Back in the hotel after a long day. Took 3 taxis around the eastern part of the Greater Denver area. Besides the interesting conversations the taxi drivers shared (they’re all political refugees from parts of Africa), I got to take a good look at my surroundings.
Denver is a very spread area. It felt really spacious, and for some reason all the freeways were elevated and could see across the horizon, past all the trees and buildings. In the backdrop stood the Rocky Mountains. Gorgeous.
I’ve been here for almost 24 hours now and have not seen a single Asian person. There are a lot of white and black folks. They all seemed pretty friendly and got along well, but only so much could be observed in such a short amount of time.
Despite being at 5250 feet above sea level, it wasn’t very cold this time of the year. The Netherlands was much colder. Also, the sun burned with a bit more intensity due to the elevation difference.
Lastly, I ate dinner in a bar and grill and witnessed what I first thought to be a drunk woman throwing trash and a full beer bottle at an innocent woman. She was then picked up and brushed out by a man, who I presumed to be a bouncer or someone standing up for the woman.
Upon further investigation from the outrage from that woman, turns out the one with trash and alcohol spilled all over her face and body was a… mediator, say, to the “bouncer’s” and “drunkard’s” marriage. Yeah, she caught her husband cheating with that woman at the bar. That really sucks.
I had thought about spending the weekend here in Denver to explore a bit, but I’m flying back to San Francisco early tomorrow. While I think this may be a nice place to live as a family, it felt a bit suburb-y and domesticated. Not adventurous enough to warrant a weekend rendezvous.
Andy Cheng 