Hey Carmen! So today I will tell you about my hometown. I live in San Mateo which is a suburb near San Francisco. San Mateo is pretty big, there are about 90, 000 people who live here I believe. The weather is mostly nice since we arent too close to San Francisco we get moderate warm weather, though right now it has been raining for what seems forever. I like living here most of the time because not a lot goes on. Some of your main areas are the towndown where you can go and watch movies and eat with your friends. We have the Hillsdale mall which is a shopping area with different stores. The area in which I live I like a lot because it is pretty central and anywhere I want to go in San Mateo only takes me either 5 to 10 minutes. Overall it is a nice place with a few parks here and there. The main parks most people go to are Baresford Park and Central Park. In San Mateo we are also very lucky to be a diverse city in which many cultures mix and form our city. I have lived here since I was five and have always felt it was a safe place and a place to meet a lot of interesting people. One of my favorite places in San Mateo has to be Coyote Point. There is a nice park to go eat your lunch and you can then go and look at animals afterwards. The ocean is not far away with the bay just at a far glance. San Mateo is what I would consider a true suburban city which takes you away from the city life.

Like a lot of people in my Spanish class, my hometown is San Mateo, CA. I still live in San Mateo, and have only moved once in my life about a mile from my old residence in San Mateo. San Mateo is a fairly decent sized town with a population of around 100,000. There isn’t a whole lot to do as far as entertainment. I definitely enjoy going to San Francisco more which is the larger city about 20 or so miles away. Although there’s not a whole lot to do it is defnitely a nice place to live, and the Bay Area in general is an exciting place that is very different from anywhere else in the United States, possibly even the world. One of my favorite things about San Mateo is definitely the variety of restaurants. I am a huge fan of food, and strolling through the downtown streets you can see Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, and Indian food all in a single block. San Mateo is also a nice place to live because it’s in very close proximity to a lot of other cities such as Fostery City, Burlingame, Millbrae, etc. Overall, I feel very fortunate to have been able to be born and grow up in San Mateo.

Buenas días, Irene!

How are you doing? Hope everything’s going well with you… right now I’m really excited because our school is going on Spring Break in just a few days! Finally- some time to relax!

Anyway, although I will not be in town next week (my family’s going to Las Vegas- our typical vacation spot), it might be nice to give you a brief description of the city where I live. I live in a small town called Hillsborough, which stands between the cities of San Mateo and Burlingame. All of these cities are considered in the suburbs of the Bay Area, with San Francisco being a short 20 minute drive away. With Aragon being located in San Mateo and many Hillsborough kids hanging out in Burlingame (our old middle school, Crocker, is a short walk to Burlingame Avenue, a popular hang out spot for Burlingame kids), I feel that I have had the best of both worlds. While the shopping and overall calm atmosphere of Burlingame is nice, there is always something to do in Downtown San Mateo (where most Aragon kids hang out at).

At the same time, because most of my extended family lives in San Francisco (my parents were born in San Francisco and our family is one of the few that have moved out to the suburbs), our family frequently goes to the city for family gatherings, doctor’s appointments, dentist appointments, and all that other fun stuff. Although I can’t say I fully appreciate the prime location that I live in, I’m sure that when I come back to visit my hometown from college next year, I will see the true beauty of the Bay Area.

With this, it would be great to hear more about your hometown. What special attractions does your city have? Maybe I can visit your city if I ever travel to Spain…

Thanks! Talk to you soon!

-Ashleigh

Hi Sebastian:

Well my family is not really different from any other families. i live with my dad, sister, and my little niece. my dad used to be in the Navy of Peru, he fought in the war against the terrorism in my country. he told me that he lost many friends in front of his eyes but that he knew that they were dying fighting for their believes. Also he was a nurse on the Navy so it is pretty hard to pretend being sick because he knows almost all symptoms of many fake sickness i can come up with. My sister recently had a baby and i’ve been helping her out with her but sometimes she makes me stay awake till pretty late. no matter what i still love my niece, even if i have to sacrifice my sleep. my mom and other sister live in another town because my parents are divorced but i still enjoy visiting them every once in a while.

Well i think that summarizes what my family is like.
Goodbye,

Edward

Hello again Sebastian:

Well as in my introduction you know that i like to skateboard, also snowboarding, and surfing. another of the things i like to do alot is reasding books. my favorite writer is Edgar Allan Poe, i think his stories are pretty ogth like and mysterious at the same time. Well i like to draw too but i havent been doing it a lot lately because of school. Another of my hobbies is writing weird poems, i know it sounds weird but i liuke too do them because i can express my feelings without having to say them. recently i have been starting palying guitar even though im not that good i still enjoy trying to play some songs i like.

Goodbye Sebastian
EDward

Well im from the Bay Area and love it over here! I live in San Mateo, near San Fransisco. I think that if you came over here you would really like the diversity of people and how crazy it is here in the Bay! Some nearby cities are San Fransisco, Oakland,Hayward. One thing that the Bay is known by is our music. There is a new type of music that came out a couple years ago but is starting to get really popular around the United States. They call this The HYPHY MOVEMENT. Its basically rap and r and b but alot crazier. The music just makes you want to jump and dance. So, if you ever come over here I suggest you go to a club and if you don’t like to dance, you can visit the Bay Bridge or all the peers!

Hello! The Internet is such an amazing tool, isn’t it? Although I am on the other side of the country, in the state of Maine near the Atlantic Ocean, I am still able to write to you as if I were sitting at home by the Pacific. (I am in Maine because I am trying to decide which university to attend in the fall.)

Speaking of home, I would like to tell you now about my hometown. Although I was born in the city of Palo Alto, I moved to San Mateo almost 9 years ago, and consider this to be my hometown. My school, Aragon, is located in San Mateo, as well as the pool where I work. The downtown area of the city is about a 10 minute drive from my house, and has lots of things to do. There are many restaurants, serving Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Indian, Hawaiian, and American foods, a movie theater, shops and stores selling many different products, and a park with space to play outdoors. Most of the time this is enough to keep me and my friends occupied, but sometimes we also travel to San Francisco (about 20 minutes away by car) to have fun.

I have never really become bored with my hometown, and I think that I’m lucky to live somewhere with so much to do. I know lots of people in other parts of our country are not so lucky. Do you still live in your hometown, in Spain?

Talk to you soon!