Christmas is quite a big deal here, by the way, even though many people from other cultures and with different religions live in San Francisco. Most families celebrate Christmas, even if their religion centers around a different holiday. At the daycare where I work, there is an effort to introduce children to the major holidays of various religions. So, at the moment, we are not only talking about Christmas but also about the Jewish holiday Hanukkah (Festival of Lights), which is also celebrated in December, and about Kwanzaa, which some African American families celebrate as their version of Christmas. I find all of this incredibly fascinating, and I am a bit embarrassed about how little I knew about the individual religions and traditions until now.

Otherwise, Christmas is, of course, pure commerce. Everything glitters and sparkles, and the stores compete with each other with their window decorations. In front of the toy store FAO Schwarz, for example, barriers are set up so that customers can line up properly. If the "rush" for toys is too great, a security guard ensures that customers are only allowed in when other customers have left the store. In front of this aforementioned store, a grotesque scene played out on Saturday when we were in the city. A street vendor, who was selling colorful plastic reindeer antlers (creatures that pull the sleigh of Santa Claus, the American version of Nikolaus) and was also wearing one, was handcuffed by a police officer (we don't know why either). After the officer had done this, he had a nice chat with the street vendor, and you could have thought they were the best of friends. And I swear, no Hollywood movie was being filmed there.

In the Tenderloin, where I work, the children are currently being showered with gifts because some companies are making donations in kind. Unfortunately, everything is concentrated around the Christmas season, and afterwards, no one really thinks about the children anymore. In my opinion, it would be more sensible to donate money, but as it is, the children now have a whole collection of stuffed animals, which they don't really know what to do with. We also have to constantly take the children to various Christmas parties. On one hand, it's quite nice. For example, the children were invited to a children's ballet, and afterwards, there was lunch for all the kids. It was really professionally organized. However, the downside is that the sponsors naturally want to make sure that the public hears about their generous donation. So, the children have to pose in front of TV cameras and photographers. At one party, the mayor of San Francisco even showed up at the end to have his picture taken with some of the children, and then he quickly disappeared. That's life!

Michael's AOL Christmas party has already taken place, and even I had a Christmas party at my organization. My Christmas party was organized specifically as a thank-you celebration for the various volunteers at the organization. The permanent staff prepared the food for us, and there were even gifts for us. This is something I really appreciate about the Tenderloin Childcare Center as an organization: as a volunteer, you truly feel that the commitment you bring is highly valued and not taken for granted. On a personal level, I feel more and more comfortable there, even though I still can't fully embrace the pedagogical approach, but I am learning a lot and can take away a lot for myself.

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• More topics you might be interested in:

  	Interim Report After One Year
  	Courses at UC Berkeley Extension
  	Frightening School System
  	Local News
  	News About the Driver's License
  	Christmas Party With the company
  	By Bike Through San Francisco and Silicon Valley