Dear Dad and Mom,
I received your letter dated March 12th. Today happens to be the Qingming Festival.
1 I assume Mom is out in Chongming
2 right now? Things always seem complicated on Mom's side of the family. Honestly, Mom, if you don't really want to go, you shouldn't worry too much about what other people might say.
I'm officially graduating in a little over a month. I've already taken care of all the necessary paperwork, including applying for graduation and filing for my work authorization (OPT).
3 These are all standard administrative procedures, so there shouldn't be any problems. Graduation is around the middle of May, but I expect to have everything wrapped up by early May.
That said, I don't plan on heading out to New York right away. For one thing, I need to wait for my diploma and work authorization to arrive. Besides, I have a lot of friends here in Austin, so it's a bit more fun here. I'll probably wait until mid- or late June before making the move. Finding an apartment in New York or New Jersey is going to be a bit of a challenge. I may ask some friends to help me look, or I might stay with a friend for a while after I get there and search for a place myself. Either way, I'm sure everything will work out in the end, so please don't worry too much.
Once I start working, the H-1B work visa process will probably move rather slowly and may take several years. Because of that, the most practical arrangement would be for you to come and visit me instead.
4 I think next year would be the perfect time. By then, I'll be completely settled, finances won't be a problem, and I'll be able to take some time off to show you around.
5 Please don't plan to dip into your savings for this trip. It simply wouldn't make much sense for you to spend your hard-earned money coming all this way. I'll take care of all the expenses related to your visit, so you won't need to worry about a thing.
I'm enclosing some camera negatives with this letter, mostly photos of Sue and me. You should already have come across her name—you just didn't realize it. A couple of months ago, we visited the LBJ Library and Museum. While we were browsing the gift shop, Sue suggested that we buy a postcard to send to you. On it, she wrote somethin like, "Hello! My name is Sue. Your son Tong is quite a nice guy." She even carefully wrote both of our names in Chinese!
Sue is a friend I met through the International Office's PALS program. At first, we got together once a week for language and cultural exchange. She is in her late forties. Born in Germany and raised in the United States, she recently returned to the U.S. after living in Japan for about five years. Her father was a professor here at UT and passed away not too long ago. She's also traveled to China before, including Nanjing. Above all, she's an incredibly kind person.
The photos were all taken here in Austin: at the State Capitol, by Lake Austin, and along Town Lake. The one taken at sunset was at Mozart's on Lake Austin, a café where we had dinner and watched the beautiful sunset over the water. I also included a few shots of a swan at Town Lake—hilarious and so greedy for food that it almost swallowed my finger! All in all, Austin really is a wonderful city. You definitely won't find swans like that in New York City.
Tong
04/05/97