It's Miller Time, I mean Baijiu Time! I just finished turning in my grades for my SF State students in my Asians in America summer course. The Chinese liquor I picked up in Shanghai is very smelly. It is like 50-60% alcohol or something like that...
I grew accustomed to the Baijiu on our delegation to Jinan because the Chinese teachers, principals and educators kept saying "gom-bay" and kept filling our wine and Baijiu glasses, and toasting toasting toasting... We usually slept well after those banquets, but the mornings were a bit difficult to wake up.


Now that I am free of my summer school teaching, I can concentrate on school board issues and something also called vacation. I go to LA for a few days to join the rest of my family, and then back to the City to play tourist as well. One place I want to explore more is the Presidio in SF. Here's a shot I took of the father of film at George Lucas' spanking new Digital Arts Center in the Presidio. The dome of the Palace of Fine Arts, which houses our City's incredible learning center the Exploratorium, is in the background. The site is also where San Francisco showed off its post 1906 earthquake rebirth at the Panama Pacific Worlds Fair in 1915.


I also hope to get some multicultural eating in as well. A few days ago after the fog had started to blow in in the late afternoon in the Richmond District I walked to a little family run Russian restaurant down the street on Balboa and 6th Avenue called Cinderella Bakery and Cafe. They also have a great bakery as well. My 6 year old always asks where the real Cinderella [disney's version] is, and I tell her that this is the real thing. The meal was so awesome I had to take a photo of it, and the great Baltika 5 beer too...
I love San Francisco! Even though my neighborhood - the Richmond District - is considered by many as the NEW CHINATOWN in SF, I see it as a multiethnic enclave with many different cultures and groups of people.