Nippy….
chilling inside Cafe Nero with my honey…doing some telecommuting work for Haas. Being productive…chilling….
Have the day off from Reuters.
I wonder if this would be accurate….When we visited the British Museum…we came up with some interesting zingers…
after our petit dejuner….
Mark: “..let’s make a like hijab and take off.”
and a few minutes later…during a dicussion on martial law and Marcos
Kris: “I owe my American citizenship to a brutal dictaorship.”
My dad told me about his uncle…who was once an advisor to Marcos. After my parents got married, my mom moved to the US to help Countrywide get off the ground. My dad was cooling his heels in Manila…trying to gert a green card. Thanks to the corrupt system and nepotism, my dad managed to get one. The powers that be recognized his last name and made the connection to his politically-connected uncle. I wonder if my dad didn’t have that connection…what would have happened to me? My parents don’t have many nice things to say about growing up during martial law. However, whem I visisted the Philippines in 1999, my dad’s family admitted that they got many good jobs and green cards because of the political connections. Hmm…so one hand they had no freedom of speech and political repression…on the other hand, my dad’s family didn’t exactly suffer through the bureaucracy of the dictaorship…..
And my dad made it to the US….without having to wait more than a decade for the right papers and sponsorship. After three years or so, he was re-united with my mom in Cali. Then the stork came and delivered me.
I know other family members on my mom’s side - folks who didn’t benefit from the political connections…they have waited a decade and then some to get an interview with the American embassy…to visit the States.
So…yeah…a strange statement…I think it’s accurate. As an American citizen, I can travel easily….my passport is darn cool….ok…still a bit sticky with European airports….there’s one line for EU people….and a longer one for non-EU people. I guess on the weekends or at night, passport folks are super-relax at French and Italian airports. The Stansted airport in London had more questions and more paranoia for non-EU travelers like Mark and me…..They wanted to know what we were doing in London for more than two months. I assured them I was a student. I also played the ditz card….I forgot my Northwestern letter that confirmed my student status. The passport dude reminded us we can’t work and make money. We said we wouldn’t. The dude wanted to know about my student visa….I didn’t get one because I couldn’t confirm my living situation until I got to Paris. Besides, I read on all the official British embassy site and it said I didn’t need a frickin’ visa for a visit that lasts less than 6 months. So…I felt intimidated…but I knew my rights.
Go USA.
(I’m joking)
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