Hello everyone! Sorry for the long absence. I arrived at Los Angeles a few days ago and have been so busy with the move in and meeting
everyone. It has been so very exciting!
That's me on my first day at Anderson (The best business school ever!). The picture was taken by the lovely Nhung Phung who happens to be my roommate. Here is a picture of her on our first dinner together at L.A., at Gushi, which is right down the street in front of Weyburn. The teriyaki chicken there is delicious, if you are around the area you should definitely try it. Be warned food portions are huge, expect to only eat about half unless you are starving.
We rented a car and went to Santa Barbara to visit my aunt and go to the Camarillo Outlets where I went a little shopping crazy. Ok very crazy, it is very hard to resist sales! One of the nice things about Los Angeles is that whatever you forgot to bring you can easily buy here. A part on me was hoping the airport would lose one of my bags so I could have an excuse to buy more things. Shame they all arrived safely!
On the way back from Santa Barbara we stopped at the side of the road a bit to look at the beach. Isn't it beautiful? That's one of the many perks of living here, beautiful beaches and great weather!
I had the not very smart idea of requesting Weyburn Terrace (university apartments) to give us the apartment unfurnished. We did all the furniture and appliance shopping in one crazy day. Then it took me a day and a half and a few cuts and blisters to build it all. Not to mention our apartment is up hill and on the third floor at the end of the hallway so you can imagine how hard it was to carry everything there. I am very thankful that elevators exist! Take my advice and get the furnished apartment to save yourself the stress unless you are already bringing things with you. I even had to fix the car's trunk because we shoved so much furniture and things in there that some parts came loose.
A tip for everyone moving to their MBAs soon (or next year), If you don't have a car and are planning to rent one to shop, take the time to research where the stores are and who has the best prices. Car rentals and gas here can get very expensive so you don't want to lose time and money. Here is what my shopping plan looked like, courtesy of my boyfriend and his awesome shopping planning skills:
After I settled in my apartment I stared going out to meet everyone I could from our class and let me tell you guys that Anderson's class of 2014 is the best!!! They are so friendly, helpful, interesting, and fun to be with. I urge all of you thinking of applying to Anderson to reach out to any of them (me included) to talk. You will be convinced to apply in no time!
These are some of my new friends and classmates Anisha, Anosh, Ayushman, Daniel, and Alessandra. Daniel should change his name to something starting with an "A" to match the group hahaha.
I'm off to sundowners soon, Anderson's weekly get together, so I will see you guys in my next post. Go Bruins!!
-Alejandra Rodriguez '14
Follow UCLA Anderson at @UCLAMBA
