Meta - Info about this blog: June 2005 Archives

Even as a permanent resident, when entering the country it's standard procedure for Immigration to ask you why you left. Here are the last two conversations I had:

Customs and Immigration, Detroit Metro-Worth, June 2005
Immigration: What were you doing in Japan?
Moi: I'm an anthropologist, I was doing fieldwork with people with disabilities.
Immigration: Disabilities? Like me?
Moi: [Peering over counter at his legs. He isn't in a wheelchair, no braces on his legs. He is kind of overweight... I give him a quizzical look]
Immigration: [Turning very red, he mumbles] umm... I have a bad knee.. [he mumbles some more, then STAMPS my passport and hands it back] Welcome back.

The kicker, though, was the last time I came through:

Well, we made it safely to St. Paul via Detroit. I'm not sure if it was just the luck of the draw, but the immigration lines were very short. We were through in less than 15 minutes. I've been stuck in line for more than an hour before. Kudos to the BCIS if it's due to better management.

We're in the midst of packing up and moving. We're putting our house in St. Paul on the market. It's a small 3 bedroom cottage in Highland Park, if anyone is interested in buying it. We're off to New Haven in just over a week, driving there by the scenic route. And then we're house-hunting, so if anyone has a small 3 bedroom cottage in New Haven that they want to sell, let us know. :-)

I'm boarding my flight tomorrow back to St. Paul, MN from Osaka Japan. It's been a productive year exploring disability politics in Japan. I look forward to a rather hectic summer of moving to New Haven and trying to cram in some research on disability in Washington, DC. Updates to this blog will be sporadic over the next several weeks.