Class is in full swing and we're now a few weeks into being true residents of LA. We've adopted our LA walk, we've learned where things are, and we can navigate the red/purple line easily (the busses still evade us most of the time). We've done a good amount of exploring and last weekend went to the Moon Festival in Chinatown and saw the dragon dance and had the best ice cream I have ever eaten. Ever. Food trucks are quickly becoming one of my favorite things in LA.

We are currently half way into our Urban Culture class which I have really enjoyed so far. We've been discussing social issues, mostly having to do with American systems and the ways in which they are limiting or broken and then we've been visiting either the organizations themselves or authorities in the issue we've discussed that day. This past week we were discussing the problem of public transportation and visited the Los Angeles MTA and had the opportunity to speak to the librarian who's been with the bureau for 20 years and had a really interesting perspective on the development (or lack thereof) of the public transportation system in Los Angeles- something we have a personal stake in because we are using it to get around while on LA Term. I was able to contrast this meeting with a meeting that I had previously attended with a representative from the Bus Riders' Union, an organization that seeks to protect and aid the minorities and low-income families and individuals that ride the busses, and they had a very different view of the actions of the MTA and their monetary policy (a brief synopsis of the situation can be found here). So being able to talk with the people involved in the issues we're studying has been really enriching and we've all taken ownership of our learning and these societal issues in new ways because we've had the opportunity to be so involved which has been great.

And we were placed in our internships this week and found out this morning who we'll be working with this semester. I will be working for the American Friends Service Community, a Quaker organization that works to promote peace and non-violent conflict resolution in the community. The Los Angeles area AFSC works with high school youth in the classroom and in a community garden twice a week so I will helping to teach and will be writing grants for the organization. It's a small office that works out of a really cool part of downtown so I am excited to get to know everyone and to start work next week.

This Saturday is museum day so we're going to hit up MOCA and the Echo Park Art Walk tomorrow night which should be a fun weekend.