Angelika While most students at public schools in San Francisco and the surrounding area have been struggling with distance learning since March, private schools here have reopened their doors. Education policy in the USA takes place at the local level, so it is entirely possible that the state of California allows school openings despite the pandemic, but the individual counties still resist.

Michael If Americans buy a Christmas tree at all, they usually start looking for it at Thanksgiving at the end of November. They also set it up and decorate it right away, because after all, this way they get more out of their investment.

Michael Now that the presidential election is over, readers of the newsletter might be wondering how people in America vote. While in Germany, a polling station often opens in the nearest elementary school, things can be a bit more rustic here in San Francisco. In our neighborhood, some residents run official polling stations in their home garages. This is no joke; as you can see from the photos, these volunteers receive official ballot boxes and papers and are responsible for properly delivering the cast votes to the official authorities.

Angelika I haven't had the flu often in my life, but there was one time when it really got me. We were still living in Munich, and I thought I was indispensable at work, so I went in with a fever, which immediately backfired, sending me into a fever delirium and incapacitating me for quite a while. For some time now, I've been telling myself every year that this year, I'll get the flu shot, but then I didn't do it, even though it's recommended due to my work with children.

Michael As previously mentioned ( Rundbrief 05/2020 ) we go for a walk around our neighborhood almost every evening to keep ourselves somewhat fit, even during pandemic times. By now, we have walked so many miles that Angelika's hiking boots have worn out, but we simply ordered the same model again from the outdoor outfitter REI, this time online instead of in the store. The next 10,000 miles can come.

Michael We have been reading books almost exclusively on electronic devices for some time now. For large-format coffee table books, I use my large iPad Pro, while for text books, various Kindle devices are used. Amazon offers the latter in several price ranges: the basic version is already quite good, the "Paperwhite" version is slightly better for about 50% more, and for the absurd price of $250, there's the millionaire edition, the "Kindle Oasis." Since it's not easy to spend one's hard-earned money during Corona times, I jumped at the chance when Amazon temporarily lowered the price to $175 on Black Friday.

Michael Fresh pretzels are unfortunately hard to come by in San Francisco. You can buy day-old pretzels from "Esther's Bakery" in Mountain View at the organic supermarket "Rainbow Grocery," but who likes stale pretzels? As previously reported ( Rundbrief 06/2016 ), I discovered a pre-made pretzel baking mix a few years ago. I used it to bake a tray of pretzels every few weeks and was quite satisfied with it.

Angelika As I mentioned at the beginning, one of the requirements at our school is that staff must regularly undergo COVID testing, even if they have no symptoms. However, in early September, it was not easy to get a test without symptoms. San Francisco had test centers that offered tests for people who needed them for work, but only if their workplace was in San Francisco. This made me grind my teeth a bit because, even though my workplace isn't in San Francisco, I am still a resident of this city and pay my taxes here. But anyway.

Angelika On Saturday, November 7th, we were still lounging in bed reading when suddenly cheering and pot banging erupted, growing louder and louder. Biden had won the presidential election after agonizing days of waiting and counting, thanks to winning the state of Pennsylvania. The jubilation expressed the relief many felt in the Democratic stronghold of San Francisco. Honestly, we had never experienced anything like this after an election.