July 23, 2004
The Long Long Day
The first day in San Francisco was long. I left Hawaii just yesterday. But I remember the happy days in Hawaii as if they were long time ago.
The long day maybe started from yesterday night at Honolulu Airport lobby. I found that I do not have six boxes of quality Hawaiian chocolate for my internship company. Indeed, I was so enjoying last minutes conversation with my host father that I forgot to check my belongings. Ah… But it is no problem. They should be my farewell presents to him. I can buy a new one at airport Kiosk. But when I opened my purse at the Kiosk cashier, I found other problem. What I found was the key of his house… So, I had to call him. He was kind enough to wait several days before the key arrive from San Francisco by mail.
I hoped this was the last problem. But it was not. When I entered the jet, I saw my seat was occupied by a young skinhead guy. He was talking about something nasty with other guy on an aisle seat. I at first thought that he simply mistook the seat, so I politely suggested that my seat seemed to be where he was sitting. But unbelievably, he said no. He said my seat was the next, the seat between the guy and his friend. But my seat 35A cannot be anywhere but that window side seat because I named it when I made the reservation. At first, I seated myself between guys for several minutes. But then, I decided to call a flight attendant. I showed my boarding card. She talked to guys. But I could not hear what they were talking about. Then, she said to me, “It is no problem to exchange seats if you like”. So the guys explained her that I wanted to exchange the seat! Ah… But I did not give up. My host father told me in the last minutes conversation that I may have to insist my right in trouble in the U.S. mainland, or they may take all of yours. So I insisted my right to the seat and stuck to it. Finally, I got it. The seat was indeed very good to enjoy the view of Honolulu. But I was afraid of those guys. So I was happy when I could arrive at San Francisco Airport without trouble. Maybe, this is the opportunity that the god gave me to exercise skills to “insist”, which I did not need at all in Hawaii because everyone was so kind to me.
First, I went to my accommodation and took a rest for a while. Then, I sent the key back to Hawaii. It was already late afternoon then. The next was to go to buy a bike. My internship company is not far from my accommodation and can be accessed by bike. That’s why I wanted a bike. To find an inexpensive bike, I went to the Walmart in the suburbs of Oakland. The new mountain bike cost me no more than $60 at Walmart. Going there was not so difficult thanks to the good commuter train system. In the return trip to San Francisco, I got off the train at the edge of the city and went back by bike. The cycling was fun.
When I arrived at my accommodation, it was almost dark. So I went to Panda Express, my favorite fast food Chinese restaurant, to celebrate the first dinner in San Francisco. And finally I found a piece at my room.
I will keep this simple log while I am in BEP (the JAIMS’s internship program). But in deed, writing is not my cup of tee. I was always in agony with JAIMS writing assignments (I remember D and E. Thank you for help). I delay my response to e-mails. I hate cell phone short message function. So this is a challenge for me. To continue keeping the log, I like to allow myself to write whatever comes to my mind. It could be from one sentence to fifty sentences (like this!), from negative to positive. This is my excuse in advance. Thank you.
Posted by hfuruichi at July 23, 2004 11:59 PM