US Elections

Studying and travelling in LA

By Jay Ng in Los Angeles, California

31 July 2012

---

In Winter 2012, 42 University of Sydney students travelled to Los Angeles as part of the US Studies Centre's UCLA Study Abroad Program. We've asked them to provide us with updates about their experiences while in California. Click here to read more about their experiences.

---

I am doing two political science subjects at UCLA: US Foreign Relations and Electoral Politics: Public Opinion and Voting Behaviour. It has been three weeks and I had one of my mid-term exams this week. (Funny how we actually have to go to the UCLA store and buy our own exam writing booklets and multiple-choice sheets.)

Electoral politics is quite interesting to study during election year. I was expecting the lectures and readings to be very election focused (e.g. Talking about Obama and Romney) but instead we have been studying the Founders on public opinion and how this shaped the system of American government, theories about polling, voters, and the media’s role in elections.

One thing I have found really different at UCLA is the lectures — they are very interactive. You can speak up anytime to talk about your opinion or ask questions. And American kids tend to sit in front of the classroom. In one lecture, my professor asked for our opinion on certaintopics, say, whether the government should strictly follow public opinion in policy making. We had to text a code to answer and the survey results appeared on the screen straight away.

In US Foreign Relations, instead of looking at US–China relations, my lecturer used detailed examples that we do not normally look at in Australia, like US–Canada pharmaceutical industry relations as a foreign relations case study.

Read More

---

Print This Post 0 Comments

En route to my American dream

By Jay Ng in Los Angeles, California

9 July 2012

---

In Winter 2012, 42 University of Sydney students travelled to Los Angeles as part of the US Studies Centre's UCLA Study Abroad Program. We've asked them to provide us with updates about their experiences while in California. Click here to read more about their experiences.

---

After a week of struggling between Googling ”Fun stuff to do in LA” and studying for my exam: I AM FINALLY IN LOS ANGELES. The eagle eye view was comprised of little buildings placed neatly with clear-structured roads and highways. Everything looked exciting for me, even if they were in boring grids and squares. The waiting time at border security (where we were not supposed to talk, according to the flight attendant’s announcement!) was not too bad, probably because it was an early arrival.

Read More

---

Print This Post 0 Comments