Things to Recommend Doing in San Francisco

• Always looking up as you walk so that you can take in all the amazing views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz and the sailboats leaning as they tack back and forth in the gusting wind and the hills that are almost mountains and are green and brown and furrowed with ridges and peaks.
• Being able to walk almost anywhere that I need to get to. I've walked more in the last five days than I have at home in the last six months.
• Eating at a vegetarian dim sum place in Chinatown. Baby bok choy, celery, shitake mushrooms. Crisp and very green, served very hot, right out of the kitchen as the kindly owner let us in as she was about to close. When we left, they were having their dinner. Very intriguing: an entire fish, braised, and a platter of noodly stuff.
• Being in the company of wonderful teachers. It's like a comedy team, at times, with one teacher gentle, full of consideration as he speaks, a resonant voice for chanting; the other teacher full of jokes and asides, mixed with a mastery of the material and an ability to keep us moving but not feeling rushed. More to the point, both great teachers, and I am lucky to be studying with them.
• Observing our first assessment of a client, a student who volunteered to go in front of the group so that we all could learn how observation begins. It was daunting, the number of variables at play. Health history, taking of pulse, having her do some simple movements, walk around the room, more extremely polite questions. Continually an atmosphere of respect and consideration. "Madam, may I ask you. . . ." was the operative phrase.
• the fish and chips from Pacific Catch. I called in my order from down the block, because this tiny place was jam packed with diners. I killed 15 minutes at a good bookstore, then picked up my order. Perfect tilapia, sweet potato fries, a coleslaw with some cilantro and vinegar, and three dipping sauces, including a ginger mayonnaise and a plum sauce with a definite kick.
• as in Louisiana, this is a group that cares about food. We eat, we talk about it, we go shopping for it, and then we reminisce about it. Apparently the raw chocolate cake at Alive, a raw foods place, is the Desert to eat. And then there's Kara's Cupcakes: a little boutique of cupcakes. You can order a gift box that comes with a glass bottle of organic milk. How perfect and how California.