I'm off this morning to Kuala Lumpur to have pages added to our passports. It will be my first visit to the U.S. Embassy. I'm looking forward to spending a bit of time on 'home soil' although I'm guessing it will feel more like waiting around as a potential juror -- boring, businesslike, lots of paperwork, and not very welcoming. No martinis with olives being sucked down by beautiful and mysterious foreign agents under dim smokey lighting. Ah well, at least I've heard that as an American, I can skip the queue and go right to the front of the line. This strikes me as a totally patriotic gesture, something along the lines of thumbing my nose at strangers, going 'pbbrrrpt' and singing 'nanni-nanni-boo-boo' while rolling my eyes at the poor non-American citizens. Not. But if the line is a long one, I'll probably skip to the front.
While in KL I'm staying with a friend who has just moved to Malaysia from Kuwait. She and her new husband have just started jobs at an international school just outside downtown KL. I've known her my whole life (our Moms were BFFs), but haven't seen her in ages. The last time we got together was actually over dinner in Bangkok during Pelle's and my sabbatical in 2009. We'll definitely have a lot to catch up on. Hopefully I won't get lost on my way to her house!
* UPDATE: The passport process was a breeze. I could skip the queue and I also got to have a semi-private conversation with the embassy person within a plexiglass booth. The staff were very friendly and helpful. I was in and out in about an hour with our double-wide passports safely tucked away. Besides seeing my friend and meeting her new husband, the best part of the trip was the embassy's proximity to the huge mall under the Petronas Towers. 4 floors of shopping heaven before hopping the bus back to Penang.
While in KL I'm staying with a friend who has just moved to Malaysia from Kuwait. She and her new husband have just started jobs at an international school just outside downtown KL. I've known her my whole life (our Moms were BFFs), but haven't seen her in ages. The last time we got together was actually over dinner in Bangkok during Pelle's and my sabbatical in 2009. We'll definitely have a lot to catch up on. Hopefully I won't get lost on my way to her house!
* UPDATE: The passport process was a breeze. I could skip the queue and I also got to have a semi-private conversation with the embassy person within a plexiglass booth. The staff were very friendly and helpful. I was in and out in about an hour with our double-wide passports safely tucked away. Besides seeing my friend and meeting her new husband, the best part of the trip was the embassy's proximity to the huge mall under the Petronas Towers. 4 floors of shopping heaven before hopping the bus back to Penang.
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