So this is my first blog posting when I am truly on my own! I arrived on Saturday the 13th of June at around 5pm. I caught the BART, which is the train system that runs through the whole of SF Bay area. It was really weird to arrive in an airport to have no one there waiting for you. It was a little bit hard seeing family and friend reunions all around me. It made me feel very far from home. This feeling quickly eased though, as I got a message from my mum, who has obviously been following my every move from the internet! Gotta love her! Haha. So that saved me a little. San Francisco is a much bigger place that I realised, and is very spaced out. There are so many different areas and communities, all slightly different from the other. I arrived at my hostel, the Orange Village hostel, and it was a nice first hostel to stay in. It was very clean and tidy and the kitchen there was great! It was there that I met some fellow Aussies, one girl and two guys, as well as an American girl, a Danish girl and a Canadian guy. I spent the next two and a bit days with these lovely people and they made me feel so welcome in their group, it was amazing. I was sitting on my own the first night eating dinner and feel quite lonely, as it was my first night all on my own, and they invited me over the have some drinks with them and play cards. They pretty much then proceeded to adopt me over the next two days where we did a lot of touristy thing including going down to the Aquarium down at Pier 39, and checking out golden gate park together. It sucked however, that they were all leaving in the next few days! We all had a nice dinner together on their last night, which was great, as I was craving some home cooking! The only negative about staying in a hostel, is you meet a lot of people who are just passing though. Never the less, it was a great time and made me feel at home for at least a couple of days. I moved to the Adelaide Hostel on the Monday night and it’s a really nice hostel as well, I’ve been very impressed with both hostels I have stayed in so far. The only downside to the Adelaide, is NO ELEVATOR! LOL. I had to heave my bags up the stairs! Thank god I was only on the second floor!

On Tuesday, I had my job interview at Le Marais bakery and it went really well! Even though the boss didn’t rock up for two hours after my scheduled interview time. Which was really annoying, as I sat there waiting for ages. I got to know quite a few people while I was waiting though, which worked out well.  After my interview, I took my first solo day trip around the Marina area and I ended up checking out Lombard street, which is famous for it’s most zig zagged street which has been done up with tons of flowers and made to look very pretty. Its now a big tourist attraction. After wandering down this street, I headed down to fisherman’s Warph. This is the area that is connected to pier 39. So I walked all long the coast line at a leisurely pace and took in the sights, including bay bridge to my right and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance to my left. Alcatraz prison was also right in front of me and looked to be in swimming distance…maybe next time! I then made my way down to see the sea lions, who seem to live down at Pier 39. They were very loud and very obnoxious, some more than others. The bigger ones were yelling at a lot of the smaller sea lions, obviously saying something along the lines I’m bigger than you, so you have to do what I say! They had all chosen one area to sit on and all the big sea lions would push off the smaller ones trying to get some sun! It was very cute as they all had their eyes squinting up to the heavens obviously trying to sun bath their chests!  After the top of my head had been sufficiently sun burnt, I caught the historical Powell and Mason Tram back to the hostel. They are a pretty cool and efficient way of travelling through the heart of the city. On Wednesday, I had a pretty chill day and finally went to the grocery store and bought all the ingredients I’d need to make a hearty chicken soup which was much needed. It was nice to spend the afternoon cooking and relaxing.

Yesterday I had my trial shift for the new job. It went really well and I secured the position. The bakery is amazing and the products that they are producing are beautiful. I feel like I’ll be picking up a lot of ideas while working there. The chef that works there is the chillest dude I have ever met and is creating some amazing looking pastries. Funnily enough, the place is almost exactly the kind of place that I would like one day. The pastries are beautiful, but they are also a bit more simple and homestyle, which is exactly what I love to make most. The job will be mostly serving and front of house duties, but I am a bit nervous about the fact that  they will be training me up in doing the roster scheduling which I have never done before. But I will give it my best shot. Because of this, and the job title of team leader/supervisor, the pay is much better! Which is great for my bank account. But it’s also great for me and my resume.  I have worked in a huge variety of hospitality jobs, but they have all been base level jobs. So this is a great opportunity for me to grow and improve my skills. One day want my own place, and rostering is a crucial part running any business. So in conclusion, good things are to come for me!

Today, I am heading out to check out another room for rent, and I hope that I get this one! Its furnished and sounds perfect for a short term stay. I also spoke to the guy, which is more than I can say for the other 99% of correspondence. Craigslist can be a beautiful thing, but its very dangerous as there are so many scams! Its really getting tiring trying to sift through all the bullshit ads, and find the ones that are actually legit. So heres hoping!