For the new life at Gainesville, all I could do from LA side was searching for an apartment and settling the transfer with school. I had them both taken care of without visiting Gainesville at all. After I finished all that, I really realized it is the information era now. With clicks on the browser I was able to visit tens of apartments without leaving my seat, and with e-mails and faxes I could get the paperwork done. All these are truely convenient, but together with the blessings, they also bring some side effects to our lives. More on this point later in the blog......
For the old life at Los Angeles, a lot had to be done to close this chapter properly. I had spent three years at Los Angeles and University of Southern California. Not really a long time, but it is not short either. I thought I did a bad job when I moved from Taipei City to LA, not leaving enough time to say goodbye properly to people and the city itself. I didn't want to repeat the same error again.
Now with retrospect, I think again I was lucky to start my aboard study at LA. Los Angeles, by many means, is the most easy-to-adjust-to city for Taiwanese, especially if you drive. I remember I once had a harsh comment for the new Taiwanese students: "If you still feel homesick here at LA, then there is perhaps no other place in US you can fare better. You should seriously consider about not staying in US after you graduate." That might be an over-statement, but I still think it is true to some extent. Other than the occasional emotional hardship that my families and good friends are not around, basically I can find everything I need in LA. Wanna go home and taste some Taiwanese food? Well that is just 30 minutes drive away! I couldn't really remember any single case that I missed home because I couldn't find something here for the entire three-year stay.
Also Los Angeles has a large community of Taiwanese people, both immigrants and international students. When I came to LA there were already a lot of people I know from earlier stages of my life here, so I didn't feel lonely from the first place. Plus, I met a lot of nice people here. They helped me in my study or in general life in many different ways. I thought I should probably say goodbye to each of them, as much as time allows.
So I tried to meet as many people as I can before the moving. That included my friends, faculites and staffs at school, labmates, etc. I felt sad sometimes when I told people I am leaving, but I also felt happy that I tried to make a proper departure. This is part of the transition which I chose to avoid last time. That was not a good thing.
Saying Goodbye to friends
Before I left LA for good, I wished to have one single reunion that involved most of my friends at the same time. Thanks to the help of Rachel, Eddie, Lious and James, we had a BBQ party at Dockweiler beach, which I always wanted to do but didn't have a chance in these years. That night was somewhat cold (I hope that no one caught a cold that night), but I had a good time. Although I had mentioned that day, I want to thank you all again for participating. It is very good to have all of you around in LA.
Some photos from the BBQ:
(I always like to have people standing casually and separately, as if they are not interested in the photo, when taking a picture with a large group. This makes the photo look interesting to me. I think I learned this technique form a poster of the movie, "City of Angles")
(We got a nice BBQ grill that day, but it was too windy at the beach to do the cooking properly most of the time. And unfortunately (or fortunately perhaps), it was to dark to tell if the food was cooked thoroughly.)
Saying Goodbye to USC
The study at USC was a very nice experience for me. The faculties and staffs I met are very helpful and nice. I tried to meet with most of them before I left, and I tried to walk around the campus and recalled many things happened within the years. I tried to handle this part as if I was graduating (and if fact, I left USC with an Engineer degree), so it was not really hard for me. Well, sooner or later I have to leave school.
Saying Goodbye to the city
As I mentioned LA is a very Taiwanese-friendly city. It is now like my second home. Before leaving for good, I wished to say goodbye to the city, too. It sounds a bit funny but it is the way I felt that time.
The way I chose is to visit the places I like the most during my stay at LA again, and to visit some new places I wanted to go but had no chance. I went to several favorite restaurants with friends, and the Angel Stadium for one more game of my favorite team, Anaheim Angels (I don't like calling it Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim). And finally, for the first time in three years, I went to the Staples Center for a WNBA game (NBA game tickets are really difficult to get, and it was not the season yet).
Here are some pictures of the Angels Stadium:
And a picture of the Staples Center:
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