12 Signs You Grew Up In San Diego & Go To UC Davis

Summer is near, finals are over, life is great and…. Wait, we’re barely on week 6. DAMMIT. I forgot we were in a quarter system. Oops…It’s okay though…

If you are from SD and go to UC Davis, you will probably reciprocate. I decided to make a list, specifically, 10 signs you grew up in San Diego and are home from UC Davis. I could have extended this to every UC or every college, but because I am only familiar with UC Davis, then I will only stick to that. I’m sure this also applies to many other colleges, especially the ones out of state.

1. Beaches: Come on, you had to see this one coming first. The beaches in San Diego are beautiful. While you’re away, the beaches can’t seem to get off your mind. You are either thinking of the beaches in SD or why UC Davis doesn’t have a beach. You start to wonder how people even grew up here - “How can you grow up in such a small city and live a normal life” said Sal Lira. Then you start to think about it too much when summer is near, like right now. I bet many of you have already planned a beach day when you go back home.
2. Mexican Food: I really don’t have to elaborate more on this, but I will. I’m not talking bad about any of these Mexican food restaurants here, but let’s face it - the taste, quality, consistency, authenticity, style, and portion is way better over there. I have tried El Burrito, Taqueria Guadalajara and La Piñata. I have to say Guadalajara is probably the best one out here. Being away from SD makes us miss the food every day.
3. Feeling Trapped: Have you ever felt trapped? I know I have. I’m used to living in a huge city so it feels like I’m trapped here in Davis.
4. Green Everywhere: The minute I stepped food on this city, I started taking a million pictures. Every time I would call my parents I would have to explain to them how green it is up here at UC Davis. Never have I seen so many trees before in my life (except when I go to Julian once every other year or so). The majority of us, if not all of us, will brag about how green their school is probably until we graduate.
5. Weather: Whether hot or cold, we are not prepared for this weather. In San Diego, it’s always late spring/early summer. Up until I came to Davis I had never experienced so much rain during the winter; so many leaves falling during autumn; so much heat during the summer; and so much pollen during the spring. Although it doesn’t snow here, it almost feels like we’re living in a movie because we never get to experience all 4 seasons except for late spring/early summer all year long.
6. Bikes/Buses: I had never, in my life, seen so many bikes before. It was weird for me to see bikes everywhere. But then again, this is the bike capital of the nation so it should have been expected. The other one is the Unitrans system. People usually get around through cars in SD because it’s a huge city, but here in Davis, it’s probably better to get around in bus or bike because of how small the city is. Plus, there’s never parking anywhere.
7. Mexicans and Filipinos: I had a culture shock when I came to Davis. I was so used to being around Filipinos and Mexicans in San Diego. I have never seen Indians, Caucasians, and others outnumber Mexicans and Filipinos; they’re everywhere in San Diego. When you’re back home for vacation your face lights up when you hear people talking about burritos or lumpia.
8. Afterhours: Davis is dead compared to San Diego. There is so much life down there compared to here. Everything closes so early down here and nobody is outdoors. It took me a while to get used to not seeing people outside after 8PM; and I’m talking about life outside of downtown Davis.
9. Horrible Drivers: Nobody knows how to drive here in Davis. And what’s up with all the busted headlights? I was talking to my girlfriend a few months ago and we concluded that there is a headlight bandit. There has to be somebody around here who busts headlights for a living and gets paid secretly by some organization. But let’s go back to the driving, this is a serious issue. I don’t know if it’s a northern California thing, but nobody knows how to drive here. I always see people stopping in the middle of the road to let pedestrians pass by. Who does that?! And that’s just one thing, I can go on forever.
10. Clothes: When you’re back home for vacation it’s normal to wear flip flops, shorts, and any t-shirt during winter break. If you go back to UCD and do this, you will probably catch a horrible cold. I got used to seeing people in this attire so when I see people wearing this clothes I literally feel like San Diego is following me; I start to feel comfortable again.
11. You get excited when you meet other San Diegans: First of all, the term ‘San Diegan’ is a new thing for people. Secondly, come on, let’s be honest, who doesn’t get overly excited when you meet another person from San Diego (if you’re a native, that is). You can sit down for hours and hours and converse about how much you miss home. But the most common conversation I’ve had when I meet people up here from SD is about the food, the weather, how boring it is up here, and basically everything. You can talk to other natives for hours and hours about how Hodad’s and Rubios should come up to Davis.
12. "Hella": You either adapted to it, or you’re annoyed, there’s no in-between. I had heard this term in high school, but it was never as popular as it is here in northern California.