Hello, everyone! Today I am writing from my dorm room in downtown San Francisco. Before I left Buffalo, many people asked me to share my journey, so here is me sharing it!

My goal with these entries is to describe my travels: what I see, what I experience, what I learn, and what I feel. With any big shift, the world seems to be moving faster than I can keep up with so I will try my best to give frequent reflections on living in San Francisco.

I also intend on creating numerous videos documenting my time here, so I highly recommend you watch those for a change in flvor.

Here is my moving vlog to get you started:

Anyways, Stephanie, what are you thinking? What have you been up to?

Firstly, let me contextualize why I even moved across the country. I am attending Minerva University where the main premise of the uni is re-engineering higher education to facilitate active learning inside and outside of the classroom. A part of the curriculum is traveling each semester to a different country around the globe. This semester, the country is the USA in San Francisco.

Quite honestly, these past two weeks have been JAM-PACKED! Leading up to classes, I luckily had lots of time to explore the city. When I wasn’t in various foundation week meetings, I was visiting museums, walking along the piers, visiting the library, getting a COVID test (no symptoms, just ensuring we are all safe in the res hall), and most frequently: grocery shopping. At Minerva, instead of dining halls and meal plans we are actually responsible for our own meal prep (which is actually perfect for me, the vegan who likes to cook).

In only two weeks, I’ve laughed with the sea lions on pier 39 (twice), hiked Lands End Trail, cooked pancakes at 6 am, been brought to tears at the SF MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), contemplated reality and human history at the Asian Art Museum, stared wide-eyed at the 4-5 story library, ate really good vegan food at all-vegan restaurants, explored Japantown (twice), got lost in the posh G-Wagon-filled neighborhoods along the waterline, tasted amazing Korean, Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Egyptian, Japanese, Pakistani, and Indian food made my by classmates, grounded in Yerba Buena Park, studied at Union Square, wandered into a buyers art gallery and had a private showing, ate yummy veggies from the farmers market, and truthfully, so much more.

In San Francisco I find myself being unconditionally grateful for every moment and interaction. Gratitude is often a task for me which I must consciously define and be aware of. But here, gratitude floods through my veins thick as blood. In simplest of ways, I am purely happy.

Yes, there are ties when FOMO sets in or I miss some aspect of home, but for the most part, I feel really good in San Francisco. Typically when I travel, there comes a time quite quickly when I’m ready to return to the convenience of home. Here, I haven’t felt that pull yet which is unusual, especially being in a big city.

But upon my observations, San Francisco is unlike any other city I have travelled to thus far. There are few skyscrapers like those dominating NYC, and I feel less grimy here than I would feel in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. The paths are a rich red brick, and the architecture is ornate, lacking the boring parallel planes.

On a more functional level, San Francisco is EASY to navigate. Grid style roads are effective, but more importantly is the public transportation. There is not just a subway, but also electric buses, trolley cars, and streetcars. For small frees there are also so many electric bikes and scooters throughout the city (none of which I have tried though as of yet). For 18 and under, the majority of public transportation (Muni) is free which makes everything even more perfect for 17 year old me.

Let’s not forget about the nature in this city; there are parks EVERYWHERE. Public spaces are sprinkled throughout the city in addition to the beaches and piers lining the peninsula. Since San Francisco is only about 7 miles by 7 miles, accessing any of these areas is super easy (especially with public transit!!)

So overall, I am thoroughly enjoying San Francisco more than I expected.

(If you have any questions about my travel experiences, leave a comment, and I will try my best to address them in the next update :)

Miss everyone back home,

-Stephanie :)