The Memories !!

The Malaysian Pioneers In Vallejo, California

It has been awhile since the Fonz last updated the blog. So i think i would like to refresh some of the things that i wrote before. One of which is something about setting foot for the first time in Vallejo, California. These are the first Malaysians who landed in Vallejo, California in 1981.. ….. ( Mike, Fisal, Zul, the Fonz, Farid and Firdaus in front ). The first batch of  the Malaysian students at California Maritime Academy ( presently known as California State University, Maritime . CSUM). Vallejo is in the San Francisco Bay Area. We moved from Illinois after spending about 9 months at Western Illinois University in Macomb.

We saw a complete different view when the plane was about to land at the San Francisco International Airport. I was delighted to see the bay.  Many of our friends were at the small airport in Galesburg to see us for the last time. Yes of course, we were going to the place at least 4,000 miles away. Galesburg was not far from Macomb. From Galesburg, we took a flight in a small plane to Chicago O’Hare International Airport . I could never forget what  I saw at Chicago Airport. Not only it was the biggest airport that I had ever seen, it was also the busiest. Imagine when you look at the planes lining up to take off at the run away. It was like watching  cars at the traffic lights.

The Fonz had visited Chicago before, together with friends from the Northern Illinois University, DeKalb. The Fonz went there during winter. Chicago was known as the Windy City. Among the landmarks was the Sears Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world at that time. Who could forget the beauty of the great lakes. I visited my high school friend, Saifudin Sidek, who studied at the University of Michigan in Kalamazoo during Fall season. I thought the Great Lakes in winter was awesome . During summer break, the Fonz joined the Malaysian Students Association inter-university games held at the University of Indiana, Terre Haute. The Fonz used to have a pen pal by the name of Lisa Keenan who was from Indianapolis, Indiana. That was when the Fonz still in Standard 6 ( Grade 6 ). However, we lost contact during high school. At that the only  way of communication was through writing letters. The Fonz did try to contact her while in the US but did not materialize.

So, what were the differences between the San Francisco Bay area and the Mid West ? Many many   . The Fonz’s hometown in Malaysia was near the beach. So being in the Bay Area was like being close to home town where I could see water . There were many bridges too in the Bay Area. The weather was great but foggy and sometimes  a lot rain. The Fonz had seen the wrath of cyclone in the Mid West. In the Bay Area, the Fonz also felt the tremor of earthquake that hit a town about 100 miles away. That was some kind of experience. I remember running out of the house. Anyway, the Fonz had good times in the Mid West as well as The Bay Area. The Fonz started to develop new interest in American Football. Of course at that time, the San Francisco 49ers was one of the best teams in the US. Who could forget Joe Montana the quarterback and his receiver Dwight Clark ? They were the best at that time. The Fonz did play flag football as a kicker at the college. The Fonz loved listening to the Bay Area radios. The favorite radio stations were KMEL ( the Camel 106FM ), KIOI, etc.

 

The Fonz and Farid di San Francisco Bridge

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