End-of-the-Year Trip: Los Angeles
Anacapa alumnus Connor Proctor gave students a tour of the UCLA campus during the all-school trip to Los Angeles.
June 9-12, 2013
Teachers: Bryan Anderson, Megan Nesland, John Luca, Paula Campanelli, Hugo Macario, Levi Maaia, and Gordon and Suzie Sichi
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Students arrived at 6:00 AM for a prompt 7:00 AM departure on the Santa Barbara Airbus. First stop was Olvera Street, the historic center of Los Angeles. Students were broken up into seven pre-arranged groups, each with a senior and teacher in charge of supervision. A group of students volunteered to attend the 9:00 AM Mass at the nearby Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church. The mass was in Spanish for the local Latino community and was accompanied by a lively band of youthful parishioners. Students visited a variety of sites, including the Avila Adobe, the oldest home in LA; American Tropical, the Marxist mural by David Siqueiros; and nearby Union Station, the iconic 1930’s architectural landmark. At 10:00, all groups met at The Chinese American Museum for docent-guided tours. The small museum specializes in documenting the extreme discrimination against Chinese immigrants both nationally with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1880, as well as the pronounced prejudice against Chinese in the state of California. Our next stop was the famous Watts Towers, the folk art masterpiece made over a thirty-year period by Simon Rodia with its three towers adorned with pieces of tile, glass, pottery, shells, and other scavenged materials. Our last destination for the day was a docent-led tour of the Museum of Tolerance, which explores both modern-day cultural intolerances and the Holocaust of World War II. We later checked into our hostel in Santa Monica. The seniors and their assistants cooked a fabulous meal of steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. After dinner, a large group walked to the nearby 3rd Street Promenade to watch and dance to sounds of the lively street musicians.
Monday, June 10, 2013
The day began with a personalized tour of UCLA led by Anacapa alum Connor Proctor (Class of 2011), who was just completing his second year as a Computer Science major. Students toured the historic 1920’s-era main campus and walked over to the newer South Campus, which specializes in science, engineering, and mathematics. Next stop for the day was the California Science Center to see Space Shuttle Endeavor, the Shuttle upon which our recent guest astronaut, Rick Linnehan, traveled into space. We then saw a 3-D IMAX movie on the last repair made to the Hubble Telescope in 2009 to ensure its continued exploration of deep space. Then, it was off to the Grammy Museum for a hands-on exploration of the history of American music, followed by a 1.7-mile city walk down West Olympic Boulevard for an early dinner at Hodori, a Korean restaurant. Our international student from South Korea, Jae Heun Roe, helped translate the menu and took orders for the students and teachers. After dinner, we headed to Chavez Ravine to watch the LA Dodgers play the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a good game to watch with the Dodgers losing the lead in the 9th inning and almost coming back with a victory; in the end, the Dodgers came up short with a 5 to 4 loss.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
We left the hostel at 9:00 for a tour of the La Brea Tar Pits at 10:00, followed by an Upper School tour of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and a Lower School tour of the Petersen Automotive Museum. Then, it was off to the Korean Cultural Center for a special presentation by a representative of the Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project, including a film about the historic development of the Korean language by King Sejong and a film about the highly advanced use of technology in South Korea. Afterward, the director of education showed us around the museum and translated student names into Korean. For our last activity of the day, students enjoyed the special exhibits on contemporary Korean music and pop culture. After returning to the hostel at 3:30, students could chose from three activities: going to the nearby beach, walking to the Promenade, or visiting the amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier. After cleaning up back at the hostel, we walked next door to Buca di Beppo for an Italian dinner, which was followed in the dining room by our traditional End-of-the-Year Trip “Appreciations” ceremony.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
After a pancake breakfast cooked by the seniors, we all headed down to the beach for some relaxed time together before checking out of the hostel. Lots of students swam and body surfed in the warm water. Our only official destination for our last day was the Griffith Park Observatory. There, we were greeted by NASA volunteer Charles Sufana, who had helped us with our connection with Astronaut Chris Cassidy for our ten-minute Q and A with the International Space Station on May 22. After a talk with Charles Sufana about future directions for Anacapa’s space explorations, we entered the Observatory and looked at exhibits. At 1:45, we watched the spectacular Centered in the Universe, a journey of cosmic exploration and discovery to culminate the 2012-2013 school year. Afterward, we left for Santa Barbara in time to return safely to campus ahead of our 5:30 estimated arrival time. Thanks to everyone for the teamwork needed to make the LA Trip so successful!