Bohemian Journey

My best friend from high school was a girl named San from Burma. Then I had a crush on a very cute Burmese guy–let call him Y. who later became my boyfriend. I didn’t know much about their country and little did I care. Unlike San who was a legal immigrant, Y. came to the US as an international student. He graduated and went to college for one year before he quited to work full time at a video store which he later bought. He said that due to the recent political instability in his country (this is the late 1990s), his father could not operate his businesses anymore.  The father had to send Y. all the money and asked if can start a business and support the family.

Political problem. This was the only thing I knew about Burma.

Because Y. did not go to school since his father could no longer send him money, he was not eligible for the student Visa and faced the possibility of having to leave USA. He asked me to come to Rangoon. I never said anything but it was not an option for me at the time. Though not a teenager anymore, I knew nothing about the world, scared of going to strange places and living among strange people. Now I wished I said yes.

If you like movie, check out “Beyond Rangoon.” It’s about an American tourist got trap in the fights between the students and the government during her vacation in Burma. Many years later, it was unfortunate that how little thing changed.