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	Second year students, having done their Extended Service (120 hours in their home communities around the world) were not required to do a project -- although some did so in any case. The story of the week would be incomplete, though, without a glance at the other function of the week -- a chance to take a break.				TOURIST TIME IN SAN FRANCISCO by Ian Beacock (year 31) How good it felt to sit in the back of the cab by the Max Bell steps on Friday night and be spirited away for a wonderful week of relaxation and adventure in the United States of America. Cecilia, Puen, Adriaan and I all felt the same way &Mac246; after a crazy week of work, we were more than ready for a break. Our first night was far from relaxing, sleeping in Vancouver Airport, but we did temper it with two tubs of Ben and Jerry's ice cream at midnight and the realization that we had no work to do. Early the next morning, we set off on the 7AM shuttle that would take us across the largest undefended border in the world to the land of the free, the home of the brave, and California. Palm trees and sunshine awaited us, but we had to first make it through a mind-numbing 6-hour wait in Seattle airport. At any rate, we eventually hopped on our flight from Seattle to Oakland International Airport, which is across the bay from San Francisco, our final destination. Jon and Paula (both PC30) are going to the San Francisco Art Institute, and both met us at the airport -- it brought back lots of good memories to see them again.
	Our week flew by from there. We hit pretty much all parts of the city, having an entire week to take it in. We walked across the Golden Gate Bridge on a beautiful cloudless day, snapping plenty of shots of the San Francisco skyline and the famous bridge itself. We wandered through Fisherman's Wharf, the oh-so-touristy yet must-see area of the city along the harbour, smelling fresh seafood and pushing our way through crowds of visitors. We explored the Mission, the sketchy area of town that houses most of the city's Latino population. We ducked down into the gay pride district, the Castro, two nights before Halloween &Mac246; the costumes were quite something, I have to say. Greek Orthodox priests, pregnant nuns and everything in between. We hit the gritty hippie area of the Haight on our way to the De Young Galleries, marveling at the stores heralding anarchist books and tie-dyed everything. We saw the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with our resident art expert, Jon, taking in the Picasso, Diego Rivera, etc. I took the ferry over to the famed prison of Alcatraz, which was worthwhile but not worth repeating. We went and saw a play for only $8 (huzzah for student prices) at one of the best theatre companies in America. And there's so much more that we did in our week that I don't have time to describe here. And did we ever eat well. The first night was Italian, cooked up by Cecilia, and the next was authentic Mexican burritos from the Mission. Then Puen put together some great Thai food, followed the next night by excellent sushi on Chestnut Street, near Jon&Mac226;s place. Before the play on Thursday night, we went for Indian/Pakistani, where I had some darn good korma and naan. Friday night was Thai food in the Haight, and Saturday was pizzas from Safeway. A pretty good cultural smorgasbord, if I do say so myself. It was tough to leave Jon and Paula again &Mac246; it had been great to see them over the week and have them show us their wonderful city. San Francisco should definitely be on everyone's list. On Sunday morning, after a Thai passport mix-up, we got back on our plane and headed for Canada. Thanks to a nice guy named Al with a minivan, we made it to the ferry on time and avoided another stay in Vancouver Airport. It was a fantastic week, despite Adriaan's continual singing and Puen's hysterical laughter while watching Friends -- a great way to spend the week, without question. NEXT: VISITING MUSICIAN