Pukeko Meets the Eagle Vol 1.
Kia ora tatou:
I have found that motels in San Francisco come with free wireless broadband, so I thought I would put up a few posts, noting my impressions of being in the US. While I can and when I can..
A long time ago, I studied American literature and history as part of my degree. Now, after 30 years, I am experiencing it in real time. So far, I have seen things that confirm my impressions and half-held preconceptions and things quite at odds with that…
I have managed to get through the day without being flattened by the traffic. I am still used to looking right-left-right, so it is a surprise to find that I need to switch this to left-right-left. This misconception has nearly led to my being flattened 3x by the HUGE vehicles that drive streets here. The utes (sorry, pickups) are enormous. They are all black or silver and have enormous engines. The gas station across the road sells gas at around $US 3.45/gallon. As near as I can figure it, that is around $US 1.00/ gallon, give or take. My motel is on Millbrae Avenue in San Mateo County and the avenue has 5 lanes each side. This evening I watched a woman park her late model Accura in the 3rd lane, get out, Lock it and walk casually into a 7/11 to make a purchase. Nobody seemed to be troubled. Try that on The Waimakariri Bridge!
I am still trying to work out where North is, and reckon my orientation is about 90 degrees out. My watch, with its built-in compass is helping, but not much..West stilll feels like North.
San Francisco airport is mega, but then so is everything here. It took 15 mins to walk to the carpark.My mentor and friend, Alessandro Baccari, picked me up, after I had spent an extra 40 minutes with Homeland Security, attempting to explain my visa to them. Apparently the issue was whether I should have a B1 or J1 category. They didn’t necessarily agree with what the embassy in Auckland had determined. Apparently everyone has an opinion here..Advice: when you are going to work here, there will be issues… all of the officers, who looked like they should be actors in CHIPS, were armed and dangerous; mace, Glock 9mm, handcuffs, you name it. Presumably they are willing to use them…
The light here is as I imagined it. It is bright, glittery and yet the dynamic range is not as wide as New Zealand. I seemed able to get all the tones onto my histogram. Curious… I remember a conversation tears ago with English landscape photographer, Fay Godwin. She was stunned by the contrast in our light and was having to make major adjustments to her exposure and development regime to cope with it. She was having to adjust her conception to the reality of what was before her. I am having a similar issue. It is a salutary reminder that what we see and what we think we see can be 2 different things, and therein lies one of the markers of your mastery of the medium. Closing that gap.
Alessandro gave me a Tiki Tour of the city. We went to Fisherman’s Wharf in his Cadillac, an enormous car that really is a mobile living room, but perfect for the freeways here. It floats/flops along in an eerie silence. Alessandro, who is 78, an eminence grise in the city, and a multiple Fulbright scholar has been inspirational in the development of a multi-denominational chapel for the seaman in the Bay. Here you can celebrate the Roman Catholic Mass in Latin, pre-Vatican II. The only other place where I know of this being done is in Wanganui. There is some extraordinary architecture here. The Transamerica Building, which looks like a Saturn II waiting to lift off, sits next to an example of neo-Classical architecture, owned by one of his friends, Francis Ford Coppola. No, I am not making this up. He also told me about a certain Francis Sinatra, again an acquaintance, and how Frank would swim 2 lengths of a swimming pool underwater to build up his lung capacity. My head was spinning at times…
I went down the road for a meal this evening and learned something about what to order and what not to order. The meals here are brobdignagian (huge would have done, but I have always wanted to work that word in somewhere…). I ordered the entree, spicy chicken wings. If only I had stopped there! Instead of 3-4 of these, I got a 10-piece pack of the best chicken (actually from the size I wondered if they had used turkey legs) I have ever eaten..and two carrots cut into sticks.. and 2 celery sticks.. I wish I hadn’t ordered the turkey sandwich…. and a Coors ( quite nice actually)! All for $15. Crikey!
Tomorrow takes me up through Seattle to Sitka. More as I get the opportunity.
Ka kite ano
July 11th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Maybe you actually got a “main” of chicken. In North America appetizer is the small dish that you order first and entree is the equivalent of a NZ main. I’m really enjoying hearing about your experience - it reminds me of how many things puzzled me when I came to NZ (many still do..).