Useful Information

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.

Success in Class and At Work

This page provides tips on how to succeed in various aspects of American Culture, work, and fun.

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 Francisco. 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.

Churches: A visit to a church will provide a good cultural experience for those who are not followers of Christ (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 a Bible study or a contact person at one of the churches just email one of the people listed on the"Contact Us" page of this web site.

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

    • www.craigslist.org 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:

      • Pacific Rim Plaza, 1688 Hostetter Rd, San Jose

      • 338 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.

      • 1300 W. San Carlos, San Jose (This is a much larger market than the one above that is open 24 hours. A bout 3.4 km from SJSU. Take bus 63 west from San Fernando and 3rd))

Guitar Stores:

    • Guitar Showcase: http://www.guitarshowcase.com, 3090 S Bascom Ave, San Jose. One of the best guitar stores you will find, with a large range of prices from relatively inexpensive to expensive. Great selection of electric and acoustic guitars and amps. They also have a nice selection of ukuleles, mandolins and banjos.

    • Gryphon Strings: http://www.gryphonstrings.com, 211 Lambert Ave, Palo Alto. Generally a high-end acoustic guitar store, but they also have a nice selection of ukuleles and mandolins. They have a great repair shop. Their inventory is on-line on their web site.

    • Guitar Center, 3677 Stevens Creek Blvd. Santa Clara. Has both electric guitars and acoustic guitars, as well as amps.

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.

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

Internships:

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:

  • 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 Organizations of Christ Followers:

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.)

    • BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit):

      • To get to a BART station using a VTA bus, take bus 181 that goes North on 1st Street, which you can catch at Santa Clara and 1st in downtown San Jose.

      • To get to a BART station using Caltrain, take Caltrain north from the downtown San Jose train station (which is called the Diridon station) and get off at Millbrae, which is a BART Station and a Caltrain Station.

      • The Bart web site is http://www.bart.gov/

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.