2008 Woodie Awards
Bursting the Bubble
San Francisco
Nicky West
Issue date: 11/19/04 Section: Arts & Features
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I will not lie. I am completely out of my element in San Francisco. Completely. I'm a country girl. All told, I've probably only spent a good two months of my twenty years of life outside of the tri-state area that is Vermont, New Hampshire and (Upstate) New York. I'm a geology major taking sociology and anthropology courses. I am up to my ears in Asian American studies and categories of difference, when I should really be concerned with cross-bedding, amphiboles and other geologic phenomenon. Not to mention that at the beginning of this trip, I only really knew one out of all twelve of the other students in the group.
But here's the thing - despite all of the dissimilarity - I'm having an amazing time. I've swam fully clothed in the Pacific, immersed myself in the restaurant culture of the city and become incredibly good friends with people I probably would never have crossed paths with at Colgate. I, along with some 400,000 other people, went to the oh-so-risqué Folsom street fair, which is, by the way, the third largest street fair in California, behind only the Rose Bowl and San Francisco Pride Day. I've gone to countless museums, including the Exploratorium and the new Asian Art museum. I saw an experimental, one-man show after eating at a Senegalese restaurant. I watched a traditional Chinese Lion Dance at an old fishing village. I was tricked into attending a breathtakingly large peace rally in Golden Gate Park. I mastered the public transit system (no small feat for someone who typically drives everywhere). I rented a go-cart and took it all over the city, including down the famed Lombard Street, which is the "world's crookedest street" featuring four complete S curves in one city block. I've visited the zoo, the aquarium, Alcatraz, Angel Island, and Muir Woods, saw Barry Bonds hit his 697th homerun at the Giants stadium and eaten dim sum in Chinatown. And these are only the things I can tell you about.
Don't assume that I've done these things all on my own. I feel that I've gained so much from this study experience because I've taken full advantage not only of my surrounding, but also of the social capital of my fellow students. I honestly think it's been the amalgam of the places and the people that have made this trip so amazing. Sure we've burst from the bubble by leaving Colgate, but we created our own little Colgate right here. We understand that Thursday is the new Wednesday - but we celebrate raucously and much to the chagrin of those that enforce campus policy - rather loudly - in a much more diverse and open atmosphere. This study group, as cliché as it sounds, has really given me an opportunity to figure out that I can be more than I once thought.
Oh and another thing: I didn't used to dance. Now, I dance. Ask anyone. This seems like a trifling matter, but it's really not. It's a metaphor for the experience. I have gained freedom of expression from the mood of the city and the diversity of the people with which I now interact. This is a precious thing, and so is San Francisco.
But here's the thing - despite all of the dissimilarity - I'm having an amazing time. I've swam fully clothed in the Pacific, immersed myself in the restaurant culture of the city and become incredibly good friends with people I probably would never have crossed paths with at Colgate. I, along with some 400,000 other people, went to the oh-so-risqué Folsom street fair, which is, by the way, the third largest street fair in California, behind only the Rose Bowl and San Francisco Pride Day. I've gone to countless museums, including the Exploratorium and the new Asian Art museum. I saw an experimental, one-man show after eating at a Senegalese restaurant. I watched a traditional Chinese Lion Dance at an old fishing village. I was tricked into attending a breathtakingly large peace rally in Golden Gate Park. I mastered the public transit system (no small feat for someone who typically drives everywhere). I rented a go-cart and took it all over the city, including down the famed Lombard Street, which is the "world's crookedest street" featuring four complete S curves in one city block. I've visited the zoo, the aquarium, Alcatraz, Angel Island, and Muir Woods, saw Barry Bonds hit his 697th homerun at the Giants stadium and eaten dim sum in Chinatown. And these are only the things I can tell you about.
Don't assume that I've done these things all on my own. I feel that I've gained so much from this study experience because I've taken full advantage not only of my surrounding, but also of the social capital of my fellow students. I honestly think it's been the amalgam of the places and the people that have made this trip so amazing. Sure we've burst from the bubble by leaving Colgate, but we created our own little Colgate right here. We understand that Thursday is the new Wednesday - but we celebrate raucously and much to the chagrin of those that enforce campus policy - rather loudly - in a much more diverse and open atmosphere. This study group, as cliché as it sounds, has really given me an opportunity to figure out that I can be more than I once thought.
Oh and another thing: I didn't used to dance. Now, I dance. Ask anyone. This seems like a trifling matter, but it's really not. It's a metaphor for the experience. I have gained freedom of expression from the mood of the city and the diversity of the people with which I now interact. This is a precious thing, and so is San Francisco.