So you arrive to California, the land where dreams are made and where beaches, mountains, desserts come into harmony for the perfect scenery. You have made it and now it is time to relax and ride along the California express to success. Maybe, this is the way you will feel when you step off of the airplane. In about 15 minutes after arriving though, you may find out that you could have been more wrong. Hopefully, this post will prepare you for all the things to come when you are creating your new home at UCI.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself, I come from Ensenada, a town 80 miles south the border and drove here in my own car with most of my personal stuff in the trunk. I live with my wife in a one bedroom apartment right next to the campus. When I arrived there was absolutely nothing in the apartment (not even a light for the living room) except for shower curtains and the big appliances (refrigerator, stove and garbage disposal). I had to buy everything else and from trial and error we learned how to get the best deals. This is where having a car comes useful.
First thing you need is food. The place closest to UCI is Albertson’s and Trader Joe’s, which are American supermarkets that carry a variety of ethnic foods. While nearby and convenient, it can sometimes be expensive on a graduate student budget. There is Wholesome Choice, a Persian supermarket, right up Culver Drive and is great for buying fruits and vegetables, but I don’t recommend any of the meats there. Also, on University Drive, you have Farm’s Direct, a Korean supermarket with a large selection of fresh produce. We spend about $30 dollars every month there and it is enough to fill our refrigerator with fruits and vegetables. For meat, we usually buy it at Stater Bros. or Sprouts, other American supermarkets. It’s important that you hunt for deals and don’t be afraid of buying a lot of meat if you find a good one. You can always save it in the freezer.
Now that you know where to buy food (Notice that I didn’t talk about restaurants. I’ll leave this one for you to explore it is a great adventure.), you may need a bed. We got ours from SEAR Outlet in Santa Ana. I paid $500 dollars for a mattress that usually goes for twice that price. But, here comes a secret. Try to go to Goodwill, a second-hand goods store. There is one located at El Toro Road in Laguna Hills or the one at Fairview Boulevard in Santa Ana. At Goodwill in Santa Ana, you can even buy clothes by weight. You will find all kinds of used stuff at Goodwill. There’s also IKEA and Walmart where you will find some great bed and furniture deals there. Be aware that if you don’t plan to bring a car to take the furniture home, it can take up to 2 days for the store to deliver it to you.
When it comes to decorating your new place stores like Burlington, Ross and 99 Only come are useful. There’s something that I must tell you, but don’t tell anyone. This secret applies mainly to campus housing, but just as you are arriving to UCI there will be other people who are moving away and they do a lot of stuff. They will either sell it in the bi annual yard sale or they just leave it behind usually near the trash bins. We have found a lot of cool stuff there including computers, desks, and even videogames. But, I can tell you more about it later.
I don’t think that you need me to tell you about how to survive in terms of entertainment. However, here are some nearby places for fun. On campus, the Pub has good beers, snacks, and is usually packed; the ZOT Zone is where you can play the latest video games for free; there is a cinema just across campus; and the Anteater Recreation Center (ARC) where you can exercise and swim. There are so many wonderful places to eat or just go sightseeing in Irvine. So, trust me when I say that you won’t get bored at UCI.
Getting back to my story. We already had food, décor, the main furniture, even a TV, but along came Sunday and another need arises in order to survive. Now, I want to make a statement. In general, in the U.S. and Irvine, you can see diversity in all areas and this includes diverse spirituality (A fellow Mentor will write a post on Muslim communities coming out in August). In order for me to survive here I needed a place where I could worship and interact with other people that shared it as well. I found this at Hope Christian Church in Tustin. If you are a Christian as well (and again, you can find, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and other religious communities here in Irvine) and you need a Bible driven, God loving church, you will find that Hope can be the place for you. There is also Mariner’s Church here at Irvine which is closer, but my wife and I are not used to churches that big and we wanted a place where we could not only worship but also participate in the activities and where we could personally know most of the people there.
So this is my experience surviving the first month at Irvine and from what I learned, I hope that my tips will be helpful. If you ever need more tips send me an email, and if you ever up for a match of Smash Brothers on the Wii U let me know. We always have room for one more player.