The Outside Lands

This class was challenging yet rewarding. There were times when I really had to push myself to go out and talk to people when I reeeeally didn't want to. I developed methods to make it easier such as reassuring the individual I was just a student and trying to be extra friendly. I still need to work on my interviewing skills and hopefully I will get more comfortable with stopping and talking to strangers in the future that way I'll have more quotes in my stories.

I enjoyed covering the Richmond district, and believe it was a good place for me to start, but if I were to go back and take this class over I would want to cover a district closer to downtown such as North Beach or Civic Center. These neighborhoods would've really pushed me out of my comfort zone. I also enjoyed hearing the stories from those who wrote about the Castro. The Richmond was pretty much what I expected it to be like. It is very residential and has a lot of families living there. The Richmond is a very large district which was often intimidating because I didn't know where to start walking around. I did like that I felt safe walking around the Richmond and didn't have too much difficulty getting people to talk to me. Many of the residents were curious as to why I was writing stories about the Richmond and not somewhere downtown.

I loved exploring Clement Street and Geary Boulevard because those are where most of the shops and restaurants are located. The Inner Richmond was more fun than the Outer Richmond for me because there were a lot of people who looked like they were in their 20s and plenty of fun looking bars. Most likely because USF is right around the corner.

The Richmond district is very pretty. Often times I came across views of downtown, the Presidio and Golden Gate Park. The district is also bordered by the ocean so I ended up on the beach quite often. A lot of the shops and restaurants in the Richmond are privately owned and I didn't run into many chains. There are also a lot of local coffee shops,such as Simple Pleasures on Balboa, and I only came across one Starbucks.

This was my favorite class this semester. I enjoyed exploring my neighborhood and hearing stories about the other neighborhoods (especially the Tenderloin). I can't believe how fast this semester went. I want to work on Xpress in the fall and I signed up for magazine writing over the summer so I stay busy and don't forget everything I learned in this class. I can't wait for spring 2011 because I would love to take the news bureau class! Thanks Yvonne for your helpful feedback throughout the semester and hopefully I'll be seeing you next spring!