New York, New York October 3, 1977 Dear Mom, There are lots and lots of people in New York City and they seem to be everywhere; on the streets, at the corners of the buildings, in the buses, subways. I happened to ride a subway today. It was loud and not as clean as those trains in Stockholm. Though, I was impressed by the murals along the tracks. They were actually little pieces of tiles affixed onto those walls, piece by piece, from the floor to the ceiling. Station by station, I enjoyed seeing those trompe l’oeil effects in landscapes, fountains,

New York, New York October 4, 1977 Dear Mom, I have seen lots of different things in just a couple days. I started to agree with those New Yorkers who proclaim their city, New York, New York as the Capital of the Universe. There are still a long list of places and things that I would want to see, to do. None the less, I want to tell you more about McDonald’s that I experienced yesterday. Friends told me that visiting America won’t be complete without tasting McDonald’s hamburger and French fries. It took no effort at all because this fast

Land of Opportunity October 9, 1977 Dear Mom, I will go to Oregon tomorrow to start my classes at Oregon State University. And don’t you worry, it only takes 6 hours flight from New York to Eugene, Oregon. A Thai student will pick me up at the airport and drive to our dormitory in Corvallis. Speaking about driving, owning a car has been in my mind ever since I got here and I would like to tell you why I dare to dream about having a car. Roads are everywhere and they are all wide, very very wide. I was in

Deja Vu October 10, 1977 Hi Mom, Americans are easy going and friendly. They come to greet me on the streets, in the restaurants. And ‘Hi’ is the most popular word to start saying to anyone, including their mom and dad. The other day, I saw a televised college football game and there was a sign raised by a student ‘Hi Mom, I love you. Hello Dad, send money’. It’s hilarious, wasn’t it. I am learning their ways of life and I will be more or less Americanized sooner or later. Let me start with saying ‘Hi’ to you. It has