San Francisco Addendum

I neglected to include one of my favorite moments in SF. In some ways it was an interesting experience because it was completely random.

After walking all over SF, Brian and I were hungry. Somehow I managed to find a route back towards the hotel that was nearly devoid of open restaurants. I do not know how I did this. While I was happy that my powers of direction were good enough to get back to the hotel, our hope for finding a bite to eat was thwarted.

We made it back to Triton and decided to try the European cafe next to it. In the moments between dropping backpacks off in the room and going next door, it seemed like a tour bus let out a group of 100 tourists who were all waiting to be seated. Thwarted again, we walked around the corner and saw a plaine tiny soup and sandwich shop that advertised vegetarian soups.

We walked in and it was a half Mediterranean wrap store and half cookie store. Hungry enough we stayed and order wraps. When I asked for Tzatziki sauce instead of Tahina, the owner with far too much remorse told me he was out of it. No problem. As we waited, this man brought us free falafel, pita, and grape leaves.

One of the great things about Brian that we share is a genuine interest in people. His openness and friendly demeanor invite conversations with strangers so when we are together, we both end up striking up conversations with unique individuals.

We engaged the owner whose name we found out was Rezzel (sp?), an Iranian refugee. I could tell he was reluctant to say that he was Iranian at first so I shared with him that I went to school with many Iranians/Persians and as a result I know my share of curse words in Farsi. He laughed and he insisted on teaching us a few clean words.

When hearing that Brian was living in Hawaii, he lit up as he too had lived in Hawaii for a handful of years in Waikiki, where Brian lives. They spoke about the challenges of fitting in and be accepted. He managed a Mrs. Fields cookie store there. He spoke about loving San Francisco because he felt like everyone was accepted and that being different was appreciated as long as you were accepting in response. He said he did not spend much time in the large SF Iranian community preferring to have a diverse group of friends.

We didn't press why he felt he had to leave Iran, I wondered if he might have been gay. He did recently spend some time in Turkey so he could visiti his family in Iran who were aging. We spoke about the beauty of Turkey and its rich cultural importance.

By the time we were leaving, he was practically offering us the store. We refused his offer of free cookies a number of times.

What a refreshing meeting! To meet someone so open and friendly who grew up in such a restrictive environment was nice. It constantly reminds me of the kinds of wonderful opportunities we have in the US to really learn about other cultures and backgrounds.