Monday, December 7, 2009

Final Impressions

This is my last blog! It's been a very long semester, but I honestly did enjoy spending time and learning more about the Sunset District.

The most difficult part about keeping a blog is having to decide how to post updates! This is my very first blog, and I don't think I'm very good at posting blogs from a personal standpoint, so the blogs ended up being like short news stories; for some reason, I don't like writing from a personal standpoint unless I feel strongly about something or if it's for personal use, like a journal. So it was weird for me to post blogs without using the "I" perspective.

Another difficult part of creating a blog was getting sources. It was difficult approaching strangers and ask random questions without feeling like a nuisance or type of solicitor, especially when I had to walk in stores or businesses and not buy anything but ask the employees questions, which probably came off as really intrusive in most cases. There were also times when I felt like I could have gotten more sources if I was working for a newspaper and not just as a student.

The lasting impression I have of my neighborhood is that there is more to the district than its reputation of being a peaceful, relatively inactive neighborhood. Even though the district is a lot less busy than other San Francisco neighborhoods, there are a lot of fun activities and cool shops--like Tutti Frutti and Amazing Fantasy Comic Store--that do not seem to get as much attention from outsiders as its reputation of being a residential area. However, the district's reputation of having a lot of restaurants and good definitely proved to be true in my mind; there are lot of seriously awesome and inexpensive places to eat in the area!

There were also a lot of really nice people who helped me with my stories and were great in terms of giving me information, recommending other sources and pointing me in the right direction. I owe a lot to people like Su Lan Lee at the Oriental Art Gallery on 9th Avenue, Ann Bergin at the La Paz store on 9th Avenue and Alex Gutierrez at Amazing Fantasy Comics on Irving Street; they were very welcoming, warm and knowledgeable when I asked questions and continued to go back to their workplaces on different occasions. So conclusively, I am glad I got to learn more about a district that I hadn't even heard of before and speak with some really nice and open-minded people.