Student Self-Portraits

A Korean student who chose the English name Austin and was born about twenty years ago referred to "when I was young," when he had a dream related to aircraft and talked to a teacher of aircraft maintenance, who recommended the program at CCSF.  He hopes to work at Korean Airlines KAL.

Karine says that singing Karaoke with her friends "painted a new color in my picture of life.”  She has a job on  Pier 39 as a sale person.  

Jiabin returned to China this past summer to attend his sister’s wedding and to see his grandmother, who died before he returned to SF.  He asked me why I wanted to be a teacher and whether I wanted my kid to be a teaher.

Jason, before coming to credit, was in "Downtown camp no-credit class.”  He's from 

Shanghai, so the lack of San Francisco nightlife surprised him, and he describes the Chinese food here as mostly Cantonese--very different  from Shanghai.

Michelle  wrote a four-page letter on long letter on yellow paper. She says she loves Korean things because you "can feel the love of the createur.”  Her own special way to clear her mind is walking while listening to music.   She liked to "walk down to the bayside to see the ocean," which she never thought she would be able to see.  "I don’t even know where is San Francisco before I am here."  She likes Guangzhou but says it is “very crowdy there” and there's too much garbage.  As for San Francisco, "Life in here…took me away from so many people and gabarge.”   She says the first time she "stepped on this country" was 7 March 2013.”   

Haley took non-credit classes at Chinatown campus and loves Jane Austen.  She doesn't  keep a diary but writes in note book.  “I think it is a good manner to record my feeling at that moment.”

Paola from Brazil (late July--she's the one who was looking for black beans and rice) is also a vegetarian.  After graduating in  in Fine Arts education in 2008, she worked in an environment-focused NGO, where she

stopped eating meat of any kind.  She has a large loving family so Christmas gets 120 people together!

More tomorrow--and I haven't even told you about last night's sit-in at City Hall!