On December 5th, 2010 my plane landed in San Francisco. My booking involved four weeks studying in Converse International School of Languages and eight weeks Volunteer English program. Also, I am living for those three months in a home stay.

I spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve in San Francisco. I didn’t wait for white Christmas and not for summer. Here I expected mild temperatures between 35 ° and 55 ° Fahrenheit (ca. 0 ° to 15 ° Celsius) perfect for shopping and sightseeing. I also met up with my classmates and fellow students to take, for example, dinner in restaurants. To fill out the program, CISL offers variety of offerings.

I spent Christmas with my family. This was a priceless experience for me to celebrate Christmas outside of my family in another culture. I could find out differences and similarities between American and my German culture. My wonderful host family is of Filipino origin. They have four grown children and eight grandchildren aged two to eighteen years. The whole family comes together to Christmas, on 12/25. There I could share with all family members everything possible and I could enjoy Christmas in a different family.

New Years Eve I spent with my classmates, my fellow students and my new friends. You meet up with them at one of your host family, residence, apartment or in public restaurants, bars and clubs. At 11 pm you should go to the “Embarcadero” because at 00:00 clock there starts big fireworks. Perhaps I’ve never even seen so many people in one place and certainly I’ve never seen so many different cultures in one place.
Then the party was into the early morning hours.

View of San Franciscio Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge from Coit Tower, atop Telegraph Hill

San Francisco is a city famous for steep hills, street cars, and a liberal attitude unmatched in the United States. In America it is mentioned in the same sentence as New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Austin, and Chicago. In fact, it has been voted best city for the past sixteen years. Internationally it is compared to Berlin, France, Amsterdam, and Prague.

So, as one would expect with a world-class city, there is no shortage of things to do.

Begin to discover what’s going on in San Francisco by exploring the links below! And these aren’t boring links from the office of tourism, these are links that will keep you “in the know” about what is going on in this vibrant city.

Remember, come back because the site is updated with tips for events, concerts, restaurants, and more so that you can know what is going on!

The Laughing Squid : This is a great resource for Art, Culture, and Technology events in the Bay Area.

Daily Candy: Daily Candy operates in specific cities and covers all things culture: nightlife, restaurants, fashion, events, art, and more!