
This Labor Day weekend, my family decided to go on a solo trip to somewhere in New England. One of my dad's co-workers had recommended Burlington, VT because it was right near Lake Champlain, and that was apparently a great place to go. Thus, my dad employed me to do some research on that area and create an itinerary for us, because the Zhangs were headed to the riveting city of Burlington! Off to get a taste of Vermont!
(If you can't sense my sarcasm by now, I'm writing with a very sarcastic tone right now. Jason and I were pushing for Martha's Vineyard or the Cape, but it was decided that Lake Champlain was a must-see. Pssh.)
After looking through the Interweb to find something to do in Burlington, I was beyond shocked to find a wide, extensive list of once-in-a-lifetime attractions!
(Okay, I'll cut the sarcasm now. Apologies.)
I'll get straight to the point. We drove up on Saturday and went first to Church Street, essentially the "downtown" area of Burlington, with lots of shops and food carts and things to see. It was pretty nice there; there were street performers doing their thing, lots of outdoor restaurants and tourists walking around, etc.
I must say, though, that the neighborhood areas of Burlington are pretty run-down and shabby. We parked pretty far away from Church Street and it didn't look all too friendly or happy. But we'll forget about that for now.
Vermonters are a bit intimidating for me. I ran into a lot of them who were super hard-core "Vermont", in that they were sporting flannels, huge backpacks with a gazillion tools and gadgets, rumpled hair or many times even dreads, worn tank tops and frayed jeans, etc. There were also a ton of Canadians there, having driven down from Quebec. I actually noticed a ton of foreigners there, which is interesting because I didn't realize so many tourists came to Burlington. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I felt a bit out of place. But never mind that.
Church Street treated us well; we window-shopped around and got a bite to eat outside at an Italian restaurant (I ordered duck tacos, which were pretty decent).
The next stop was the lake itself. I had reserved tickets for a scenic cruise on Lake Champlain, which was pretty pricey ($16 per person) given that it was only an hour and a half and really wasn't all that exciting. We just went around the lake, listened to the history of the lake and it's geographic importance in different wars, and then came back. I think it was rather obligatory, though, to come to Burlington and do a scenic cruise on the lake. So, we went through with it. Neeeext!
After that, we checked into our hotel (which was also very "meh", but was surprisingly full for the weekend) and went out to get dinner. We ended up choosing "Joyce's Noodle House" (not a huge surprise, but my parents were in the mood for Chinese food...typical), which offered a great dining environment and wonderful service. The food was good too-- we ordered steamed pork buns, noodles with soup, veggies, and seafood, and eggplant.
At the end of the night, I convinced us all to go back to Church Street, because I wanted to check out the nightlife (pretty typical of me) and be where everyone else was. We walked around and found Crow's Book Shop, which had a nice collection of used and new books. Every member of the family purchased at least one thing; for me, it was a book entitled "After Dark" from one of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami. Can't wait to crack it open...I'm thinking about saving it for the plane ride to LA!
The next day, we hit up the lake again in the morning for a family bike ride (awwwww.), although it was drizzling and looking pretty damn dreary. Nevertheless, everybody hopped on their rented bikes, and we took off along the Burlington Bike Path. Our goal was to get to the Causeway around 10 miles away, where the path narrowed and became a small strip of land with the lake on both sides.
It was pleasant, biking along and seeing the small neighborhoods, as well as the ocean and beaches along the way. Finally, we pedaled until we literally could pedal no further (the causeway ends and you need to take a ferry to an island of your choice, if you wanted to keep going), and turned back.
Unfortunately, the wind was now against us, and we were literally biking in hell. There were no trees or any sort of barrier to reduce the brunt of the wind's force, so moving the bike forward was a brutal assault on your quads, that literally continued throughout the loooong causeway (it must've been at least 3 miles).
After we finished up our biking adventure, we walked up to "the Skinny Pancake", a place nearby that I'd heard lots of good things about. Their main thing is crepes (hence, the name) and there was a line out the door from the moment we saw it before we went biking to the time we left after we ate. Pretty impressive.
I personally loved the food and atmosphere here; everything was wooden or rustic-style, and they offered a huge menu that made me want to spend the next year here so I could try everything. No joke. We all ordered savory crepes, and added a side of poutine to share. I only know about poutine from my best friend who goes to school in Canada, and this was my first time trying it. My personal verdict? So good.
As far as I know, poutine is french fries, with gravy and cheese curds on top. However, it can be prepared in a variety of ways, and you can add whatever gooey, delicious, artery-clogging toppings you can think of, so long as it still tastes amazing. Example: there's apparently kim-chi poutine, of which I'm a tad cautious. French fries and kim-chi...unique, I suppose?
My crepe was called "the Sass-squash", and it had squash, brie cheese, apples, baby spinach, and more. All of our crepes were wonderful, and despite waiting a while to order our meal, we were verrrry satisfied. My only regret is that I did not get a chance to try any of the sweet crepes. Not to worry...I'll be back.
The afternoon was spent at the Ben & Jerry's factory nearby! There were tons of visitors (apparently, they get more visitors on rainy days then on sunny days...hmmm) and a gigantic line waiting for the ice cream windows there. We had around half an hour before our tour, so we stood in line for ice cream and made it about 2/5 of the way there before we had to go for our tour. Such disappointment.
Of course, my parents and I discussed the innovation and genius business strategies employed by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in order to create such a profitable company entirely surrounding ice cream. That's the trademark parenting style of my mom and dad: integrate worthwhile lessons about careers, life, and education into as much as possible. Even a trip to Ben & Jerry's can be valuable preparation for the business world, folks. That's how Mama and Papa Zhang roll.
The factory itself is really cool, and I recommend checking it out if you get a chance. At the end, there were samples of the Flavor of the Day (Milk and Cookies), which was a great conclusion to the tour.
Fun fact: In the United States, Half Baked is the most popular-selling flavor, but internationally, it's Cookie Dough. We opted for a pint of Half Baked instead of going back to the monstrous wait, and shared the ice cream between the four of us as the day wound down.
That night, we went to the Champlain Valley Fair, which was a huge exhibition of animals, rides, artwork, and much more. I have to say, I'm not the biggest fan of fairs....the food trucks offer rather slim pickings (nachos, wings, fried dough, corn dogs, fried Oreos, and just about anything else you can fry), and it's just rather messy and chaotic. Still, we had a pretty good time, and went home satisfied after a long day.
The third and final day was spent entirely at Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont. It's by far the coolest museum I've ever been to, because it's made up of a large number of buildings, so you walk from place to place, looking at a huge range of stuff. They have a carousel, a circus exhibit, and a full-sized steamboat that was used back in the day called the Ticonderoga. My parents (huge museum nerds) were in love with this place...they were very sad to bid it adieu when we reaaally had to get on the road, but vowed to come back someday to finish looking at everything.
Instead, laziness and procrastination took over, and my parents decided to have a relaxing Friday night at home, sleep in, and then run (walk) out of the house for some errands in the morning around town. After a lot of yelling, last-minute packing, and quick changing of outfits, our Toyota Highlander was speeding out of our driveway....at 11:30 am. Oooops.
Word of advice: DO NOT do what we did and procrastinate. Leave as early as you can to beat the hordes of people going up to Maine or Vermont for the weekend. Trust me, traffic will absolutely kill your plans and leave them to die if you leave that late. Our car barely moved at 5 mph the whole time....worst traffic I've ever experienced.
We ended up spending over 3.5 hours in the car (without stopping for lunch, only to run to the bathroom in a ridiculous frenzy, wearing our dresses/suits) and still were late to the wedding, which was at 2:30 pm. How late? We could hear Pachelbel's Canon playing as we ran to the church from our car. Disgraced, we had to wait until the bride and her father had walked down the aisle until we could tiptoe in and steal a pew. It was pretty bad.
The newly married couple in their first dance!
Jason and I get one name card for the two of us...sigh.
The cake in all its glory
Anyways, after the wedding, we went to Peak's Island for the day, and that ended up being terrific. There are a handful of islands around that area, and we went to the closest one by ferry. There are bikes to rent, and also cars there, but the best mode of transportation is the golf cart. You can rent them right when you get off the ferry, and they're surprisingly reasonable in terms of price!
I got to drive most of the time, and took a recommended scenic route along the ocean that was absolutely fantastic. We had the water on one side, and all of these charming, adorable little oceanfront cottages on the other. It wasn't particularly crowded, so driving was a breeze. I was on Cloud Nine the whole day.
Loving the golf cart life
We stopped quite a few times to just walk around, take in the sights, and watch the sailboats. We all laughed as my dad grabbed fistfuls of seaweed and mussels, lamenting the waste of not cooking them for dinner. You can take the man out of China, but you can't take the China out of the man, folks.
I'm pretty surprised by the fact that Peak's Island only had one ice cream shop, but that was the sad truth. It was in this other shop, right near the ferry dock, and there was obviously a huge line. We waited for our ice cream, though, and I tried the Rocky Maine Shore (your choice of ice cream with chocolate rocks and blueberries) while Jason got the classic Mud and Dirt (Ice cream, gummy worms, and crushed Oreos).
I have horrible focusing skills..sorry! You get the idea of what the ice cream looked like, though.
Once we had gotten off the island and were back in Cape Elizabeth, we went to a local seafood place for lobster rolls. I love Maine; it has such beautiful scenery and landscapes, but also has the quaint feel of a bustling place with lots of tourists, visitors, and locals alike. At night, there are lots of people out and about, and I hope I can come back at some point when I'm older...it seems like a great place to go. In conclusion, I can understand why so many people want to go up there, but I refuse to sit through that traffic another time. We will leave early next time, mark my words.
Burlington, Vermont
A shot of the lake
This Labor Day weekend, my family decided to go on a solo trip to somewhere in New England. One of my dad's co-workers had recommended Burlington, VT because it was right near Lake Champlain, and that was apparently a great place to go. Thus, my dad employed me to do some research on that area and create an itinerary for us, because the Zhangs were headed to the riveting city of Burlington! Off to get a taste of Vermont!
(If you can't sense my sarcasm by now, I'm writing with a very sarcastic tone right now. Jason and I were pushing for Martha's Vineyard or the Cape, but it was decided that Lake Champlain was a must-see. Pssh.)
After looking through the Interweb to find something to do in Burlington, I was beyond shocked to find a wide, extensive list of once-in-a-lifetime attractions!
(Okay, I'll cut the sarcasm now. Apologies.)
I'll get straight to the point. We drove up on Saturday and went first to Church Street, essentially the "downtown" area of Burlington, with lots of shops and food carts and things to see. It was pretty nice there; there were street performers doing their thing, lots of outdoor restaurants and tourists walking around, etc.
I must say, though, that the neighborhood areas of Burlington are pretty run-down and shabby. We parked pretty far away from Church Street and it didn't look all too friendly or happy. But we'll forget about that for now.
Vermonters are a bit intimidating for me. I ran into a lot of them who were super hard-core "Vermont", in that they were sporting flannels, huge backpacks with a gazillion tools and gadgets, rumpled hair or many times even dreads, worn tank tops and frayed jeans, etc. There were also a ton of Canadians there, having driven down from Quebec. I actually noticed a ton of foreigners there, which is interesting because I didn't realize so many tourists came to Burlington. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I felt a bit out of place. But never mind that.
Church Street treated us well; we window-shopped around and got a bite to eat outside at an Italian restaurant (I ordered duck tacos, which were pretty decent).
The next stop was the lake itself. I had reserved tickets for a scenic cruise on Lake Champlain, which was pretty pricey ($16 per person) given that it was only an hour and a half and really wasn't all that exciting. We just went around the lake, listened to the history of the lake and it's geographic importance in different wars, and then came back. I think it was rather obligatory, though, to come to Burlington and do a scenic cruise on the lake. So, we went through with it. Neeeext!
After that, we checked into our hotel (which was also very "meh", but was surprisingly full for the weekend) and went out to get dinner. We ended up choosing "Joyce's Noodle House" (not a huge surprise, but my parents were in the mood for Chinese food...typical), which offered a great dining environment and wonderful service. The food was good too-- we ordered steamed pork buns, noodles with soup, veggies, and seafood, and eggplant.
At the end of the night, I convinced us all to go back to Church Street, because I wanted to check out the nightlife (pretty typical of me) and be where everyone else was. We walked around and found Crow's Book Shop, which had a nice collection of used and new books. Every member of the family purchased at least one thing; for me, it was a book entitled "After Dark" from one of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami. Can't wait to crack it open...I'm thinking about saving it for the plane ride to LA!
The next day, we hit up the lake again in the morning for a family bike ride (awwwww.), although it was drizzling and looking pretty damn dreary. Nevertheless, everybody hopped on their rented bikes, and we took off along the Burlington Bike Path. Our goal was to get to the Causeway around 10 miles away, where the path narrowed and became a small strip of land with the lake on both sides.
It was pleasant, biking along and seeing the small neighborhoods, as well as the ocean and beaches along the way. Finally, we pedaled until we literally could pedal no further (the causeway ends and you need to take a ferry to an island of your choice, if you wanted to keep going), and turned back.
Unfortunately, the wind was now against us, and we were literally biking in hell. There were no trees or any sort of barrier to reduce the brunt of the wind's force, so moving the bike forward was a brutal assault on your quads, that literally continued throughout the loooong causeway (it must've been at least 3 miles).
After we finished up our biking adventure, we walked up to "the Skinny Pancake", a place nearby that I'd heard lots of good things about. Their main thing is crepes (hence, the name) and there was a line out the door from the moment we saw it before we went biking to the time we left after we ate. Pretty impressive.
I personally loved the food and atmosphere here; everything was wooden or rustic-style, and they offered a huge menu that made me want to spend the next year here so I could try everything. No joke. We all ordered savory crepes, and added a side of poutine to share. I only know about poutine from my best friend who goes to school in Canada, and this was my first time trying it. My personal verdict? So good.
How can THAT possibly taste bad?
As far as I know, poutine is french fries, with gravy and cheese curds on top. However, it can be prepared in a variety of ways, and you can add whatever gooey, delicious, artery-clogging toppings you can think of, so long as it still tastes amazing. Example: there's apparently kim-chi poutine, of which I'm a tad cautious. French fries and kim-chi...unique, I suppose?
My crepe was called "the Sass-squash", and it had squash, brie cheese, apples, baby spinach, and more. All of our crepes were wonderful, and despite waiting a while to order our meal, we were verrrry satisfied. My only regret is that I did not get a chance to try any of the sweet crepes. Not to worry...I'll be back.
The afternoon was spent at the Ben & Jerry's factory nearby! There were tons of visitors (apparently, they get more visitors on rainy days then on sunny days...hmmm) and a gigantic line waiting for the ice cream windows there. We had around half an hour before our tour, so we stood in line for ice cream and made it about 2/5 of the way there before we had to go for our tour. Such disappointment.
Ice cream madness
Of course, my parents and I discussed the innovation and genius business strategies employed by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in order to create such a profitable company entirely surrounding ice cream. That's the trademark parenting style of my mom and dad: integrate worthwhile lessons about careers, life, and education into as much as possible. Even a trip to Ben & Jerry's can be valuable preparation for the business world, folks. That's how Mama and Papa Zhang roll.
The factory itself is really cool, and I recommend checking it out if you get a chance. At the end, there were samples of the Flavor of the Day (Milk and Cookies), which was a great conclusion to the tour.
Fun fact: In the United States, Half Baked is the most popular-selling flavor, but internationally, it's Cookie Dough. We opted for a pint of Half Baked instead of going back to the monstrous wait, and shared the ice cream between the four of us as the day wound down.
The flavor graveyard...RIP, ice cream.
That night, we went to the Champlain Valley Fair, which was a huge exhibition of animals, rides, artwork, and much more. I have to say, I'm not the biggest fan of fairs....the food trucks offer rather slim pickings (nachos, wings, fried dough, corn dogs, fried Oreos, and just about anything else you can fry), and it's just rather messy and chaotic. Still, we had a pretty good time, and went home satisfied after a long day.
The third and final day was spent entirely at Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont. It's by far the coolest museum I've ever been to, because it's made up of a large number of buildings, so you walk from place to place, looking at a huge range of stuff. They have a carousel, a circus exhibit, and a full-sized steamboat that was used back in the day called the Ticonderoga. My parents (huge museum nerds) were in love with this place...they were very sad to bid it adieu when we reaaally had to get on the road, but vowed to come back someday to finish looking at everything.
A Monet in the impressionist exhibit
The vintage carousel!
Whoa...bears.
The Ticonderoga! Pretty sick, am I right?
That's about it for my recaps! I know that was a lot, so I apologize...but if you take anything away from that post, it's that Cape Elizabeth, Maine is lovely and you should go visit, and Burlington, VT is also nice, but not as welcoming and ideal for a weekend getaway in my opinion. Both good places, though! Hope y'all had some great trips this Labor Day Weekend as well, or at least got to relax...
Talk to you soon!
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