Japanese international student Takashi Kawashima had big plans
for his move to the United States.
Kawashima was set to begin his graduate studies in September at
the UCLA Department of Design | Media Arts, but first he wanted to
spend the summer traveling around the United States.
In April, Kawashima received an e-mail from UCLA informing him
about the opportunity to live in Weyburn Terrace. He applied online
in June, and because it appeared he was guaranteed a place to live
starting in July, his attention turned to planning his trip.
But by the beginning of July, Kawashima said he had not heard
from UCLA Housing and began to worry about his housing situation
because he had planned to leave Japan in the middle of the month.
Kawashima said he sent several e-mails to determine whether he had
secured an apartment but received no reply.
Though Kawashima studied English at Keio University in Fujisawa
City, he was not comfortable calling Housing himself and enlisted
an American friend, David Schwarz, to make the call and try to get
some answers.
Kawashima said Schwarz was informed by a Housing representative
that Kawashima had secured a Weyburn Terrace apartment, but it
would not be ready until November and he should find a place to
stay until then.
“David said, “˜Takashi is from Japan, not from Orange
County ““ he needs a place to live,'” Kawashima
said.
The Housing representative suggested Kawashima search some
renters’ Web sites. Ultimately Kawashima was able to secure
an apartment from Aug. 20 to Nov. 1, but he said the process
significantly delayed his departure from Japan. He arrived in Los
Angeles on Aug. 22 and settled into his apartment on the corner of
Olympic and Sepulveda boulevards.
On Sept. 25, a Housing representative called Kawashima to offer
him a single in Jacaranda Court, but he would have to move in
immediately. Kawashima had already paid for his temporary apartment
in full, but he took Housing’s offer, hoping to put an end to
the confusion and delays.
He moved into his new apartment the next day and was eventually
able to find a subletter for his temporary apartment. But when he
moved into Weyburn, his unit was covered in dirt and debris. He
cleaned it himself. Next he discovered that his cable, telephone
line and Ethernet did not work. It took a month to fix these
problems.
He has also dealt with the intrusion of insects in his
first-floor apartment. “I gave up killing them because so
many bugs live here,” Kawashima said.
Kawashima does not know whether he will stay in the apartment
for the second year of his lease. “I’m fed up with
talking to the Housing people,” he said.
By Daniel Miller, Bruin senior staff.