I don’t entirely know how to explain it, but life here is very different than at home. Here are some things I’ve learned about San Francisco:

1. If driving your car through the neighbourhoods, you have to drive it in first gear (hills are easily a 45 degree angle in steepness).

2. If SF got CDN winters, these neighbourhood roads would provide excellent sledding hills.

3. I’ve never been to New York, but SF seems nothing like NYC. Most people here dress quite casually.

4. There are a lot of old, beautiful buildings and a lot of stair cases where you can hardly see the top because they’re covered by trees and flowers.

5. Dress in layers. The weather feels like I imagine menopause to feel like (hot cold hot cold hot cold).

6. You can’t make eye contact with everyone here or else they’ll pester you for change or try and sell you some fancy product.

7. Sea lions have a very stressful life but provide for great human entertainment. When they aren’t sleeping, they’re growling at another sea lion who just belly flopped on them, but quickly fall back asleep before a real fight breaks out.

8. There’s a lot more to San Francisco than the touristy parts (I still have to learn about this).

9. The clouds move faster than I’ve ever seen.

10. Everyone smiles and laughs here.