When I think of Southern California’s (typically) warm winter weather, a few adjectives usually come to mind: sunny and pleasant, maybe, but never “boring.” However, that was how the sunny weather was described to me by second-year molecular, cellular and developmental biology student Arjun Gupta, who said that, for him, winter weather was much more exciting back in his hometown in New Jersey because he enjoyed tracking snowstorms. It got me thinking: how do UCLA students from elsewhere experience UCLA’s winter weather, and how is that influenced by where they’re from?
For Gupta, “it feels weird being able to sit outside in the sun” in the middle of winter. However, he doesn’t dislike it, acknowledging that the nice weather has opened up more opportunities to hang out with friends. Back in Central Jersey, winter means 40 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 20 degrees Fahrenheit at night, with a few big snowstorms. While the cold weather is “not pleasant” per se, Gupta still connects that weather to his favorite winter memories from home: getting snowed in, going sledding and building a snowman.
In contrast, Chí Vĩ Văn Đình, a third-year business economics student, comes from a very different environment to Gupta’s: Saigon, Vietnam. Because the country is near the equator, Văn Đình explains, there are only two seasons: the dry season and the wet season. The weather averages 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit with 90 percent humidity year-round, so people would wear t-shirts and carry umbrellas for both the rain and sun. While Văn Đình loves Los Angeles’s pleasant weather, he misses “winter” memories from home like the Vietnamese celebration of Lunar New Year: Tết. It’s Văn Đình’s favorite “winter” memory from home, and it evokes memories of watching fireworks and gathering with friends and family.
Another Bruin from a rainy but rather different climate than Văn Đình is second-year political science student Nivi Giani. She comes from Portland, Oregon, and in contrast to Văn Đình, she says that no one uses umbrellas to deal with the rain because everyone is used to it. “Just wear a hoodie and hope for the best,” she tells me. Coming to UCLA, she says that she does enjoy the sunshine, but when it does rain, she listens to her rainy day playlist on her walk to class and it reminds her of home.
While there are many Bruins from outside California, many hail from Southern California, so I wanted to seek out a SoCal perspective. Gissell Coqui is a first-year psychology student from Victorville in the High Desert. Winter weather in Victorville is extremely dry, and sometimes, Coqui would wake up with itchy skin all over. At UCLA, winters are a bit rainier, making her think of a day she spent with her roommate where they listened to jazz music, took naps and just watched the rain, which was “really pretty.”
So what does “winter weather” mean to UCLA students? It means memories—from building snowmen to celebrating Lunar New Year, UCLA students are able to find themselves in both their memories from school and from home.
