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In this issue: Kayaking trip, Exploring Little Tokyo, Movie Sets of LA & more!
Citation preview
Collision
Colliding with others’ kayaks
happened quite often for starters.
When approaching too closely or
See Kayaking on p. 3
By SHANGYI CHENG
and PEIYANG SHI
Which marina is the most
beautiful and friendly in
Southern California? The
answer is the Alamitos Bay,
“the best kept secret between
Los Angeles and Orange
County”, where the sea water
is always pure and calm. On
July 12, Language Academy
Students went kayaking there
and had a great time.
Exploration
The Alamitos Bay con-
tains a quite huge area for the
students to go kayaking. Stu-
dents gained great sense of
achievement from exploring
the location of mysterious
“moon jellies” and the differ-
ent routes back to the starting
point. “I felt on top of the
world when I found some
jelly fish,” said Mike, one of
the Language Academy stu-
dents.
Orange County Fair Saturday, July 20, 2013 8:30AM-5:00PM, FREE The OC Fair shows the rural side of the county right in the city of Costa Mesa. There are livestock shows and competitions, pig races, vegetable and garden exhibits, and equestrian events. There are also home arts and crafts, circus acts, carnival rides and lots of fair food. This is a great American sum-mer past time! Make sure you bring cash and sunscreen.
Third Street Promenade Friday, July 26, 2013 1:30PM-6:00PM, FREE The Third Street Promenade is an upscale shopping, dining and entertainment com-plex in the downtown area of Santa Monica. You will find tourists and street performers from all over the world. Please bring cash if you plan on eating or shop-ping. Sign up today at 12:00pm in JEF Courtyard. This activity is FREE!
Students Go Kayaking in Alamitos Bay
I N S I D E
T H I S I S S U E :
Language
Labs
2/
3
Little Tokyo
In L. A.
4
Don’t Let Bed
Bugs Bite
5
Food Woes
Letter Home
6
Filming in
Los Angeles
7
Cyclists Bring
Hope
7
Pics of the
Week
8
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
The Academy News J U L Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 3 V O L U M E 5 6 , I S S U E 3
Check out The Academy News online: www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Information” and then click on “The Academy News.”
Explore the diverse cul-tures of L.A. in Little To-kyo. See p. 4
Bed bugs can be a hidden danger. See p. 5
Language Academy students explored the bay in kayaks last Friday.
IELTS Preparation: Test Overview—In this lab, you’ll have the opportunity to learn tips and tricks on how to ace the IELTS test. This week we’ll discuss the overview of the test. Conversation Practice—Practice
speaking English by level with USC students. This is an interactive discussion in which you will participate in group discussions about several interesting topics. This is your opportunity to practice speaking and to ask questions.
Statement of Purpose
Workshop (Levels 4-6): Learn how to write an amazing SOP for graduate school. Grammar Q & A—Are
you confused by the rules of English grammar? Come to the Grammar Question and Answer lab for help with your grammar questions! GRE/GMAT
Preparation (Levels 4-6): Find out the best ways to succeed on the new exam
Tuesday, July 23rd
Time Location Description Facilitator
12:30-1:30pm
KAP 150
IELTS Prep Lab (Levels 2-5)
James Hutzell Faculty
12:30pm-1:30pm
THH 107
Statement of Purpose (Levels 4, 5 & 6) Limited to 1 time per week
Marisa Garcia-Crocker Faculty
12:30pm-1:30pm
VKC 204 Grammar Q & A (Levels 1, 2 & 3)
John Esposito Faculty
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1
Liza USC Student
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2
Belen USC Student
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 3 Lucy
USC Student
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard
Conversation Level 4 Demetri
USC Student
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard
Conversation Level 5 Jay
USC Student
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 6 Rachel
USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
KAP 150 GRE/GMAT Prep Lab (Levels 4, 5 & 6) Jeminah Jones
Faculty
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1
Lucy USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2 Blaire
USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 3 Demetri
USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard
Conversation Level 4 Rachel
USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard
Conversation Level 5 Liza
USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 6 Jay
USC Student
P A G E 2
MANDATORY STAY/GO MEETING ON THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2013
YOU MUST ATTEND ONE OF THESE MEETINGS ON THURSDAY. FEEL FREE TO SIGN UP FOR LANGUAGE LABS IF YOU WANT (AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT CONFLICT WITH THE MANDATORY MEETING THAT YOU NEED TO ATTEND).
Transfer to USC Grad School Meeting (12:30 PM-1:30 PM THH 301): Attend this meeting if you plan to start USC Grad School during the Fall Semes-ter. Attend this meeting even if you are taking Language Academy classes concurrently with your Graduate Classes during the Fall (Do not attend the Stay at Language Academy meeting). Stay at Language Academy Meeting (1:30 PM-2:00 PM THH 301): Attend this meeting if you plan to stay at Language Academy for the Fall 2013 Se-mester (or plan to take a vacation and return for Spring Semester 2014) Going to another school or leaving the United States Meeting (2:00 PM-3:00 PM THH 301): Attend this meeting if you are done studying in America or if you plan to transfer to a different school in the United States.
P A G E 3
Kayaking Continued from p. 1
colliding to each other, they had to say hi
and make small talks to ease the embar-
rassment. Isn’t it a great opportunity to
make new friends?
Collaboration
Except for single boats, twin boats were
also popular among students. Some felt
safer with another person sitting in the
same boat. However, it was challenging
for two newly met students who tried kay-
aking for their first time.
Xi Kang, a student from China, described
their first half journey as uncontrollable.
“Both of us rowed very hard in order to
keep the Kayak moving straight forward,
but it just didn’t listen to us.” Having com-
municated with each other, she and partner
tried several plans and managed to find the
right way to control the boat. In their sec-
ond half journey, the boat went smoothly
on the water just as they had hoped. She
said, “We felt like Olympic athletics! Not
only did we improve our collaboration, but
also our friendship. ”
Fight On, Trojans!
Though kayaking requires endurance and
perseverance, it turned out that everyone
from Language Academy passed the test.
Matt told us that having chosen an arduous
route, he almost gave up on the way back
to the beach. He kept saying to himself
“Fight on!” Finally, he managed to get to
the destination.
Thursday, June 25th
Time Location Description Facilitator
12:30-1:30pm
KAP 150 GRE Prep Lab (Levels 4, 5 & 6)
Peter Guekguezian Faculty
12:30pm-1:30pm
THH 107 Statement of Purpose (Levels 4, 5 & 6) Limited to 1 time per week
Marisa Garcia-Crocker Faculty
12:30pm-1:30pm
VKC 204 Grammar Q & A (Levels 4, 5 & 6)
John Esposito Faculty
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1
Liza USC Student
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2
Belen USC Student
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 3 Jay
USC Student
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard
Conversation Level 4 Demetri
USC Student
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard
Conversation Level 5 Blaire
USC Student
12:30pm-1:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 6 Rachel
USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1 Blaire
USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2 Belen
USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 3 Demetri
USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard
Conversation Level 4 Rachel
USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard
Conversation Level 5 Liza
USC Student
1:30pm-2:30pm
JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 6 Jay
USC Student
IELTS Preparation: Test Overview—In this lab, you’ll have the opportunity to learn tips and tricks on how to ace the IELTS test. This week we’ll discuss the overview of the test. Conversation Practice—Practice
speaking English by level with USC students. This is an interactive discussion in which you will participate in group discussions about several interesting topics. This is your opportunity to practice speaking and to ask questions.
Statement of Purpose
Workshop (Levels 4-6): Learn how to write an amazing SOP for graduate school. Grammar Q & A—Are
you confused by the rules of English grammar? Come to the Grammar Question and Answer lab for help with your grammar questions! GRE/GMAT
Preparation (Levels 4-6): Find out the best ways to succeed on the new exam
P A G E 4
By SCARLETT CHEN and YUAN FENG
Downtown Los Angeles has
several ethnic districts. Little To-kyo is one of them. It’s a great getaway place for Acad-emy students.
Little Tokyo, entitled Na-tional Historic Landmark District in 1995, is the biggest Japanese and Japanese-American commu-nity in Los Angeles. It inherits the essence of Japanese spirit.
It is also the hub for Japanese food. Sushi is a representative of Japanese food. Little Tokyo has many authentic Japa-nese restaurants that all serve sushi dishes.
Besides sushi, there are other choices too. Four Leaves Tea and Crepes and Ozero Tea & Desserts are two popular afternoon tea places on Yelp.com. They are different from American cafes. Instead of serving coffee, they are famous for their boba tea, or milk tea. This will help international students from Asia soothe home-sickness.
Other than that, Little Tokyo also has many Japanese baker-ies and supermarkets. One of Little Tokyo’s shopping areas is Japanese Village Plaza Mall. The building of Japanese Village Plaza is constructed in Japanese traditional style. It’s noticeable and easy to find.
The plaza includes around 40 stores from clothes boutiques and cosmetic stores, to gift shops, as
well as vari-ous restau-rants. Weller Court is an-other shop-ping center located at the west side of Japanese Village Plaza. Stu-dents also can enjoy shopping there in the department stores as well as boutiques along the street.
The biggest Japanese supermarket—Marrukai, is also located in the shopping center. In addition to shopping, students can also experience traditional Japanese culture in Little Tokyo by visiting the
Japanese temple in the Little Tokyo district. The Koyasan Bud-dhist Temple is located a few steps away on First Street.
The community holds festival celebrations every year. An upcoming activity is called Obon. It is a Japanese celebration in honor of its ances-tors. This will be a cultural experi-ence for Academy students. The festival will be held at Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple on July 24 and 25. There is no admission fee.
Heart of Japanese Culture in L.A. —Little Tokyo
HOW TO GET THERE
Take Metro Silver Line 910 towards silver Line-El Monte Sta Via Downtown on Har-bor -Transitway/ 37th Street. Get off at Spring/1st Street - City Hall. Then walk to Civic Center / Little Tokyo. Estimated travel time: 26 minutes
MORE INFORMATION Find information about the Obon Festival by accessing this website:twww.hhbt-laorg
REFERENCE
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles (n.d.).Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Tokyo,_Los_Angeles Festival (n.d.). Little Tokyo Community. Retrieved from http://www.littletokyola.org/
P A G E 5
By YATING ZHAO
Two new Language
Academy students were
forced to move to their
friend’s apartment
for accommodation on July 10
due to bed bug infestation.
“This is the first time that
I have seen bed bugs in my
lifetime!” one girl said.
They are both new Annen-
berg’s students and currently
studying at the Language
Academy.
A sign of bed bugs had
already been noticed on the
first day they moved to their
sublease apartment. They re-
ported to the manager who did
give the apartment some
chemical treatments, but the
bed bugs just wouldn’t go
away.
“We were sitting beside
the table and discussing some-
thing when my roommate
suddenly found out there was
a bed bug moving around and
finally crawling inside
the drawer. Then my room-
mate opened the table, and I
surprisingly saw a family of
bed bugs. I was so scared that
I started crying.”
The other girl said, “Bed
bug infestation may probably
result from inadequate sanita-
tion of last renters.” The two
girls finally found a new
apartment and finished their
fight against bed bugs.
Bed bug infestation is very
common here in America, es-
pecially in L.A. According to
Orkin, one of the nation’s
leading pest control compa-
nies, LA is actually number
three on the list of worst bed
bug cities 2012. What do USC
new students do to protect
themselves from bed bug in-
festation? You may find some
helpful tips here:
First, learn how to identify a
bed bug. Bed bugs are reddish
brown with a flat, oval body
that measures approximately
¼ of an inch (6.35 mm) long.
Bed bugs usually hide close to
the bed but can spread to other
areas of the room or home
over time.
Second, know how bed bugs are able to get into your
house or apartment. The
most common way in which
bed bugs enter your house or
apartment is that you go
somewhere else where bed
bugs are present and then ac-
cidently take them back with
you. So be aware of the place
that you go and stay.
Third, know how to keep yourself away from bed bugs.
As long as you have good
sanitation habits, such as
cleaning your rubbish more
frequently, carefully choose
the house or apartment that
you move to (try not to rent
hundred-year old house or
apartment) and double-check
the place you stay and go for
short trips or visits. Then you
can largely reduce that chance
of bed bug infestation.
I hope every Language Acad-
emy students has a happy and
healthy life here in USC.
Bed Bug Infestation Forces Students to Move at Midnight
Mandatory Housing Stay/Go Meeting
All Language Academy Students living at Troy East Apartments must attend the Housing Stay/
Go meeting on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 3:00pm in VKC 100. Thanks!
Bed bugs are found in places with poor
sanitation and sometimes campsite.
P A G E 6
By WEI WEI
and VIVIAN YU
Los Angeles
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Dear Mom and Dad,
It has been one month since I left
home. Now I am sitting in the Leavey
Library of USC and writing you about
my life in Los Angeles.
Schoolwork is not as easy as I used to
think. We are facing a more challenging
academic environment, which will cost
me some days to adjust to. And the fel-
low students are extraordinary and
knowledgeable. Talking with them makes
me feel that I still have a long way to go.
But I welcome challenges. They push me
to strive for excellence.
No worries about my daily life. Cook-
ing is no longer a problem for me. Maybe
because I am from a city of delicacy, I
was born with the talent of cooking. I am
a LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sus-
tainability) now, keeping workout almost
everyday and keeping early hours.
See, Los Angeles has changed me
indeed. And I have met awesome friends:
Alia and Candice. They help me a lot
with my annoying car-parking problem as
a new driver.
Last week, we went to a shopping area
called the Grove and had a great time
there. It was the first time that we ex-
plored the auto city by bus even though
sometimes we got lost. But I think that is
the most interesting part of studying
abroad. We tackle different kinds of
problems all by ourselves. Without your
help, we have to grow up.
I enjoy the new life here. But I do
miss you and everything I am so familiar
with in the city I have lived for twenty
years. Every time I feel hungry, I will
think of the homemade dishes Dad cooks.
Every time I put the coins into a washing
machine, it seems I can hear Mom says:
“Go to sleep, I will do that.” Every time I
look up to the blue sky of Los Angeles,
which sets off the mansions, the illusion
that I am home comes to my mind.
There are plentiful shortcuts, but I
have chosen the most difficult way to
realize my dream and better myself to be
the person I want to be. I will definitely
go through good times, hard times but
never bad times. The opportunity of be-
ing in USC and starting a brand new life
is one of the best things in my life even
though homesickness is painful. It is you
who give me this opportunity.
I will see you soon at Christmas.
Thanks for all you have done for me! I
embrace you with all my heart.
Vivian
By WANG JINGYI
As a Chinese, who
might have already eaten all of the elements on periodic table, I assume that I have an “iron body” and can digest every countries’ food perfectly well.
The reality, however, blows me heavily on the belly. During the last week, the food here up-set me so often that the restroom almost became
my alternative bedroom. Finally, I yielded and
decided to share my sug-gestion with the future newcomers: do not be hasty to try new food.
You might have deter-mined to adapt to Ameri-can lifestyle as soon as possible, but your body may say “no” at first.
Feeling lucky to get rid of the poor-quality Chinese milk, I excitedly bought a large bottle of low-fat milk at Ralphs (a local supermarket). But my life afterwards turned out to be “a glass of milk everyday kept my stomach hurting all the way.”
Knocked off by milk, I came back to traditional soy milk which I used to drink everyday in China and later got my strength back.
Choosing the food your body is familiar with is always a wise strategy when you move to a new country. As for that tasty new food, why not take some time till your body says “Yes, I’m ready”?
Do Not Be Hasty to Try New Food
A Letter Home
P A G E 7
Silvia
By YUMENG (VALERIA) WEI
Walking around Los Angeles, have you ever had a feeling of déjà vu with some of the street views that you saw? That is probably because you are in the actual filming set of a movie or a TV episode.
In fact, the production of a movie or an episode is not limited to the indoor studios, Los Angeles and its surrounding communities together are a giant movie set beloved by the producers.
In the movies or TV series of which the stories occur in Los Ange-les, the places that are symbolic representational places of L.A. are frequently chosen as filming loca-tions, such as the Sunset Boulevard, the Hollywood sign, Marina Del Rey, Malibu or Rodeo Drive.
Believe it or not, the downtown area is also a popular filming choice. Most scenes in the movie 500 Days of Summer were shot in the down-town: the leading role Tom’s ecstatic routine after the first night he spent with Summer is performed in front of the Civic Center Mall; his favorite spot is a bench at Angel’s Knoll where he can overlook the entire downtown; his job interview, his breakup with Summer…all happen in this central, historical part of the city.
In the Fox hit New Girl, the exterior scenes of the loft where Jess and his three roommates live are also filmed downtown, at 837 Traction Avenue to be exact.
Some movies also set their sto-ries elsewhere but were made in Los Angeles. For example the Oscar win-ner American Beauty tells a story that happened in the Chicago suburbs, but in reality was shot in the greater Los Angeles area. The William McKinley High School in Glee which is sup-posed to be in Lima, Ohio, is actually the Helen Bernstein High School in N.
Wilton Place, Hollywood. Now you have one more way to
explore this amazing city – find out the filming locations of your favorite movies and go visit; picture yourself as your favorite character and literally put yourself in his/her place. You may have a brand new interpretation of the story. For more information about the filming locations, please check out these web-sites: http://www.movielocations. com & http://moviemaps.org
Filming Locations in Los Angeles
Journey of Hope
By ZHAKA SHULENBAYEVA
Almost every student in Lan-guage Academy makes the morning 10 minute trip from home to the cam-pus. Have you ever considered go-ing further than campus? What about making a cross-country journey rid-ing a bike?
When I first heard about this idea, I laughed and did not believe that someone would venture to ride from one part of the country to an-other. However, the guys from the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity make this
cross country trek every year to spread the message to help people with disabilities.
Journey of Hope is the trek across the America, starting from San Francisco and ending in Wash-ington D.C. The team of bikers cy-cles an average of 75 miles per day, a total of 4,000 miles. However, the main object of this journey is not bik-ing.
Riders spend time with people with disabilities in different commu-nity events and activities, calling for community integration and helping to break the barriers that keep people of all abilities from enjoying the life.
“After meeting the people who we were supporting, my focus on the journey transformed from pushing See Journey of Hope on p. 8
Angels Knoll is a famous landmark in Downtown L.A.
USC Language
Academy
Rossier School of
Education
Phone: 213-740-0080
Fax: 213-740-0088
Web: www.usc.edu/langacad
Pics of the Week
The Academy News is a weekly newsletter pro-duced by students in the Journalism Elective of the USC Language Academy. All students in the Lan-guage Academy Program are encouraged to send news stories and photos to Sonja Lovelace at [email protected].
Check out The Academy News online at www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Informa-
tion” and then click on “The Academy News.”
P A G E 8 J U L Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 3
THE ACADEMY NEWS STAFF
Editor: Valeria Wei
Assistant Editor: Leo Wu
Reporters: Faisal Almutairi, Zhiqi (Scarlett) Chen, Shangyi Cheng, Fitsum Fanta, Yuan Feng, Xi (Silvia) Feng, Ranran Li, Zijun (Mike) Lu, Peiyang Shi,
Zhaka Shulenbayeva, Mingxu Sun, Lun (Allen) Tian, Jingyi Wang, Yumeng
(Valeria) Wei, Daojun (Leo) Wu, Meiyi Yu, Weiwei (Vivian) Yu, Yerkanat Zaitov, Assyl Zhakupov, Yating (Evelyn) Zhao
Journey of Hope Continued from p. 7
my body to supporting those people whose only wish was to be able to walk”, says Troy, one of the participants of this fascinating program.
During the 67 days of the trip, the bicyclists raised $475,000 in total. Each of the members contributed around $5,000 on the money went to the fundrais-ers that help disabled peo-
ple to live a better life and the organizations dedicated to increasing social aware-ness of the plight that these people are facing.
Now the positive spirits of this activity not only push America forward but also have been spread to other regions of the world. The Journey of Hope shows that with determination, team-work, and sympathy, we can make our planet and life wonderful.
Language Academy students tried kayak-
ing in Long Beach last Friday afternoon.
Kayaking requires careful balancing, which the students soon figured out.