| I knew about San Francisco when I was in China and saw it in some movies. In my mind, San Francisco was a beautiful city with many big buildings, but when my husband drove me from the airport to my house, I never saw many buildings on the two sides of the streets. I just saw smaller homes on the streets. My heart thought, "Woah! Is this San Francisco? How is it different from those movies? Do I just live here? Where are the stores? Where are those buildings?" I was very very surprised when I just came here. Now I think I like S.F. very much!--Wen |
| When I first got here, I didn't know any English, and the first thing that surprised me was that my friends were watching a Spanish channel. Also, when I went out of the apartment for the first time, I saw many Latin people on the street.--Sergio |
| I've been living in San Francisco for four years and seven months. When I first came here, I saw two gays kiss for a long time and a lot of homeless living on the street. I was very surprised. Some places are a mess. Before, I thought San Francisco was a very clean city. I like some things about S.F. and I don't like some things. I like City College of San Francisco. There the teachers are very nice. I like S.F.'s weather because it is not too hot and not too cold. I don't like S.F. because there are a lot of people and cars. Parking is difficult. I usually forget street cleaning days. I got a lot of tickets. My favorite places are next to the Golden Gate Bridge and Ocean Beach. There are a lot of crabs. You can catch them. It's a lot of fun. When my friends from another city come here to visit me, I'm going to drive them to the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Fisherman's Wharf, downtown and Ocean Beach--Daisy |
| I have been living in San Francisco about four years. I came to San Francisco in the winter. I wore a very warm topcoat and hat, because in my country winter is very cold. When I arrived in San Francisco, I was very surprised. The weather was warm, like in spring in my country. I had to remove my coat and hat. Around me bloomed flowers in winter. I was very surprised. I like San Francisco. It is a flowering garden all the year.--Lilianna |
| I've been here in San Francisco for one year. When I arrived here I felt very strange and confused because I had changed my culture and customs. I like living in S.F. because the environment is cleaner and healthful. My favorite places are Golden Gate Park and the beach. Those places are quiet and comfortable for me. The places that are more expensive are Tiburon, Embarcadero and Marina. I think so!! If a friend came to visit me, I'd show him/her the famous places in this area, like the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Alcatraz, Carmel, Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown. San Francisco is a nice place.--Lorena |
| I have been living here for 3 years. Before coming here I knew it was a nice city. What surprised me was the weather. It changes a lot. I like to live in S.F. It's a nice city. It has a lot of places to go and there is a lot of public transportation. If a friend comes to visit me, I will show him Golden Gate Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, downtown, Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, and Ocean Beach. My favorite places are Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Park. I know the zoo and some museums. One of the expensive places is the Marina District. If somebody asked me for advice on moving to S.F., I would tell him it is a very nice place to live.--Aminadab |
| When I first came to San Francisco, I felt San Francisco is beautiful. There are many trees and a lot of grass. The air is clear. The weather is not too hot or cold. I like living in San Francisco. If a friend from another country visited me, I would show her Golden Gate Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, the beach, Fisherman's Wharf, cable cars and so on. Golden Gate Park is the largest park in the city. Lots of the trees in the park are very old. If you walk in the park, you will feel relaxed.--May |
| I've been in the USA for 1 year and 8 months. I used to live in Half Moon Bay. I moved to S.F. 1 month ago, so the weather didn't surprise me, (of course in Half Moon Bay the weather is pretty much the same, or maybe even worse) but the people walking on the street in only their underwear--that was a shock for me. I like S.F. because of the people who are from different countries. Every day you can learn about another culture--that's really interesting for me. I like places like Twin Peaks, from which you can see all the town--the view is really great! What I don't like in S.F. is looking for a parking spot. I wouldn't recommend that my friends move downtown--every two hours you have to move your car to another spot. That's terrible. That's why I live in the Sunset. (It's pretty easy to find a spot.)--Izabela |
| I have been living in San Francisco for 2 years. Actually, my parents told me everything before I came to San Francisco so there wasn't anything to surprise me, and also I didn't expect that my parents would support me and my family because my parents are retired. I'm very close to my mom and I kept talking to my mom 2 or 3 times a week before I came here. I like to live in S.F., and I especially like the weather, transportation, grocery shopping, and schooling for kids and adults. However, I don't like to pay so much for rent. I felt comfortable when I first arrived in S.F. because I was told about it by my mom.--Jennie |
| I came to S.F. in 1999. I expected at night it would be so quiet. I was surprised about gay couples, that some cars are very old, going to school is free, and the weather is good. In S.F. I can get more education. I don't like it when I want to buy something before I get paid. That means I wait so long, and some buildings are very old and very poor. My favorite place is Ocean Beach.--Lyman |
| I came here to San Francisco from India in June. I have been here for three months. Here in San Francisco nothing is different than I expected. I knew about the Golden Gate Bridge and the Ocean before I came here. I like living in San Francisco because I like the weather, ocean, and the college. If my friend came from another country to visit me, I would like to show him the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, and the Bay Bridge, etc. Muir Woods is my favorite place near San Francisco.--Kulvinder |
| I have been living in San Francisco for a short time. When I first came to S.F. I was surprised by the beautiful homes, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Pacific Ocean beach and of course by the places like Fisherman's Wharf where we can see people from different countries and feel the real culture of this beautiful city. The prison of Alcatraz is the place that I want to see as soon as it is possible because it is a very famous prison all over the world. I am also impressed by the nightlife of S.F. I knew before that S.F. is a city with disco style places and now I see that it was the truth.--Abdulla |
| I have been living in San Francisco about ten years, and the first thing that surprised me was the Muni transportation, because it works with electricity. Another thing was a little sad, because my sister and I were hungry and at that time we did not know a lot of English. We tried to buy a hamburger and we did not know how to order. The lady understood what we were trying to order and finally we got the hamburgers. That was so sad and funny at the same time. Now I love living in S.F. and know how to order hamburgers.--Karla |
| I have been living in San Francisco for 2 years. I like living here. It's an interesting city, especially the big mix of cultures and nationalities. You have the opportunity to learn about different countries. Before I came here, I had an idea in my mind about the city. I bought a guide to learn a little of San Francisco's lifestyle. There are beautiful places to visit. One of them is Golden Gate Park. Bad things about the city are: parking, old buses, and the frequent noises of fire trucks and police cars.--Cibele |
| When I came from Cuba to San Francisco, everything was exciting for me. One of the most shocking things was the weather and the homeless. I had never soon so many of them. Now I have been living here for 2 years and I love everything in this city. I can't imagine living out of San Francisco--Maigualida |
| I have been living in San Francisco about three years. When I first came to San Francisco, I felt cold and I couldn't speak English. I couldn't find any job so I went back to my country for about three months. Then I came to San Francisco a second time, in August, 2002. I took an ESL class at this school and I found a full-time job. I learn English in a night class. I can meet people from different countries. Now I feel living in San Francisco is easy, and I can try food from different countries. If someone asks me about S.F. I will tell him or her S.F. is a good city, and show him or her Golden Gate Park.--Xi Peng |
| I live in one of the best cities in the U.S., San Francisco. When I came here the first place that I knew was Castro Street and I saw a lot of people with their own customs. I visited Golden Gate Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, and other beautiful places, restaurants and theaters. San Francisco has good public transportation services. The weather is crazy and changes all the time. I didn't expect to see a lot of homeless people downtown. I like to walk on Haight Street. It's crazy. There are many different lifestyles--Victor |
My name is Oyuna. I've been living in San Francisco for 2 and a half years. When I first came here, I wasn't surprised about San Francisco's weather because when I was in my country, I read about San Franciso's weather and some information on the Internet. Then I took my jacket from my suitcase in the San Francisco airport. Second, I saw the gay parade for the first time after being here two days. I don't like to talk about homeless in San Francisco. I have changed my lifestyle since I first arrived. My favorite places in San Francisco are Ocean Beach and Fisherman's Wharf. I'd like to take friends from another country to the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Ocean Beach, Union Square and downtown, and Twin Peaks at night. The Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, Ocean Beach and Twin Peaks at night are free, but Fisherman's Wharf is expensive. I want to advise anyone who is thinking of moving to San Francisco:
|