Wake Up San Francisco

It has been almost a month since I have made a post on my blog, and I send my deepest apologies. I have been acquainting myself with the city of San Francisco for three weeks, and I finally have time to discuss my experiences.

Someone please cue the Full House music!

Mari in the Bay Episode 1: Wake Up San Francisco

Silvia and I now live together, which is great (cue my menical laughter). Silvia and I had talked previously of living together in the past, and living with one's best friend is fun. Maybe it's a dream come true, or maybe a nightmare awaiting to occur. I still think it's weird that I get to see her everyday compared to the times I would only see her ever other month while in high school (if you did not know, Silvia and I lived an hour apart from one another making it rare to see each other). I rarely see Silvia since she works and has a different schedule than me, but it still makes living in California fun for now.

Hanging out with the bae in the bay

For the past few weeks, I also have been embedded in my studies. Times are rare when I could update this blog, for I have homework that needs to be taken care as soon as possible. I also respectfully see the differences between Nevada and California education. Although I am not saying my experiences at UNLV were not educating or helpful, I must say California education forces one to never stray far from their studies. I am currently taking four classes, each and every class are four credits, which is far less than the amount I would have taken at UNLV. I am taking a variety of classes such as: Asian American Literature, Economics, Philosophy, and English. All classes have submitted heavy doses of texts to read. At least on the bright side I am able to do homework on my off days which are Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

I also admit the weather is not to my liking. My uncle has told me countless of times that the weather where I live gets hot during September. Unfortunately, I have been wearing clothes that are too prepared for the cold and not the heat. Here are some of my greatest encounters while walking to and from home in the intense heat:

Mari not understanding California weather

Mari dying of heat part two for wearing all black AGAIN

Besides education, I have immersed myself in other areas San Francisco holds. I live in San Bruno (apart of South San Francisco) and visit Tanforan mall more often than not. The mall is less than a minute walk from the BART I come to and from school, so it is hard to stay away. I had learned through my Asian American Literature class that the mall use to be a enclosure for Japanse Americans and Japanese immigrants for their internment camp arrangements. I had forgotten how old the city is and sometimes feel sorrowful of the dark past America holds, but now let's move on from less depressing topics.

South San Francisco sign in San Bruno

Discovered a new store called Ichiban Kan selling cute
Japanese items for less like this 8 pocket folder and agenda

Other items from Ichiban Kan that I bought:
large bento case and traveling utensils set

I visited Japan Town twice: once with Silvia and another during my free day away from school. The main reason why Silvia and I had gone was for my sister. She has been begging me to buy her an Alpacaso, and I began looking for stores that sell them. I saw (below) this one for $50, and I still do not understand why my sister needs this stuff animal greatly. When I do not need to carry many items in my purse, I will finally buy her useless plush and ship it to Las Vegas. Besides looking for alpaca plushies, we stopped by DAISO, a cheap Japanese store with items for less than $2. Through the two visits in Japan Town, here are some items I discovered while at Japan Town:

Mini Alpacaso's ($15)

The stupid $50 Alpacaso my sister wants

DC Domo Pop Vinyls

DC Domo Pop Vinyl's cont.

Alongside many of the Japanese merchandise, I came across a section entirely dedicated to AKB48. I had to awaken the inner fangirl in me and took probably 10-15 minutes in this section. And yes, I am straight, but how would you feel if there's a big section with the girls you love in it? I fucking thought so.

Tomochin Graduation Photobook that I will be buying soon~

I believe this is Tomomi Kasai's graduation photobook

Maeda Atsuko Graduation Photobook

Other AKB48 merchandise and memorabilia 

Union Square and Westfield mall were other destinations I had came across since Silvia works in one of the stores, but I haven't been able to avidly shop than what I intended (even though I have enough money to shop since I am saving more than needed). I only shopped at H&M for shoes and going to shop at UNIQLO when I have time. I had instead shopped at MUJI to buy supplies for Silvia and unfortunately got lost looking for the bus. I accidentally stumbled upon the ghetto since most of the street signs I came across were numbers. I had to ask for directions and luckily made it home safely since I kept panicing that I probably would die from my stupidity from not finding a mere bus stop. Once I got on the bus, I still was timid in finding Balboa Park BART, but luckily two nice ladies had guided the way for me.

A few other items I had picked up:

Heart tea leaves infuser and cute fox
toothbrush holder from Japan Town

DAISO small bunny bento container

San Francisco is truly a big change than from the Henderson streets I am use to. I have not yet realized that Henderson is pretty small compared to the big city life of San Francisco. I had not realized how small Las Vegas and Henderson are compared to San Francisco. People often commute more than those in Henderson wasting their money on gas for their cars. I find it more efficient to ride the BART, MUNI, and other public transits to get to and from places (especially since I get to ride SF commute systems for free). I play games with myself on the BART and MUNI by staring at random people until they look away, which makes me win, but if I look away, I lose. Besides commute system fun, I really miss seeing old friends since it is a little bit tougher if any to find friends at school. Maybe it is because people already established friendships in the previous semesters, but I am more lonely here than what I had thought. I also miss my family more than I need to since I do not have the luxery to see them as often. On a brighter note, I had gotten close to my cousins, which was one of the things I wanted to do whilst moving here. Although being in California is a bit rough emotionally and socially, I feel I will be able to bare through with it.

Hope you guys hear more from me soon ^^

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