The information below was carefully selected from our experience living in the Bay Area. We hope that it is useful to you. Some are places that students have suggested and go regularly. If you would like to share a reference, please let us know.
Baseball Teams: There is a minor league baseball team in San Jose and a major league baseball team in San Francisco.
- San Jose Giants: http://www.sjgiants, A minor league team that plays at stadium at 588 East Alma in San Jose, about 2.6 km south of the SJSU campus.
- San Francisco Giants: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com, A major league team that plays in San Francosco. Take CalTrain from the main San Jose train station (the Diridon station) to the end of the line in San Francisco and then walk about two blocks to the very impressive stadium.
Bible Study and Churches: A Bible study will provide you with knowledge about the Bible. You are welcome if you know nothing about the Bible or much -- whether you are a Christian or a non-Christian. A visit to a church will provide a good cultural experience for the non-Christian (and a way to practice your English listening skills) and provide a means for the Christian student or visiting scholar to connect into a Christian community in the San Jose area. If you would like more information about the Bible study or a contact person at one of the churches just email Tom.IFGSanJose@gmail.com, since there are IFG leadership team members who are associated with each of these activities.
- Exploratory Bible Study: from 6pm until 6:45pm on Fridays at 701 N.
First Street, San Jose, whenever the International Friendship Group has a Friday meeting at the same location. The first Bible study of the semester will be this coming Friday, Sept 11. We weill be studying the book of Luke, which was written by a medical doctor.
- InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Bible Studies in the SJSU dorms on Tuesdays from 7:30pm to 9pm
- Royce Hall downstairs lounge, lead by Dillon
- Joe West third floor lounge
- Any questions, email Dillon at dilloko@gmail.com or call 707-834-2763
- The River Church
Community - http://www.the-river.org/
- The River Church meets on the San Jose State University Campus at 10 AM in the top floor of the student union building. It meets every Sunday.
Book Shops:
Buy and Sell: This is a great site to buy and sell almost anything and it is free to the buyers and sellers
Food Markets:
- India Cash & Carry, for Indian food http://www.indiacashandcarry.com/
- 1032 East El Camino Real, Sunnyvale (Reachable by a number of buses that go down El Camino)
- International Food Bazaar one of the two best Middle Eastern groceries in San Jose
- 2052 Curtner Ave, San Jose
- Mitsuwa Marketplace, for Japanese food
- 675 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
- New India Bazaar, for Indian food
- 2213 El Camino Real, Santa Clara (Reachable by a number of buses that go down El Camino)
- Nijiya, for Japanese food, located in Japan town in San Jose http://www.nijiya.com/storeInformation.asp
- 240 Jackson St., San Jose
- Ranch 99 for Asian food:
- 5625 Snell Way, San Jose (Light Rail 901 South followed by 9
minute walk)
- 316 Barber Ct, Milpitas, CA (Light Rail 901 North followed
by 17 minute walk to not only the market, but also a great collection of Asian
restaurants.)
- Safeway is a major American supermarket chain.
- 100 S. 2nd St., San Jose (Downtown just one block from the SJSU library off San Fernando between 2nd and 3rd Steets)
- 1300 W. San Carlos, San Jose (This is a much larger market than the one above that is open 24 hours. About 3.4 km from SJSU. Take bus 63 west from San Fernando and 3rd))
- Sossy's International Foods one of the two best Middle Eastern groceries in San Jose
- 1789 W. San Carlos St., San Jose
Hair Cuts:
- The Spartan Barber Shop, 487 S. Fourth St,, San Jose, less than one block south of campus. Open week days from 7:30am to 5pm and Saturdays from 7:30am to 4pm. This would be mainly for the guys, since it is a barber shop not a hair styling shop.
Holidays: A description of major American Holidays
- Here is a great site that explains the meaning behind the major American Holidays.
- http://www.usa.gov/citizens/holidays.shtml
- IFG has had special activities related to Valentine's Day (14th of Feb), Easter (Sunday in Spring), Independence Day (4th of July), Halloween (October 31), Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in November), Christmas Holidays (25th of Dec) to emphasize and explain the meaning behind these holidays. See our web photo page, get a glimpse into our Halloween Party and pumpkin carving contest (2008, 26th of October).
- Example questions asked by students are, "What is the significance of brightly colored easter eggs during the Easter holiday? What does one give each other on Valentine's day? What food is served at a traditional Thanksgiving meal?
Housing in the community:
- www.craigslist.org If you select any of the various housing categories, the South Bay and then under neighborhood San Jose Downtown you will find listings around San Jose State University. This covers the whole Bay area.
- sjsnetworking.com This is oriented toward SJSU students.
Ice Skating:
- Logitech Ice at San Jose: A great place to try ice skating or to cool off. This is where the NHL Sharks practice.
- 1500 South 10th Street, San Jose
Malls and Outlet Centers:
- Valley Fair Mall has the largest number of highest quality stores of any local mall. Santana Row
is across the street and has kind of a European flavor and some very upscale
stores.
- 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara Take bus 23.
- Westfield Oakridge Mall is similar in quality to
Valley Fair Mall, but a little smaller, but still a large mall.
- 925 Blossom Hill Rd, San Jose This is
reachable by light rail 900 or 901 that gets you to the Ohlone-Chynoweth station, then you have to walk for about 22 minutes to the mall -- there used to be another light rail that would go directly to the mall, but it was eliminated due to budget.
- Great Mall also has lots of stores.
- 1100 S Main St, Milpitas. Take Light Rail 901 that gets you within a two-minute walk of the mall.
- Gilroy Outlet Center is the closest collection
of outlet stores to San Jose.
- 681 Leavesley Rd, Gilroy. If you are willing to walk a little, you can reach this on the 68 bus that goes from San Jose to Gilroy getting off at Monterey and Welburn. Then walking east for 15 minutes along Welburn, which turns into Leavesley at the 101 freeway. Once you pass under 101, you will see entrances to outlet centers on both sides of Leavesley.
Stores:
- Fry’s Electronics is
worth a trip just to see all that they have. Two stores are close
- 600 E. Hamilton Avenue, Campbell (Hamilton station
on the VTA light rail 902 to Winchester)
- 550 E. Brokaw Road,
San Jose
- Also a number of other locations -- check Google.
- Ross Dress for Less is a great place to get name brand clothes at deep discounts
- 2161 Monterey Hwy, San Jose (68 bus south, get off at Monterey Hwy and Curtner, next to large shopping center on right about 4.3km from SJSU)
- Many other locations -- check Google
- Target has a large selection of goods at reasonable prices
-
2161 Monterey Hwy, San Jose (68 bus south, get off at Monterey Hwy and Curtner, next to large shopping center on right about 4.3km from SJSU) - Many other locations -- check Googld
- Walmart Supercenter
has a large selection of goods at very reasonable prices.
- 777 Story Rd, San Jose
- Many other locations -- check Google
Student Christian Organizations:
- SJSU InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
- Weekly meeting from 8pm to 9:30pm on Wednesdays in the Pacifica Room on the top floor of the SJSU Student Union.
- Bible Studies in the dorms on Tuesdays from 7:30pm to 9pm
- Royce Hall downstairs lounge, lead by Dillon
- Joe West third floor lounge
- Any questions, email Dillon at dilloko@gmail.com
- InterVarsity main web site: http://www.intervarsity.org/
- Facebood group: SJSU Intervarsity
- SJSU Campus Crusade for Christ
- Weekly meeting at 7pm in the SJSU Student Union Ballroom,third floor.
- Web site:http://www.SJSUCrusade.com
- Facebook group: SJSU Campus Crusade for Christ
Transportation Information:
- Buses: http://www.vta.org/
- Bus to the beach - highway 17 express http://www.vta.org/schedules/SC_970.html, This is a great way to get to downtown Santa Cruz, then you can take a local bus on to the beach, but unfortunately your student VTA bus pass does not work on this bus.
- Trains: http://www.caltrain.com/ (This is a great way to get to San
Francisco, since it drops you off two
blocks from the baseball stadium and next to a street car that takes you under Market street.)
Volunteer Opportunities: Volunteering can provide a great opportunity to practice your English as well as use your unique talents and background.
- Volunteer San Jose: http://www.volunteersanjose.org/
- IFG also has opportunities to volunteer and to help out with some of the events. Be proactive. Check our event dates and contact the organizer, introduce yourself and see how you would like to participate!
- These are some of the opportunities for those of you that want to share your talents with IFG.
- Photographer to take a few good shots or video clips at our events and to post them on facebook or on the IFG website. Be a photographic star. Many of our students like to take photos and to share them. Some take exceptional photos and get that "wow" reaction. Share your artistic talent with us!
- Driver to pick up students (usually we meet in front of MLK Library) and take them to our outings. If you have a car and are comfortable driving in the US, become a backup driver should there be more students than ride spaces. Help the organizers pick up the students at MLK and walk to the light rail station. Check the event, contact the organizer and see if you can help. Or, just show up and introduce yourself.
- Sharer of a special dish. If you are fond of cooking and would like to make something to share, you are welcome to do so. If it would help you, you are most welcome to contact the organizer to know the food plans for the event. At outdoor events, for example, there are definitely ways to share snacks, fruits, and other tasty treats.
- Inviter of students at SAL, undergraduate and graduate orientations each semester. Share a smile, introduce IFG and pass out a flyer.
- General Helper to help unload/load food, chairs, BarBQ grill, coolers and other items to and from events. Help with setting up events and games.
- Greeter to welcome new students to our events, give them name tags, help them feel at home, explain IFG.
- Thinker of new ways to make IFG better able to serve students. Share your ideas for games, activities, web site, social networking sites and much more.
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