Experiencing Different Cultures in San Francisco

When I came for the first time to the United States, I went to a community college in the San Francisco area for two years. I’m always excited for spring break because, in Indonesia, where I came from, we don’t have spring break at all. It is really good to have one week away from school and explore another city.

“There are always new things to explore in San Francisco. My tips for international students are to make new friends everywhere, explore different kinds of food, check the weather of your destination, plan your trip and invite friends.”

This spring break I decided to visit San Francisco. I have some international friends and some family who live there. In my opinion, San Francisco is one of the most diverse cities in the U.S. Every time I walk in downtown, I always hear people talking in different languages. Not only that, but San Francisco also has so many different kinds of food, either local or international.

Start with the drinks:

I love coffee and I had Peet’s Coffee & Tea. Peet’s Coffee is the local authentic coffee from Berkeley, which is just across the Bay from San Francisco

San Francisco is known for its boba tea as well. I also met my co-workers from SDSU who live in the Bay Area. We hung out and they took me to local boba tea.

I also have the authentic Indian food in Concord called Naan Curry — it’s the best Indian food I’ve ever had!

The best dessert is found at Ghirardelli and San Francisco has a beautiful, big Ghirardelli square.

Because I’m Indonesian, I also had some Indonesian food in Berkeley. My favorite is mie tek-tek which is the authentic Indonesian street food. My Japanese friends from my community college loved the food.

I visited my relatives who live in East Bay, as well. And they took me to Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. It was really fun because there were lots of games and pets. That was my first time experiencing and Easter Egg hunt and I got to touch an alpaca.

There are always new things to explore in San Francisco. My tips for international students are to make new friends everywhere, explore different kinds of food, check the weather of your destination, plan your trip and invite friends. My trip was more fun because of my friends around me.

Spring break is a great opportunity to explore and learn about other cultures. I’m looking forward to another school break to explore a different part of the U.S.!

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Monica Kading is a comparative international studies junior. She is an international student from Indonesia.