Sorry for missing a post on the schedule, but I have a strong excuse– I was showing my friend from San Diego (going to UCLA) around San Francisco and Berkeley. I just got home from spending the last hour or two riding trains, so I'm very tired. But, still, it was one of the most exciting times I've had in a while, with three parts: San Francisco with my friend, Berkeley with her and her friend going to SFSU, and going home. For ease, I'm going to call them by the college they're going to.
The first part of the day was very touristy. In the morning, I took BART and the MUNI Metro to pick up UCLA at the university, and we went to the Golden Gate Bridge. I've been a few times, and today it was more beautiful than ever. There was just the right amount of fog and sun, but we still had a perfect view of the bridge, city, Alcatraz, and bay. UCLA thought the bridge was more beautiful in person than it is in the postcards; it never really hit her that it was something tangible– that it was large and able to be walked on. Once we walked half of the bridge, we took a bus going the wrong direction but eventually reached Ghiradelli Square, where UCLA bought some ice cream and I bought a shake. We walked along the waterside until we reached Fisherman's Wharf, where we had sourdough clam chowder at Boudin and played foosball at the Musee Mechanique. After that, we went to Pier 39 and window shopped for a while. The conversation mainly revolved around our own relationships, plans for college, and experiences working at ice cream shops. Finally, we caught a bus to Chinatown and went shopping for clothing and fidget spinners– her choice, not mine. We spent a lot of time thinking of bad pick-up lines/puns that I sent to my friends; UCLA eventually got a call from SFSU that she was done with orientation, so after resting in a park for a while, we all met at BART.
From BART, the second part of the day began as we met. I think we all hit it off pretty well, and we took a train to Berkeley. There, I brought them to the Asian Ghetto for food, and afterwards we looked for stores selling Cal gear. Most were closed, so we just decided to get milk tea at U-Cha and I gave them a tour of the campus, showing them the basic stuff like the Campanile, Valley Life Sciences Building, and whispering bench. The day ended with an ice cream sandwich at Cream, which we all shared together before heading back to BART. It was getting pretty late, but since they didn't really know how to navigate public transit here, I went back with them to the university.
The last leg of the trip came from my adventure trying to get back home. I haven't taken MUNI Metro at all until the day before, and when I reached the end of the line, I had no clue how to reach a BART Station. My phone was almost dead, and I got onto another train, but was kicked off by the operator who said that he was also reaching the end of the line. I ended up hopping onto a third train, marked shuttle, that I had no idea where was going– all I knew that it was moving in the direction I needed to go. At this time of the night, San Francisco was especially beautiful; it was a sea of lights in a place I had never been alone. I had a conversation with a man who had a knack for identifying people's races and spoke too fast and too quiet with a mumble. He connected the protests today, in Germany and about Korea, with his experiences seeing the protests about the Vietnam War. After transferring to another train once the shuttle stopped, I finally was in a place I felt was familiar. I got off at Civic Center and had a quick conversation with a Filipino lady who lived near the station and was surprised that I lived so far away from San Francisco.
Since I've never taken BART this late at night, and caught the second-to-last train, I went in and sat down in the first seat I could. When I did, I accidentally took the seat of a man who was going to sit with his wife– and he angrily asked me if I was stealing his girl. I quickly switched to the seat behind him, and I spent the rest of the ride watching the rest of the people on the train. In front of me was the angry man and his wife; they fell asleep together as the ride went on. Behind me was a girl who was either writing or sketching something in a notebook the entire ride. To my left, there was a man who looked angry at the world, taking swigs out of a bottle of Jager and chasing it down with coke. He was eventually replaced with two ladies who were drunk and giddy and laughing the entire time. In the corner of the car were two young metalheads, who kept flashing the rock-on sign throughout the ride. The most interesting people was another couple, two seats in front of me, who discussed the importance of education in socioeconomics. Someone sitting next to them joined their conversation, and they talked about topics ranging from music, to stories growing up and leaving home, to recipes, and to ideas of progressivism. The wife looked at me a couple of times, smiled, and rolled her eyes when politics came up, and I smiled back.
Today was a day with a lot of firsts. I took a number of buses that I never have taken before. I went to places that I've never been, despite living here for my whole life. I ate at restaurants that I've never tried, and walked in areas that I've never seen. I also got to look at the city and stay out, far from home, at a time much later than I've ever been. It's fun– but it's also terrifying and exciting at the same time. At times, it felt lonely. At others, I felt like I had been long friends with people I've only known for a weekend or have never met at all. I guess this is what it feels like to grow up; last night was memorable and I'd definitely do it again in a heartbeat.
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