Hey guys!

I’m Josh Friedman and I’m from Cleveland, Ohio. I’m a rising senior and am majoring in Finance and will be getting the Certificate in Business Analytics.

The first few weeks in California have been awesome. I arrived the weekend before the program started and was able to visit my good friend from home at Stanford. The campus is beautiful and it was great exploring and reconnecting with him. The first day of the program we had our orientation where we took the cable car to Fishermans Wharf and saw a great view of the City and Bay Bridge from the top of the Coit Tower. The cable car was a fun experience and a great replacement for walking up the massive San Francisco hills. The building we live in is on the peak of a hill so we were struggling the first few days. This is right outside our building:

You quickly get used to it and it is an awesome location! We are within walking distance of Chinatown, Union Square, the Ferry Building and many other famous areas in the city. The second day, we walked to get lunch and Li showed me the best things to eat in Chinatown. The food was great and cheap! Over the next few days, I went with Jerry and Li on hikes throughout the city. Jerry and I went to Twin Peaks which overlooks the entire city of San Francisco. It was a stunning view.

As you can see from the photo, San Francisco can get pretty foggy. Despite the fog, I love the weather here. Its usually low 60s but its definitely hard to know what thats going to feel like on any given day. I was told the way you can spot a tourist is if they are wearing shorts on a day like this…

That weekend, the three of us went to Lands End Trail which is on the western coast of the city. Below is the view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The views around San Francisco are amazing and there are so many outdoor activities available here. I have been having a great time so far and can’t wait for the rest of summer! Details about work to come next time!

– Josh