Pre-departure:
My journey to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) began months before the actual departure, when I became interested in travelling abroad to gain some experience at an international university. At the end of my Honour’s year, I realised that I hadn’t taken full advantage of the wonderful opportunities that Stellenbosch University offers to its students, and I made a promise to myself that I would do everything I could to go overseas during my studies for my Master’s degree. When my Master’s supervisor and I met at the end of my Honour’s year, I was very explicit with him that it was important to me to use the opportunity to travel overseas during my Master’s degree. He was very supportive and I knew that I would be able to make this dream of mine become a reality.
Over the first few months of my Master’s degree, I sought out courses at overseas universities that fit nicely with my degree and my interests. I had decided that I only wanted to go for a summer school programme so that I didn’t have to spend 6 months away from my research, but so that I would still have the opportunity to fully experience what an overseas university has to offer. I looked through all of Stellenbosch University’s partner institutions and unfortunately found no programme that grabbed me. I was very interested in visiting the United States, given how different the US higher education is from ours. I ended up looking at countless courses at many fantastic universities, and eventually settled on UCLA. Now that my decision had been made, all the admin of preparing for the trip began!
UCLA is not a partner institution of Stellenbosch University, so I had to try and find a way to fund my trip through whatever means necessary. I applied to the PGIO for an independent travel bursary, and thankfully they awarded it to me. This helped cover the cost of my flight to get to the US. I had to find a way to cover the tuition and living costs through other means, and luckily I was able to do this. Knowing that the University and my supervisor were supporting me made things easier. The visa application process for the US was detailed and required a lot of preparation. I have to admit though, it was one of the easiest and most efficient visa application processes I have ever had to endure. Everything was done online, the instructions were very clear and easy to follow, and the process at the embassy itself was hassle-free.
The main thing that helped me before leaving for the US was to be as prepared as possible when it came to visa applications, applying for funding, searching carefully for the courses I wanted to do, and having all my documents ready and in order before I left. This made me feel at ease when it came time to pack my bags and ready myself for the exciting trip ahead. With passport and visa in hand, I was ready to go!
Experience at UCLA:
UCLA was incredible. I left the dreary Cape Town winter to arrive in Los Angeles on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon. The first thing that I noticed when I was in the shuttle on the way to the university was the notorious Los Angeles traffic. There was bumper-to-bumper traffic on a 10 lane highway, at 4pm on a Sunday! This came as quite a surprise, but gave me a nice opportunity to take in my first impression of the City of Angels.
My first few days at UCLA were a bit challenging, as I had to adapt quickly to a new university, to new people, to a new culture, and to a new home. I stayed in a fantastic apartment-block style setup with three roommates, all of who were from different parts of the US. This was great for me, as it gave me exposure of some sort to three different parts of the country, all in one place. For the first two or three days, I spent most of my time running around campus trying to sort out admin such as getting as student card, buying washing powder, figuring out how the dining system worked, finding my classes, and getting a feel for the campus. This felt very similar to my first few weeks as an undergrad at Stellenbosch University, although less daunting because I had done it before. However, after those first few stressful days, I quickly settled into a rhythm of life in Los Angeles.
Although UCLA is a public university, it is incredibly well-resourced and the facilities are incredible. There are three gyms, seven libraries, an observatory, an indoor basketball court, a 3D printing lab, and a film school, to name a few. One of the highlights of my experience at UCLA was the dining system. In true American style, there was an excess of everything. Each meal time, I would swipe my card to gain access to my designated dining hall, where there awaited multiple hot food stations, fresh pizza from the pizza oven, a salad bar, a cereal bar, soft-serve ice-cream on tap, and a whole array of desserts. Once you were in the dining hall, you could eat as much as you liked of whatever you liked! And I must commend UCLA on their dining options and dining philosophy – they made a big effort to ensure that the food that they offered was tasty, healthy, and nutritious. I was told by other students that only Californian universities had such nice food!
Being at UCLA on my own meant that I had to make an effort to seek people out and make friends. I met people from all over the world: China, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Puerto Rico, Kenya, and of course all over the USA. I found it to be an amazing experience to meet so many different people who had come to the same place from so many different origins. This was one thing that I experienced differently to my time at Stellenbosch, and feel very lucky to have met so many people from so many places in such a short space of time.
Overall, my time at UCLA was something that I am so grateful that I got to experience. I would encourage anyone else who is interested in studying abroad to pursue that goal, whether it be at UCLA or somewhere else. It was an experience that I will not forget, as it provided a breath of fresh air for my studies and a different perspective on higher education to what I have been used to at Stellenbosch University.
Return to Stellenbosch:
I returned to Stellenbosch after six wonderful weeks in California, refreshed from the break from my research and ready to get stuck back in to things. It was a bit of a whirlwind on arrival home. I had to get back into the mindset of being a postgraduate student, because in Los Angeles I had functioned very much as an undergrad – going to classes, writing assignments, studying for exams, and so on. I had to dive straight back into all the work that I had left behind, which I actually enjoyed, as it allowed me to resume my life back in South Africa without much difficulty. The only thing that was difficult was feeling like I wasn’t half on holiday anymore!
One of the main lessons that I brought back with me from UCLA was the importance of seizing opportunities while one has them. I never took the option to study abroad seriously while I was an undergraduate, and I regret that. Even though it was a lot of admin to organise and required a lot of thinking, decision-making and planning, it was absolutely worth it to go to UCLA for the Summer Sessions programme. I got to experience a new university and a new environment, and I met people that changed the way I thought about many issues. I could never have had those opportunities to grow myself and challenge my beliefs if I had stayed in Stellenbosch.
Finally, one of the most important things that I think I got from my experience at UCLA was perspective. People always talk about gaining perspective on one’s life through travelling, and I thoroughly believe that. Moreover, I think that one gains the greatest perspective through travelling alone. I did. I learnt how to manage stressful situations in an overseas environment, how to engage with people from different cultural backgrounds to myself, and how to truly be independent and cope on my own. Most of all, having breathing space from my life and its routines allowed me to understand where I was at and where I was going, both in terms of my studies and more personally. My experience overseas only encouraged me to want to travel abroad again. Perhaps that will mean another postgraduate degree at an overseas university, perhaps not. But I know that without this experience, I probably never even would have considered it.