Recently, the Nor’easter News attended a journalism conference in Los Angeles, where we were able to learn and grow as journalist representing UNE. However, in addition to our conference classes, we were also able to learn and grow culturally as we ventured outside of the confines of our hotel to explore the city around us, which we soon learned was teeming with iconic people and places.

We began our first day by visiting Venice Beach, a landmark that is the birthplace of bodybuilding  and the concept of an “outdoor gym,” but now also houses stalls of vendors, mostly selling souvenirs, feathered headbands, and painted ceramic skulls. We continued along to Wahoo’s Fish Taco, a restaurant specializing in, surprisingly, fish tacos. We spent time at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where Nor’easter’s News’ Editor in Chief, Morgayne Nash, successfully sought out the handprints of her favorite celebrity, Marilyn Monroe. People dressed as Batman, various clowns and Michael Jackson roamed the streets around us, making for a certainly memorable experience.

However, perhaps our favorite adventure was our visit to the Warner Brother’s Studio. Here, we toured the property and were able to see sets of all our favorite movies and TV shows, including Batman, Annie, Two broke Girls, Ellen Degeneres, The Big Bang Theory, Spiderman, Jurassic Park, Pretty Little Liars, and even Harry Potter. Nash was, again, more than enthusiastic to sit on the original FRIENDS couch, as well as visit the Central Perk coffee shop set. During our tour, we were able to ride a broom from Harry Potter (via green-screen technology), hold an actual Academy Award, and look through the original sketches of the ever famous Bugs Bunny.

Throughout our time, we visited Universal Cities’ Citywalk, a miniature Las Vegas equipped with blinding and flashing lights, loud music, and extravagant displays. We climbed to the top of a mountain parallel to the Hollywood sign, where we spent time in a observatory museum, and, upon being outside, were able to look out over the entire city riddled with dotted lights under the shadowed night sky. We spent a night trying the cuisine of one of Los Angeles most highly regarded restaurants, The Ivy, and strolled through Rodeo Drive, marveling at the high priced suits, shoes, and handbags.

Los Angeles provided us with something we don’t see as readily in Maine: vast wealth starkly contrasted with vast poverty. On our way to Rodeo Drive, we passed homeless settlements; on the streets, we noticed the wealthy click of Prada heels in contrast to the poverty stricken individuals asking for provisions. L.A., in all its grand culture and tourist settlements, appeared to us as two worlds separated by economic standards. We came away from this trip with a greater understanding of wealth, and an understanding that Hollywood’s actresses, actors, talk show hosts, and entertainers are not excluded from the world around them. Although their wealth may elevate them socially, their city is shared with ten million other people, including the poor, the oppressed, and the homeless. Wealth, we learned, is simply an economically propelled social assignment, and it is by no means exclusive.