"Oh wow, that's so far away! How are you going to survive in the winter?" Virtually every person I have met has reacted with these words upon learning that I am from El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula. Or, as we natives like to call it, L.A. And no, I have no idea what the entire name of the city means.

Well, to get technical, I live in Tarzana, a pseudo-suburb named after Edgar Rice Burroughs. But I seriously don't understand why everyone thinks it's so crazy that an "Angeleno" (a person from Los Angeles) would travel across the great expanse of these United States to attend an institute of higher learning. I mean, it's not that weird. There are over three million of us. It's bound to happen that a good number of us wind up on the East Coast.

For starters, I'm here because I want to experience seasons. You see, in Los Angeles, we have hot and cool with some rain. Leaves change colors-barely. They usually just fall off the trees first, unless there is some kind of crazy meteorological trend going on, like el NiSo (which is Spanish for 'the NiSo'). But there are plenty who come out here; I'm far from the only one.

Now I'd like to dispel a few myths that you may have about Los Angeles. I don't surf to school; in fact, I've never even tried surfing. It's because I don't look good in a wetsuit. And the Pacific Ocean is just too cold. I didn't realize this until I visited the warm beaches of the rest of the world, but the ocean out by L.A. is freezing. In fact, during an ad campaign for the Malibu beaches, I saw a sign that said "Warning: Ocean may cause shrinkage."

There is another myth I must dispel: No, I don't see famous people all the time. But I won't deny that I do see some every once in a while. Like at some family functions, when my second cousin, Roswell and Swimfan star Shiri Appleby, shows up. But now I'm name dropping. We do that a lot in L.A.

But I must say that seeing famous people is actually a very real and kind of interesting part of Los Angeles life. For a while I'd see the Lawrence brothers (remember them?) at the California Pizza Kitchen I frequent. Does that even exist out here? And yes, our governor is actually a "Governator," but I didn't vote for him. Most people in Los Angeles didn't. Granted, I wasn't eligible to vote at the time, still, I wouldn't have voted for him anyway.

A major difference I've noticed since coming to Boston is the roads. Every on-ramp has an exit sign, and you guys don't call them freeways; you have highways and routes and stuff. Apparently, we do things differently in L.A. when it comes to our freeways. We have the 101 and the 405 and the 10, and some others. I emphasize 'the' because supposedly everywhere else in the country you guys just say 'Highway such-and-such.'

The other disadvantage of driving in Los Angeles is that our public transportation simply stinks, and driving times, if over 20 minutes, must include an additional 10 to 15 minutes for traffic.

I don't go to Disneyland every day. Disneyland is in Orange County (because of "The O.C.," you should all know this county exists-wow, were things different before it came out). Disneyland is about an hour and 15 minutes away, when you factor in traffic and speeding. It is fun only if you have lots of money-a little serving of popcorn costs four bucks-and if you can forget that Disney is an evil corporate empire. Universal Studios is fun if you're a tourist, but not otherwise. I've found that L.A. natives can only enjoy Universal Studios every five years. But, because it's the cheapest amusement park, you take what you can get.

I would like to close with a proposition. Two, actually. First, on the first day of snow, I invite all my fellow Californians, first-years especially, to run through the snow in our bathing suits, board shorts, and other beach attire. I also propose the creation of a California Culture Club, where we can bond over being from the fifth-largest economy in the world (yay, us!), engage in "discussions" between SoCal and Northern California and other fun Cali stuff.

Finally, can somebody please help me out when it comes to winter clothes? All I have are two pairs of jeans, a sweatshirt and a fleece. Don't worry, I won't need you for a while. I plan on wearing shorts and T-shirts until we come back from Thanksgiving break.