Back to San Francisco

Posted by Stuart at 07:24 PM on December 20, 2002

Walking around in a bit of a fog might be expected on a visit to San Francisco. But this time the fog has been in my head due to a little jet lag from the trip from Bangkok yesterday.

I left San Francisco several months ago, after living here for almost four years. So, in addition to trying to stay dry and warm (I miss hot and humid Bangkok), most of my time on this part of my trip will be spent visiting friends I have not seen since I left. Not much exciting news there, but I am sure I will be glad to spend time with those closest to me.

Another Visa Already?

Posted by Stuart at 11:50 PM on December 23, 2002

Of my long list of things to do while I am in the US, one of the most important is getting another Non-Immigrant Visa. The visa I got in Laos will expire this month, and the International Affairs Office at school was afraid they wouldn't have enough time to process the Work Permit before the visa expired. (I can't believe it has been almost 3 months since I was in Laos. Zoooom!)

So after spending the weekend in San Francisco, I made a quick stop in Washington, DC to visit the Thai Embassy. My friend Tom was nice enough to pick me up at Dulles, put me up for the night, drive me to the Embassy this morning and then take me to National to fly out to North Carolina this afternoon.

Luckily, the visa process in DC was much smoother and easier than in Vientiane. The air was cool, the line non-existant. I filled out the paperwork and handed it over with the fee, my photos, and my passport and was done with it.

In general, my time at the Embassy was reflective of my entire time in the US so far. After struggling for months to communicate, to get around, to find what I need, everything here is easy for me.

I am also noticing how rich America is. Granted I was in San Francisco and Northern Virginia, two of the more wealthy areas of the country. But even still everyone seemed to be wearing the latest fashions from the hottest designers and retail companies. Everyone was driving shiny brand new cars with all the extras. Everyone lived in palatial estates with so many rooms filled with nice furniture.

Of course, again, it is all relative. My friends and family are mostly "American middle class", but compared to what I have seen in Asia, they are all millionares. I just hope they all appreciate what they are lucky enough to have.

American Christmas

Posted by Stuart at 10:14 PM on December 25, 2002

I have been transported into a Hallmark Christmas special. "The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful..."

Usually from the front balcony of my parent's house in North Carolina I have a wonderful view of the surrounding wooded mountains dotted with cute little farmhouses. But today all I see is the snow being whipped past the window by the howling wind.

Safe inside, the fireplace warms the room where this morning my family and I sat next to the decorated Christmas tree and opened the presents that we had bought for each other. We followed that with a big breakfast and for the rest of the afternoon we just lounged around the house, glancing up every now and then to look through the windows at the falling snow outside.

Tonight, though, the "traditional" Christmas was ended, as we ventured out into the winter weather to watch "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". We never made it to our big traditional Christmas dinner either. After the filling breakfast and the popcorn and cokes at the theatre, we settled for roast beef sandwiches. Not so Hallmark.

But soon the warm and fuzzy American Christmas scene returned. After eating we headed downstairs where my Dad had set up a screen. For the next few hours we watched old slides of family camping trips, of christenings, of dogs and cats long gone. It was a little bit odd to see pictures of my parents when they were my age, and pictures of my Grandparents when they were my parents' age.

And so that was the Towns' Christmas 2002 with traditions old and new. I hope everyone else out there is having a happy Holiday Season as well... be it Hallmark or not. May we someday have true Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All.

An Immigration Story

Posted by Stuart at 11:43 PM on December 26, 2002

I leave early tomorrow AM to DC from Charlotte, so tonight my family and I drove down to Charlotte to spend the night. We had dinner at an awesome little Cuban restaurant where the food was great and so was the sangria.

The hostess (who also looked like she was in charge of the place) chatted with us a bit after dinner. She was born in Nicaragua, but was sent over to the US by her mother when she was a young girl. Her mother owned a clothing factory and two houses in Nicaragua when the Sandinistas took over in the 80s. They took one of her houses ("Why does one person need two houses?" they asked) and took control of her factory. The government supplied the fabric to the factory and took the finished clothing as well.

Since all of the fruits of the mother's hard work were taken from her, she started sending her children to the US one by one. When they were all there, she joined them and requested asylum. Of course she came to the US with nothing, since she had to leave everything behind. Otherwise she wouldn't have been able to leave the country.

It was a riches-to-rags story. The mother works in a factory now, but is no where close to owning it. Her childeren work in a restaurant. We asked the girl if her mother was glad she came over. She didn't really answer us, making us think that she wasn't really all that happy. But we still got the impression that after losing everything she had, she was glad to know that at least what she had now would always be hers.

Visas and Monuments

Posted by Stuart at 10:36 PM on December 27, 2002

If I ever write a book called "Getting a Thai Visa the Easy Way", the first chapter will be about Washington. Today I sailed in, turned in my receipt, and had my multiple entry visa in my hands in 30 seconds. Such a different experience than the stuggle in Vientiane and the additional hassle of getting the "multiple" part in Bangkok after I returned.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at lunch at my favorite coffee shop in DC - Soho Coffee, and then a long walk downtown, visiting the Smithsonian Castle, Washington Monument, White House, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial (with the latter being my all-time favorite).

Then it was a quick ride on the Metro to Silver Springs, where my friend Vinh picked me up and drove me to New York. I will be here for a few days visiting friends and seeing the sights, then its back to San Francisco for New Years.

Broadway Days & Nights

Posted by Stuart at 10:13 PM on December 28, 2002

I spent most of the day today with Kenley taking in the sights in New York around Broadway and Central Park. Our first stop was to see the afternoon matinee of La Boheme at the Broadway Theatre. I think this was the first time I ever saw an opera, and I really liked it. Of course the amazing sets and English subtitles helped.

After the show we walked through snow-covered Central Park and visited Lincoln Center before having a delicious dinner (which included the famous pomogranate margaritas) at Rosa Mexicanos.

Just seeing one show wasn't enough, so after dinner we saw Forbidden Broadway, a campy spoof of broadway shows in the style of San Frabcisco's Beach Blanket Babylon, but without the big hats. The rest of the night we walked around Times Square and marveled at all of the people and the lights and the tall buildings (how touristy!)