FINALILYY!

Here is the beginning of my much overdue pictures...

 A gorgeous view of the city from atop a giant hill...

The gross Ethiopian food we had after our intense walk.  The bread looks good, but don't let it fool you-not delicious!

One of my good friends Allison (left) and her roommate Katey.

The view at the top of a huge hill we climbed on a 6 mile walk.. it was death.

They have these all over the city.. I'm not exactly sure what's going on with that.

Alcatraz!!!!

Palace of Fine Arts-Evidently this thing has no purpose, it was just built for an exposition sometime a long time ago.

It's really pretty though!

We walked all the way to the bridge-about 4.5 miles-and then kept going!

Haha some random poster in the BART station.

A few of us goofing around while we wait for the BART to go to Berkeley.

One side of the table at a local hookah bar.

More to come of my house, room, etc :)

Things have been pretty good since we last spoke.  I have been to almost all of the different parts of town by now, and on pretty much every bus.  I took the BART (bay area rapid transit-not just a funny name) for the first time the other day to Berkeley.  It was a new and fun experience, a lot nicer than the buses around town.  I have see so many amazing things, and have been doing A LOT of walking.  But I suppose that's a good thing since I am also doing a lot of eating.  I have even created a lost of the foods I have tried-yes, I actually did try some new things!  Proud?  Good, you should be :)

1.  Papusa-some kind of Mexican pancake thing filled with cheese or meat.  Amazingly delicious, and I have been craving them ever since I tried them.

2.  Tamales- also very good!  So next time we get them at home, I will definitely participate!

3.  Ethiopian crap-definitely no bueno!  It was some weird sour sponge bread that you used to pick up different kinds of meat and beans in weird sauce.  Hannah was not a fan of this.. stuff?

4.  Burrito which isn't that cool, but it had guacamole, sour cream, beans, and salsa.  This was ok, edible.  But I wasn't a huge fan of the sour cream and stuff, I think I will stick to my plain burritos from now on.  But at least I tried :)

5.  Fritz-belgium french fries that you dip in pesto sauce or chili ketchup.  They were delicious, but the pesto didn't mix well, and I didn't try the chili ketchup because as you all know, "water is spicy" to me.

On a different note, I have suddenly become very homesick since yesterday, which is a very new feat to me.  I have never been homesick before because I have never been away from home for an extensive period of time.  I think that the initial excitement is gone and I have finally realized how long I am going to be here for.  And how far away it is until I will see my family and friends.  I miss everyone so much, and have been feeling very lonely, even though I have made great friends up here.  It's just weird to not be in the town I have lived in for 14 years and see everything I am used to everyday.  So to my parents, siblings, other family, dog, fish, and friends: I miss you very much, and now REALLY can't wait to come home at Easter time!!!!  I also kinda feel stupid up here being homesick because I am the only one who has never been away from home.  To everyone else, its just another semester at school.  But for me, it is a whole different experience.  

Until next time... when I really will hopefully post pictures.  I actually haven't taken many pictures because everytime I do, I realize how much my camera sucks and how badly I need a new one.  But I am working on it.  

Also, some of you have asked for my address up here, so here it is..

Hannah Kennedy

301 Lyon St.

San Francisco, Ca 94117

The San Francisco Treat :)

I apologize to those of you (if any?) that have checked this only to find it empty since I have moved.  Things have been so crazy up here, but soo awesome!!  With that said, I don't even know where to start.  So bare with me if I ramble on, so much has happened in these few days. 

 

So my trip was a blast!  I know that's weird, but I LOVE flying on airplanes.  Even though I hadn't done it since the 2nd grade, I was greatly looking forward to it, and it was everything I could dream of and more.  Basically, the best roller coaster ever!  And then once we got up high enough, the view was absolutely incredible!  Definitely one of the most amazing sights to see!  Especially since I got my desired window seat :)  

Once I got to the Oakland airport, things got a little crazy.  My flight was a few minutes late arriving, so that set everything back.  After I got lost for a few minutes, I proceeded to wait for 20 minutes at the wrong baggage claim.  Once I realized this (after no more bags came out), I wandered for a while, eventually finding my bags with about half an hour to get to SF.  I rolled my bags bigger and heavier than me out to the curb and waited 30 minutes for my shuttle to arrive.  By now I was a bit freaking out because I was supposed to be at my house by now, and we hadn't even left the airport.  I knew I was doomed to having some crack head roommate-my biggest fear of this whole process.  

I finally got onto my shuttle and we were on our way too many minutes later.  And just my luck, the shuttle driver was insane and almost got us in 3 accidents on the way to my house.  I felt terrible for the people still on the shuttle when I left.  Hopefully they are still alive.

I finally arrived an hour and a half late., but at least I was alive.  I was taken to my room with two other girls.  And now where I really thank God, they are awesome!  We have the biggest room in the house (because there are 3 of us) and a beautiful view of Golden Gate Park right out our window.  We are just north of the Panhandle, for those of you that know the area.  I will post pictures hopefully soon, once I can get outside to take pictures without rain.  

Then I unpacked my things, only to realize how much I had forgotten-the top to my toothbrush, sheets that actually fit my twin xl bed, etc.  So I have been trying to get along until today, when hopefully my packages will be coming and I will get the rest of my stuff-except the sheets :(  So until I figure out what to do with my new sheets from xmas, I have been layering and shivering at night.  

Now that I have really realized how much I have rambled, and that you all don't care about THAT many details, I will try to calm it down a tad from here on out.  We have had many orientation-type meetings the past few days, including a way too extensive walk through many districts from the city-totaling about 7 miles and 8 hours.  It was fun to see all the different districts, but I think it's implied that I slept very well that night!  Since then, we have been learning how things work up here and what-have-you.

I had much more after this, but it just got deleted, and I don't have time to rethink it all before my next meeting in a few minutes.  But I will update more later, hopefully with pictures.  

I miss you all very much and can't wait to see you over Easter break!  MUCH LOVEEE