UCLA GIM #1

When I first heard about UCLA, the first thought that hit me was, “The university in California? Are they linked to one another like an university scholars club of any sort?” I looked up the club on Facebook, and saw that it stood for United Chinese Language Association. I was interested in knowing more, and when I met some UCLA members at the Club Carnival, I got to know what the club was and the next meeting date.

On Thursday, August 31st, I attended UCLA’s first general interest meeting, and one thing I didn’t expect was a huge crowd of people. (I counted the number of heads in the group photo, and it was approximately 100. *gasped*) The meeting started off with a powerpoint presentation about what the club entailed: values that it stood for and promoted, activities and important events that UCLA organized and showcased, as well as introduction of the members of the executive board and committee. Two of the major events that UCLA holds every year are the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Lunar Festival. The goals of these two events is not only to celebrate the important holidays, but also to spread and connect the culture, tradition, and language of China with everyone.

Next, we played some games, which I forgot what they were called. The event was about half a month ago, so I didn’t remember the exact names. One game was about two teams given a scenario, in which each team played a character, taking turns asking questions and responding in question format without hesitation. There was a lot of laughter, and it showed me how relaxing and fun this club was. After taking a group photo together, refreshments were provided. 🙂

What I loved about the meeting was that the environment was very friendly and welcoming. I could imagine how everyone could be close like family in just a matter of time. I enjoyed it and had a wonderful time! About the selfie, I didn’t know we were going to writing a blog so I didn’t take one. As an alternative, I used pictures that UCLA took, credits to them.