EF Stories: Britt from the Netherlands at EF San Francisco

I have been back from my trip to San Francisco for a few months now and would love to get on a plane and go back right now!

I had previously taken a trip with EF to Munich and liked it so much that the following summer I decided to go to San Francisco for 4 weeks. Why go to San Francisco? Many people told me it was a great city and the school was not that big, which was very important to me. In Munich I found it very relaxing to walk into the school and know the majority of the students.

The school had 3 floors, the ground floor just had a help desk where you had to sign in every day so they knew you were in. On floors 1 and 2 were lounge areas and the classrooms. From floor 2 you could see the Golden Gate bridge!

The location of the school is really amazing! You're on Fisherman's Wharf, there's a cable streetcar stopping right outside the door, there's a chocolate factory on the corner where you can get free chocolate during classes, you're within walking distance of Lombard Street and you're downtown in no time!

I had lessons from Richard in my 4 weeks, he was one of the best teachers I ever had! He made the classes very fun and I was always laughing in his class, it was definitely no punishment to go to his classes and it was even a shame if you missed one. Many students went to the QBAR on Monday night here the drinks are only 1$ each. In my class, almost everyone was 21+, so therefore the Tuesday morning class was not very popular ;)

EF organized fun activities, or rather Spencer organized fun activities. Spencer had a little room on the 2nd floor and you could sign up with him for anything. One time they had a party in the DNA lounge, which was one of the best nights/activities ever. The whole club was rented out and there was a photobooth where everyone had their picture taken. The nice thing about this kind of activity was that after this party everyone knew who was who. I also went to a bonfire on the beach 2 times. Spencer was always super enthusiastic about his smores and if you made one you were put on EFSF's snapchat account.

After my classes I often went to downtown San Francisco, hanging out and visiting stores. Together with Iris from Austria we enjoyed ourselves, every store we wanted was there and if it was not there we would go to an outlet mall for a day. We cycled across the Golden Gate bridge once, something you really should do. We also spent an entire Sunday on the bus to see each district; as each district is different in San Francisco. You have the hippie district where you can get incredibly delicious pizza, Japantown where you can get sushi, Chinatown where you can get, you guessed it, Chinese things and you had the Italian district within walking distance of the school. Here you could eat super delicious pizza and there were very nice coffee shops. Having a drink there after class was a given.

I slept in a host family, which was something I was afraid of. Fortunately, it was not that bad and I had the nicest host parents I could have wished for. Sean and Wilma had stories about life and thought about everything in a way I didn't know before, and really made me feel like I was at home. Sean was a great cook, sometimes getting up early in the morning to bake blueberry muffins. Also, I wanted to go running but they didn't think the neighborhood was that safe so the 3 of us ran laps in the park in the morning. My roommate Jessie came from Korea, the other side of the world, a country I know nothing about. So it was super interesting to learn more about her country and culture.

I recommend anyone who gets the chance to go away with EF to actually do it! Traveling alone, yes it is scary but everyone is there alone. No one knows the city so you are in the same boat, exploring the city together with your classmates/roommates is the most fun! Get to know the city like the locals and avoid your fellow countrymen because after all you are there to learn another language. Once you get back you realize what you got out of your trip. Not only did you learn a language but you also got places to sleep and friends all over the world and that is something I wouldn't want to have missed for the world.