back in sf

Finally back at SF State. I'm taking conducting, orchestration (which seems really fun- the final project will be orchestrating a piece for full orchestra and having the sfsu symphony give it a run-through), ancient through baroque music history (which i took in chile, but i think this one will be more in depth), symphony, chamber music, and i'm trying to get into a very full biology class so I can graduate next semester. I don't think i'll do wind band... but if i do i might pl ay some contrabassoon- skill i need to learn sometime. I also got a job at the tutoring center on-campus. training starts tuesday. I'll be doing essay-writing, reading and study skills... possibly remedial math, but i sort of hope not, as I haven't studied math since high school calculus...
Though I'm once again in my country of birth, I feel foreign again. I live on the corner of 30th and Lincoln in SF, a block from Irving street. Irving is a great neighborhood with the full gamut of services offered, but all with an oriental angle. Hardly any english is spoken around here. A lady from whom I bought a toaster (what house doesn't have a toaster??) recommended in broken english that I check out the big supermarket down the block, assuring me that it had everything. That sounded great, so I went down there only to find shelves and shelves stocked with things I could not begin to name... pickled... vegetable..? animal..? I got some half-and half (sweet nugget of white-people food!) and looked for the most normal bread. I settled on a bread sort of like cinnamon-swirl, but with sweet mung-bean paste instead of cinnamon. It's pretty good toasted. I might buy it again. I related my experience there to my housemate (who i barely ever see... it's really like a live alone here) and she said that sometimes they'll have a bucket of live frogs.
Today I left in a hurry for an appointment at school and forgot my keys in my house. While I waited for my landlord to get back and let me in I went out for Pho at a place I've been eyeing for a few days. The place smells wonderfully like all the roast ducks hanging in the window. It's so packed that if you come in alone, as I did, they sit you down with random people. Since everyone else was Vietnamese, I was a little self-concious of my chopstick abilities... but I keep up pretty well. Along with the giant bowl of brothy, noodly, beefy pho they give you a glass of hot tea (nothing like hot tea and spicy soup on a hot day!), lots of sauces, fresh bean sprouts and fresh basil. All for $5.50. The prices are generllay really good in the neighborhood. Peaches are only $.59/lb. A lot of gestures, nods and smiles go on between me and the waiters and shopkeepers. It's almost like I'm more foreign here in SF than in Santiago.
I'm off now for a run to the beach through golden gate park.