California Summer | A Summer Dream at UCLA

A perfume called California Summer, with a citrus and basil top and middle note, yet the vetiver can linger as the end note for days. Just like this short two-week summer school journey, it opens like a dream, yet lingers deeply in memory.

In the restless summer days, amidst the quiet boredom of July, I encountered the burning daylight in California.

Course

Coming to UCLA for summer school was accidental, and the program’s reputation was not as prestigious as others like YYGS. But ultimately, experience is the only way to gain true knowledge – only after experiencing it firsthand do we know the truth. At least for me, two weeks of three quizzes and a final, countless drafts for group projects, and daily readings of hundreds of pages made this summer school undeniably challenging.

The structure of the classes was simple. In the morning, listening to professors teach, exploring economic trade policies and immigrant settlements in South Korea, Brazil, and Mexico, contemplating the implications and future of the Global South, and investigating why urbanization moves from south to north and back to the south; in the afternoon, engaging in lab classes, discussing with group members how to implement our chosen SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) project, drafting one proposal after another, and completing intense summary presentations or question and answer challenges in three to five minutes; occasionally, there were field trips, walking the streets of the Hope Street community in Los Angeles, seeing skyscrapers and somewhat rundown homes on the same street corner, measuring and exploring the impacts of urbanization and gentrification…

The diverse and rich course experience was novel, the soaring difficulty of the course content brought challenge and motivation, and learning systematically how to perfect a collaborative project was truly beneficial.

Campus

The subtropical Mediterranean climate has created a unique plant distribution in California. In any corner of the campus, pine trees will be facing tropical greenery from a distance. 

In the morning, before heading to class from the dorms, one needs to pass by a huge sports field and long slopes lined with towering nameless trees that silently watch over the crowds and passing vehicles. Skipping past the red brick buildings, a large expanse of grassland comes into view – with lotus flowers, poppies, hydrangeas, and irises swaying on both sides of the road. Climbing the giant steps, the nearby lawn is filled with blooming jacaranda, the air accumulating warmth, with occasional light breezes, giving the impression that time is suspended.

The classrooms for lectures seem like old chapels, with high domed ceilings gleaming with dark oil paint, and creaking wooden windows. Squirrels roll and jump on the coniferous trees outside, while someone reads poetry on a courtyard bench, bathed in the fragments of sunlight scattered through the leaves. 

Stained glass windows, wooden handrails, and bronze statues; wandering through the corridors might lead to an unknown exhibition wrapped in a red carpet, with golden frames drowning in intersecting light and shadows.

The afternoon lecture is held in a small sunken auditorium, where the red camellias are reflected on the sky-blue curtains, creating another hazy and dreamy pastoral scene. 

Opening the heavy wooden doors reveals another bustling world, with children playing on the lively grass, and numerous people lying under the towering banyan tree, basking in the July sun, watching the sunlight pierce through the leaves, experiencing the passing summer.

I’ve always believed that purple may be the lucky color of UCLA, as the jacarandas and lotus flowers are simply everywhere here. Pure white walls are complemented by popsicle drinks and tropical banana trees, while the sky, favored by both the sun and the wind, remains perpetually pure blue. 

The afternoon exploration maintains a cold minimalist style on the floors, but stepping down the unprocessed cement stairs also leads to falling into a sea of purple flowers, falling into that pale purple in the midst of the beginning of a hot July.

The journey back to the dorms is still long, with towering trees and a variety of people along the way. The slogans from the football field training in the scorching sun are still quite clear. Finally, as the green light flashes, the crowds happily cross the zebra crossing, ending a day of endless joy.

The Getty: Everything is Free

Just like most summer schools organize activities for students, visiting the famous private art museum – the Getty Center in the Paul Getty Museum has become our top choice for weekend outings. Located on the half-hill of LA, the Getty requires a small train ride up the mountain. 

We arrived in the afternoon, slowly climbing up the green hills. Inside the air-conditioned carriages, there was laughter and chatter, and outside the window, the varying shades of trees and hills passed by. Five minutes later, we arrived at our destination. The creamy white walls and gentle architectural lines, complemented by the bright sun of Southern California, were truly breathtaking. 

The sky was a gentle blue, and standing at the highest point overlooking Los Angeles, the entire city unfolded in front of our eyes, everything was free.

We took the bus back through the city center park. In the shade of the trees, next to the hydrangeas, and under the California blue sky, everyone’s shadow drew closer. The dazzling afternoon sun occasionally brought the scent of orange blossoms to the lush green lawn.

The entire journey was perfect for capturing with film, everything was in a kind of perfect long-lasting aftertaste.

Venice Beach: Diverse Summer Afternoons

Due to unfortunate timing, we rushed to Venice Beach in the afternoon on the verge of leaving on a Saturday. Compared to the more commercialized Santa Monica, Venice is filled with a sense of grassroots, where tourists, small vendors, sports enthusiasts, and locals mix together.

The streets near the coastline are lined with towering palm trees, and the colorful restaurant signs stimulate both the eyes and taste buds. The short distance from the beach is crowded with various vehicles, from antique cars to cluttered pick-up trucks; side streets may reveal graffiti-covered walls and scattered beer bottles, but around the corner, exquisite designer shops and aromatic coffee shops stand out. 

This place is more like a microcosm of LA, where the gap between the rich and the poor and consumerism have never been as vivid as they are now.

Walking toward the beach, the skateboard park and Recreation Center sports fields catch the eye. Even in the hottest afternoon, people continue to jump and sweat, waiting for perhaps a scout’s appreciation, or the day when their dreams come true. 

Looking into the distance, surfers are chasing the freedom of the waves, while the endless golden sand beaches are filled with bodies enjoying the sun. Red umbrellas and white boardwalks, black matte motorcycles leaning at odd angles, and palm trees swaying to every passing moment.

Speedboats cut through the thick golden sunlight of the Pacific Ocean, and the sea breeze turns strands of hair into the curves of seagull wings. The scent of the waves surges, leaving behind a resonating blue summer afternoon.

Ending

If I had to pick a keyword for California, it would definitely be sunshine.

It’s hard to come across cloudy and overcast days here, most of the time the land is being baked by the ultraviolet rays, and the camera doesn’t even need a filter to capture the perfect light. Unlike the warm sun or softer light in other areas, being bathed in sunlight is the best description.

The captured images always have a layer of transparent sunshine, with each viewing feeling like the light is floating and memories are flashing endlessly – everything comes rushing in. Los Angeles is big enough to contain division, opposition, and freedom, leaving behind the eternal illusion of summer. 

There’s old and new here, in the old-fashioned Sproul Hall is a sense of slow order, and the modernist buildings around the corner show the arrival of modernism; the crowd is constantly flowing, igniting every ordinary summer night with their own stories.

There are so many people and stories coming and going in this city, but the one constant is always that beam of sunshine.

“Beyond the sunshine, beyond the kiss, beyond the scent of the wilderness, everything else is insignificant to us.”

Under the brilliant release of sunlight, this summer dream ends, leaving behind the fragrance of summer.