Portland to San Francisco; we've reached another significant monument in this adventure. The distance we've travelled, the weather we've pushed through, and the savvy we've obtained are all impressive, but mere steps towards what we hope to accomplish. San Francisco is also the point at which we turned east towards Sacramento, Tahoe, and the Southwest. The climate and scenery along the west coast is beautiful, but in the context of this huge nation, fairly similar. In our next leg, we will travel through the deserts and canyons of the Southwest on our way to the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi, and Appalachia.
Our stay in San Francisco was eventful; we caught a Giants game, had chowder in bread bowls, and walked around much of the city including Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, and the wharf. The city itself is beautiful and authentic; the neighborhoods are filled with the famous San Franciscan row houses; street cars, muni cars, and buses buzz along on their electric wires; native and transplanted residents go about their unique existences within the Mission, Castro, and the Haight. From a vantage point, the collective size of the Bay Area is astonishing. Looking across the bay towards Oakland, civilization ceases to end, much like the scale of Seoul.
It's difficult to make a judgement based on five days of observation, but it seems as though San Francisco has an aged culture of liberalism and individuality. The residents have more or less accepted each shape and color as ingrained facets of the collective culture. It seems to me, this is a tendency of big city life. In Seoul--and South Korea in general--people are more apt to fit in than stand out as individuals. In Portland, the exact opposite tendency is present; many people seek any means available to be unique. San Francisco seems to be in between. Those seeking individuality are encouraged, as well as those comfortable fitting in.
Portland, Seoul, San Francisco; I now love three, how many more when this is over?
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