Field Notes: The Media School Travel Blog

For most, the holidays are a time to celebrate and relax with family and friends. But this semester, I spent the season in a city I barely knew 2,000 miles away from home. I loved it.

The first major holiday during the fall semester is Halloween, and the place to be is West Hollywood for its Halloween Carnival. On the spookiest night of the year, a couple friends and I traveled to WeHo, where about 500,000 people decked out in bizarre and over-the-top costumes enjoyed food, concerts and other nightlife activities. Being surrounded by so many different types of people in amazing costumes was a fun way to experience this side of Hollywood.

While WeHo is fun for everyone, if scary is your thing, a trip to Universal’s famous Halloween Horror Nights should be on your list. Though I hate being scared, I had so much fun screaming with friends and sharing an adrenaline rush, and it was a perfect way to round out the spooky season.

During Thanksgiving break, while some decided to travel home, quite a few of us stayed. This break in school and internships offered an opportunity to get out of Hollywood and explore different parts of Los Angeles.

I still got to see my family, though, because my mother and sister surprised me with a visit. We traveled to Santa Monica to explore the pier and the city, took tours of Paramount and Warner Brothers Studios, learned about the Queen Mary in Long Beach and so much more.

My advice to any student sticking around for Thanksgiving break is to leave the apartment and explore. This downtime was a great way for me to experience the city at my pace and really take stock of which areas I enjoyed and could see myself living in.

As my time in California drew to a close, the holiday season started to make its way into L.A. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or just the season in general, there are tons of events and opportunities to get into the spirit. From visiting the 110-foot Christmas tree and farmers market at The Grove to visiting one of the many holiday pop-up markets, the festivities help make December feel like December (even if it rarely gets below 50 degrees).

The annual Hollywood Christmas Parade was a great way to start off December, since it happened right outside our door.

The end of the semester also provided another opportunity to do our last bit of exploring as the semester started to wind down. For our last big trip, a couple of us decided to go out into the desert to watch the sunset and look at the stars. Being able to get away from the city and just enjoy each other’s company and California’s natural beauty was a lovely way to round out our time in L.A. and prepare to go home to the snow and ice.

Spending the holidays in L.A. is such a great experience that can really make you feel as though you live and belong there. It’s an opportunity to explore and become part of different communities within the city. I’m so glad I stayed for all of it.