My Travel Blog

Last full day in San Francisco, sadly. I ended up going to the Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museum. Honestly I was not expecting to enjoy the museum as much as I did. My favorite section was the collection of Auguste Rodin's sculptures because I felt like his sculptures were almost alive. He somehow made stone and bronze look... soft. It was amazing.  Here are some of my personal favorites: This was my favorite piece by Rodin in the museum. It's titled The Kiss . Another Rodin! As the sign says, it's five reductions from his work The Burghers of Calais .  I thought that the woman was painted beautifully.  As a child who was super into Tudor history, I really appreciated this bust of Mary of Scots. It's so detailed. Claude Monet's Water Lilies . 

Today was my break day, so I decided to go to Yosemite National Park to get a break from the city. The forest was absolutely beautiful, and such a refreshing break from the concrete jungle. It was a bit colder than what I expected, but the views were absolutely worth braving the chilly temperatures. Sadly, the pictures do not fully capture the beauty of Yosemite. I definitely recommend in going to Yosemite in person! Here's a redwood tree with a tunnel carved into it. Just look at the size of the trunk in comparison to the size of me. It's huge. I had to wait my turn in order to get this picture.  The cliffs. I think this may have been Half-Dome? Sadly it was super misty on this day and I couldn't fully see the cliffs' full height.  Pretty sure this was the third tier of the Yosemite Falls. Usually there isn't much water in the waterfall (due to the recent droughts), but this year California had a record amount of snowfall. The melted snow cont

It's my last day at City Impact. I didn't expect for it to feel so bittersweet, especially since I've only been here for 4 days, but I have grown to really care for the people here. There is just so much love and kindness at this clinic, and the staff and volunteers are so warm and friendly. Today, a dentist and orthodontist came in. I was able to shadow them for a couple of hours, and then ended up having a long conversation with the dentist. I was touched because she literally didn't need to reach out and care for me, but she did. She asked how my journey as a pre-dental student was going, and gave me advice and encouragement. Sometimes the patients that come into the clinic look scary on the outside, but on the inside, they're just people like you and me that want to be loved and cared for. Marvin is one of those people. He comes in once a day (honestly mainly to talk to people), and so I decided to talk to him as he sat in the waiting room. It was interestin

Today was a bit of a slower day, especially since Dr. Clifford wasn't working. Instead, I helped out around the clinic with anything that the head nurse, Katie, would ask me to do. However, I had more time to interact with patients today. I talked to Ed, one of the regulars, as I helped the nurses bandage up his leg. During one of my conversations, I also learned a bit more about the Tenderloin district, which is where City Impact is located. Because of all the big-tech companies (like Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) that have moved into San Francisco, the value of land has soared. Thus, housing costs have shot through the roof, causing an increase in people becoming homeless. The Tenderloin district is the heart of the homeless population, and it's a huge problem for the city. But it's also wonderful that as the population of homeless people increased, so did the number of resources that aim to help get people off the streets, including City Impact. After volunteering at C