University of California, Davis
I have wanted to go exchange since I started high school – but for some reason or
another have always put it off. Since 2014 was to be my last year of full time study
for my degree and I did not want to regret a missed opportunity, I finally made the
decision to apply to go on exchange! I spent the fall quarter of 2014 on exchange
at the University of California, Davis.
Despite Davis being a very small town UC Davis is the largest UC campus. It has a
lot of green space, which you might not necessarily find on other campuses.
There’s an arboretum, stables and dairy cows (and even a weekly farmers market)
on campus since agriculture is one on the university’s specialties. Davis also calls
its self the most bike friendly town in the world – there are bikes everywhere.
Biking is the primary means of transport for students and is really convenient in
a town this size; cyclists are actually treated like motorists here and you pulled up
by the police if you do something wrong. But if like me you only happen to go on
exchange for a quarter and don’t get a bike the buses are free with student I.D. UC
Davis owns a couple of vintage London double-decker buses that they use on some
of the bus routes – which is really cool!
One of the reasons Davis was amongst my choices for UC campuses was because I
thought that one quarter was too short a length of time to really find my way in a
big city. However, I definitely underestimated just how small Davis was!
Downtown Davis could be covered by foot in an hour or so, and is little in terms of
shopping and nightlife. Although, I would much rather eat than shop and we
managed to find a few great restaurants. One of my favorites was Burgers and
Brew, a must-try if you’re in Davis! As well as looking at the campus that can best
suit your degree I would also recommend doing a little bit of research on the town
as this is going to be your home for the duration of your exchange. That being said
you never really know what you are getting into until you are there and living it –
which is part of the fun!
Navigating the university’s websites and selecting and enrolling in courses is not
always the easiest thing. When you apply you will be asked to select the courses
you would potentially take – I didn’t end up taking any of these courses! This didn’t
affect me much because I had completed the compulsory part of my degree and
had room for electives, but this might be something to consider if you do have
course requirements to meet. Davis, as well as some of the other UC campuses, run
on a quarter not semester system. This means 10 weeks of study with no mid
semester break or study week to catch your breath. With a full time course load
this can be more than a little intense! I also found the work load was higher and
assessments more difficult in comparison to Waikato.
Travels: When people think of California, they usually think of Southern California
with its beaches and perpetual summer, but there’s plenty to see and do further
north as well. Davis was in a great location; not too far from San Francisco, Napa
Valley, South Lake Tahoe or Sacramento. I was rather ambitious with my
California to-do list but I did manage to tick off a few places.
San Francisco won me over from
the moment I arrived. The city
has character and good vibes all
around. Of course there is the
typical tourist stuff that everyone
has to try once, but there’s also so
much more. Ride the cable cars
and the trams, visit Pier 39,
Fishermans Warf, the Golden
Gate bridge and Golden gate park,
but also leave some time to just
walking through the streets
without a map or a plan.
Napa Valley: I turned 21 while on
exchange and headed to the wine
country almost right after. Even if you
don’t like wine the Napa Valley was
beautiful and definitely worth a visit.
My roommate and I visited and toured
a couple wineries – Castello di
Amorosa and Inglenook. While this
was one of the more expensive of our
trips, it’s not something you can do
everyday.
South Lake Tahoe: Lake Tahoe was
one of my places in California.
While it is renowned for skiing in
the winter, there was plenty to do
earlier in the year too. Places like
Lake Tahoe can be a huge tourist
trap, where doing activities can
cost a fortune, but the area is so
beautiful that you really don’t need
to spend a cent.
The thanksgiving road trip: Over thanksgiving weekend a big
group of exchange students signed up for a bus tour to make
the most of out time there. From Davis, we headed to Las
Vegas, a day at the Grand Canyon, then further south to Los
Angles before heading back up the coast through Santa
Barbara. While cramming all that travel into 4 days was a bit
of a whirlwind, simply the fact that we were in great company
made it a great trip.
While it may take a while to find a balance between study and life, when you go on
exchange whether to the University of California of elsewhere, make the most of
the whole experience. There were two things that made my experience: firstly, the
fact that I was a world away from home gave me a new motivation and interest for
what I was learning. Secondly, the people. The people I met on exchange in Davis
have become my family. Some of my best friends come from Italy, Germany,
England and Japan. While it made leaving bitter sweet, I wouldn’t trade the
experience for anything. I really encourage people to take the opportunity to go
on exchange while you can!
My Las Vegas fortune cookie: “You will have many friends when you need them”.