In his fourth vlog Pablo takes a well deserved break and explores the US.
The past ten days have been pretty fun, to be honest. After two months of miserable weather and intense essay-writing, winter quarter at Santa Cruz has finally come to an end. Spring has begun and it’s easy to tell: fields are greener than ever, flowers are blooming everywhere and, unsurprisingly, hay fever is gradually taking over the student population.
As for myself, I have been doing my best to enjoy every second of the spring break. Last weekend, for example, my flatmates and I went on a hike to Wilder Ranch State Park. The trail begins at Oakes College (west of campus) and, although we didn’t finish it, goes all the way to the sea. Along the way, there are several caves, one of which is the only home (in the entire world) to endangered species such as the Dolloff Spider or the Empire Cave Pseudoscorpion. Pretty cool, huh? Turns out that these caves are also used for student parties and people often get trapped in them so many have been sealed for safety. Most of the hike was quite easy as we simply followed the creek. At times, however, we did have to climb fallen trees in order to cross over the creek without getting our shoes wet. *see picture of Ramón on a tree, skillfully finding his way over the river, versus me smiling for the camera and clueless about my next move*During this time, I also hosted my friend Jamie, who flew all the way from South Korea to Silicon Valley on a business trip. Neither of us knew that the other one was going to be in California until that week so it was a very pleasant surprise for both! Although he wasn’t here for long, we still managed to go to a gig downtown and catch up over a few drinks. But what made my break a memorable time was definitely my trip to Austin, Texas. Remember how in a previous post I said that I got a job at the Human Resources department? Well, this boy has spent the past two months printing and sorting out staff files like crazy so I finally saved enough money to visit a fellow UCL friend in Austin. I was only there for four days but it was still so worth it! I stayed at the coop where Eszter lives, which turned out to be really fun as I got to meet many of her friends. There was also loads of eating involved: one can find vegan food trucks at every corner of Austin which can become an issue if you lack self-control and enjoy food as much as I do. On my last day, we cycled along the river to Barton Springs, where we swam with turtles and sunbathed. Overall, I loved the city and would most certainly like to come back in the future (shoutout to Eszter for being a top friend and hosting me!). I got back from Texas last night so I just started my readings for next week. The last quarter of university is starting tomorrow but I feel readier than ever: bring it on!
By: Pablo Galindo
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