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Zot Snaps

Not quite selfies, but I’ve been really busy with midterms so here are some pictures from earlier in the year. UCI is such a unique school with its own campus culture, showcased in our love for Harold and Maude, the cutest duck couple ever, or our campus wide good luck charm, Swagman. Finishing up my first year, here are some of my zot snaps, showing off special parts of our UCI culture.

Infinity Fountain

The infinity fountain, located near Rowland Hall, is really pretty and used for graduation photos a lot! Fun fact: when I was on campus during Summer Bridge, my friend Carmen and I could not find this fountain. If you’re looking for it, walk along the edge of Aldrich Park and you’ll see it.

These pictures are from Summer Bridge when my friends and I stepped into the fountain before our freshman year, fulfilling a tradition for good luck. The people you go into the fountain with are believed to be your best friends throughout college. Then, before you graduate, you’re supposed to go in again, like a symbolic way of ending your time at UCI.

I would totally recommend going in, but be careful because I’m not sure if we’re allowed to? Also the water actually goes pretty high so wear shorts and I’m warning you in advance that your feet may turn blue from the paint at the bottom of the fountain. That’s not quite something anyone told me but now you guys will know!

Aldrich Park

This picture is during one of the Vietnamese Student Association meetings, led by yours truly and all the other interns. It was Way Back Wednesday, so we used Aldrich Park’s spacious fields and inviting atmosphere to play childhood games like Duck Duck Goose and Red Light, Green Light. Aldrich Park is definitely an iconic part of UCI. It’s right in the middle of the school which makes it nice to cut across to get to classes. Many people also nap in the park by laying down blankets or hanging up hammocks between the trees. It’s also a really nice place to have a picnic! That’s still on my UCI checklist because I wanted to have one Friday but it was rainy?

Seaside Donuts

Not on campus, but definitely part of UCI’s foodie culture. This donut shop is in Newport Beach, about 10 minutes from campus. It’s a really common after event for club meetings and just all around great spot to hang out. The donut shop is open 24/7 and for some reason, it’s so much better at night. I’ve never really seen people go in the morning, but at night, it’s crawling with hungry college students, looking for a bite to eat. I would recommend the ham and cheese croissant warmed up with a green thai iced tea on the side. It’s two of their most popular items and you’ll see why once you have them! This picture is blurry because it’s actually a polaroid from one of my roomie dates at Seaside. You definitely have to go to Seaside as a UCI student, it’s part of the culture.

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“Zot Snaps”

As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, UCI is a school with a wide variety of interesting and useful resources. My fellow bloggers and I took some time to take some stylish selfies by particularly cool places, and here they are.

Antrepreneur Center

Do you have a particularly cool or interesting business idea? If so, this is the place for you! Located by the Paul Merage School of Business, the cleverly named Antrepreneur center is a place where you can propose your business ideas and potentially have them backed by experienced people who know how to help your idea succeed. Even if you don’t have a specific idea, the Antrepreneur center may still be useful to you. Every so often they’ll hold an information session where interested students can learn more about entrepreneurship in general. Be sure to stop by!

Gateway Study Center

The Gateway Study Center is located across from Langson Library, and is in my opinion one of the best places to study. If you find that the dorm study rooms are too noisy to concentrate, and the Library is too cramped, the Gateway Study Center might be just the place you’re looking for.  It’s full of computer labs, study rooms, and collaboration rooms for you and your friends to utilize. You can even reserve rooms if you need a private space for a certain amount of time. Be sure to check this place out next time exam season comes around.

Chick Fil A

 

And last but certainly not least, we have Chick Fil A. Although technically not on campus, I think it’s close enough. Just across the street from the flagpoles, Chick Fil A and other restaurants at the UTC are perfect for when you get tired of Pippins or the Anteatery. Sometimes it’s a little too tempting to head over and buy and unhealthy amount of chicken nuggets, but it’s definitely worth splurging on every once in awhile.

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A Few Interesting Places on Campus

As the title suggests, this is going to be a short post about some places of interest that you can visit while attending UCI.

Engineering Pavilion
First up we got the Engineering Pavilion which is where I spend time working on anything as the place just has a nice atmosphere to do work or nap. This is located between the Engineering Tower and Computer Science building. If you ever take a tour of the campus at UCI this will definitely be somewhere that the tour guide will take you. On any regular day, it is usually pretty lively with people heading in and out of class, people taking a quick nap, or just working on assignments.

 

Center of Aldrich Park
So this spot is at the center of Aldrich Park, big surprise I know, but hear me out, this spot is just a nice spot to be because its under a huge tree and when it’s hot outside, you can just kinda chill there with a couple friends. Beyond that there are shrubs nearby where someone took the liberty of moving a table into so you could chill there if you choose. Unfortunately I didn’t take a photo of that table in the shrubs but I feel that you guys can find it without much trouble. It is also in the middle of Aldrich Park so if you are just chilling in between classes, this is the spot to be.

 

San Diego Creek
Now this spot is more out of the way in comparison to the other ones but gives you a good opportunity to break from the constant hustle and bustle of school for a short time. To get to this spot involves following a trail that is behind Mesa Court. This trail is officially called the Mountains to the Sea Trail & Bikeway and it does in fact go all the way to Newport Beach so for those of you that are planning to bring a bike with you to UCI, this could be something that you could follow to get to the beach. I, unfortunately didn’t bring my bike with me so I just walked to the Creek.

There was actually a fisherman that I ran into while coming back and after a brief conversation I learned that there is quite a diverse array of fish that are in the water. The fisherman was telling me that since the San Diego Creek connects to the ocean it is usually saltwater fish where I took the picture but if you keep going in the other direction, you will find more freshwater fish. Funny enough, according to that fisherman, there are stingrays and spotted sea bass downriver from the dorm and regular bass, carp and catfish upriver. He also told me that the fish are not really the right size to eat so fishing in that area was mainly just for sport.

 

 

Zot On!
Josh

 

Bonus Panorama:

*right-click the photo and select open image in new tab for the full experience*