Written by Rie Tanaka, J-1 Exchange Student
My life in SFSU has started!! I arrived at SFSU on Aug 20th, and I moved into the dorm. We had an orientation on 21st then a lot of international students assembled together. I could meet other exchange students who sat at my same table. Our table was quite globalized, there were people from Sweden, England, Italy, Korea, Colombia, and Japan. I am from Japan, and I came here alone so I was relieved to make friends there. Before class started, I have hung out with my roommate:) We tried a bubble tea, clam chowder at Pier 39 and ate pizza. Being from Japan, everything here is bigger, but they were tasty so I hope I can eat everything soon!! I have 5 meals plan, so I go to the City Eats for dinner which is the dining restaurant on campus. There are various kinds of meals, but my favorite is the hamburger!!!
Classes have started and I became busy and felt depressed. I joined classes with local students take so I am struggling to catch what professors say and join discussions and conversations. I have speeches or presentation or discussion every time. It is quite challenging for me as person still learning English to keep up with classes. However, one of my goals is to be able to use English fluently, so the challenge is going to make my skills improve.
At the SFSU, there are a lot of fun events. You can get free food at those events!! I was surprised to get free food such as pizza, donuts and snacks at the events. I have participated in drag queen Bingo and bonfire, Giants baseball game and comedy show. You can make friends at these events and make special memories. My challenge is to ask foreign friends I have met even only once to go to these events together. Now I still cannot say what I want to say but this habit leads to make my motivation higher and develop my skills. When I went to bonfire event, I impressed by the view of the beach. It was amazingly beautiful. I am going to visit beaches from now on.
I enjoyed two events. Firstly, Giants baseball game!!! It was my first time to watch a baseball game, and the Giants is literally a big team. I went to watch with my European friends<3 We got tickets for free. I bought a meal in Giants cap!!
The vibe in the stadium was awesome and I really enjoyed feeling the atmosphere in there. Our seats were kind like fault zone, so I was expecting balls were coming toward me, but that ended with just expectations. During the game, I walked around the stadium. When I arrived at the highest level, one of the members of Giants hit the homerun!! Fortunately, I could see players running from here.
Also, it was my birthday!!! I turned 21 years old on Sep 10th. In Japan, we do not have a habit to have a birthday party by ourselves, so I was really struggling a lot to plan my birthday party. I was like “What should I buy?!” “Who can I invite?!” I finally decided to spend my birthday at Ocean Beach but the weather was bad. We went back to our dorm, and I held the party in my living room. There were around 10 global friends. I prepared drinks, foods and decorations, then the party was gorgeous and fun with pop music. I was overthinking how to make it fun, but my friends hyped things up, and it turned out to be the best birthday ever. Turning 21 is a big deal in the U.S. because it opens up more places I can go, so I want to have a lot of new experiences. I am really happy I got to grow closer with the friends who came to the party.
On the weekend, I hung out with my friends and explored San Francisco. My favorite things to do is to chill on the grass. I have been to Alamo Square which is pretty famous for “Full House” homes. I found Popeyes near there, so I bought chicken, biscuit and french fries, then headed to Alamo Square. The people there were lounging on the grass, chatting, and having a relaxed time. There were also lots of dogs, which made it really soothing. The weather in San Francisco was relatively nice, making it the perfect day for a picnic.
Other places I visited were Pier 39. There were sea lions in the Pier 39. I have already been to there twice, during the day and at night. I like how everything looks lit up at night, so I was more excited for Pier 39 at night. Even at night, sea lions are so loud talking to each other. I did not enter the souvenir shops yet, so I want to go back and see those. If you are lucky, you would be able to see yellow small, cute cars on the road. There were some unique and cool cars!!! In addition, I would like you to think to go to Sundown Cinema. It was held at certain parks like Alamo Square. I could feel the vibe and it really felt like I was abroad. The movie I watched was kind of documentary movie, so I was not interested, but it is going to be a Disney movie next time!!! It also was very windy and cold. We did not bring blankets, so we were frozen. If you are interested in going to there, I recommend you bring soemthing to keep yourself warm.
There is something I have been doing every day since I got here: writing a diary. By recording the day’s events and my thoughts at the time, I can vividly recall my current experiences when I read it later. Writing a diary is a great way to keep track of special moments and memories here. Although I am not great at maintaining habits, I have decided to stick with this. Additionally, writing in a foreign language might help me notice my progress from start to finish. I will work hard every day to see improvement in my English skills in four months.