Hi, nice to move in with you!

Isla Vista sunset

In late November, I applied for an in-person internship with an organization at UCSB called Your Children’s Trees. It involved planting native trees on the North Campus Open Space, and it would begin the second week of January. It was a last application in a line of applications to internships that either denied me or never responded. If I were accepted to this internship, it would mean I would need to be down in Santa Barbara as soon as the quarter started.

So, as one does, I got on Facebook and started looking at postings by people looking for someone to replace them on their lease in Isla Vista, the community next to the university campus. If an apartment fit all my criteria (under $750/month, covid-conscious housemates, clean-looking apartment), I would send them a message. One apartment in particular seemed very promising, so I had a videocall with them. The call went well, and so we decided to sign all the paperwork so I could move in at the beginning of January. It all went very quickly, and apart from a 30-minute videocall, I did not know these people at all.

After a good Christmas and New Years with my family, I packed a big suitcase, my camping backpack, a small backpack, and my new pressure cooker. Packing for somewhere unfamiliar is always hard, and this was especially difficult because what I packed was what I would have for the next 6 months. On January 3rd, 2021, I boarded a train at 6:50 in the morning in Davis. The Amtrak train carried me down the length of California as I read, slept, knitted, and watched the introductory lecture for my oceanography class. I arrived at the Santa Barbara station at 6:00 pm and took an Uber to my new apartment. I effectively showed up to an apartment with all my stuff and moved in with strangers.

My roommate is Chris. He’s a third-year biology major who watches lots of TV shows and mostly eats frozen Trader Joe’s food. We don’t really talk that much but simply pleasantly coexist. My other housemate is Karen. She works two jobs and isn’t home much, but is very friendly when I do see her. The other housemate is Moku, a white, medium-sized dog with heterochromia (one blue eye and one brown eye). Moku is the politest dog I’ve ever met; he’s very calm, almost never barks, and doesn’t chew things up (besides the occasional piece of bathroom trash).

When I first got here, I didn’t have a mattress or a bike. So, I got back on Facebook to see if I could find them. Although I found several mattresses, I was unable to get them because I didn’t have a car to pick them up. Finally, I found a woman who was willing to sell me an air mattress with a pump, and drop them off for me! I also got a used bike from a local bike shop. Originally, I wanted the cheapest bike I could find, because bike theft in Isla Vista is a big problem. As I was looking at the bikes, one of the guys working there looked at me and said, “You should try this bike here, it’ll fit you!” As soon as I got on it, I knew: This was the one. Although it was a little bit more expensive than I wanted, it was still a good price, and I love riding it. I’ve even ridden it to the Trader Joe’s that’s about 5 miles away and returned with ~60 pounds of groceries.

My bike!

I live about 3 blocks away from campus, and every afternoon I pack my computer, blanket, and a snack and go study on campus. Being outside clears my mind and helps me focus. The weather here is beautiful, ranging from low 60s during the day to 85 degrees one weekend! It has also rained here a few times now, but mostly does so during the night. Being on campus helps me feel like a real college student, an elusive feeling when all I’ve ever known is attending Zoom University from the couch. Although my classes are still exclusively online, I am really enjoying them this quarter. I am taking an Introduction to Oceanography class, an Environmental Studies Critical Thinking class, and a calculus class.

I also ended up being accepted to the internship! Every Saturday morning, I meet with a group of people on the North Campus Open Space and we plant native trees. The North Campus Open Space is a neat area because it used to be a golf course and is now being restored to a slough with wetland and upland habitats by the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration at UCSB. This involves removing the soil that was filled into the original slough and putting it nearby to create hills, removing non-native species, and replanting with native species.

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All in all, I am really enjoying living here, even if I don’t get to meet people much because of covid. My favorite feeling these days is the feeling of being alone but not lonely; doing activities by myself and being happy and fulfilled without interaction with other people.

Some pictures taken on outings!