San Francisco and Scientology

I've become a tourist for a week, I'm currently in San Francisco before heading up north to see some giant redwood trees. I set off this morning at 4.30am in style - the taxi I had order turned out to be a limo! However my journey did not continue this way... The greyhound bus was about three quarters of an hour late and I had to wait in front of the bus station, even Santa Barbara is slightly chilly at that time in the morning. Eventually the packed bus set out just as the sun was beginning to rise and I was lucky enough to see it rise over the mountains. The journey was fairly uneventful, although very long (ten hours), thankfully I slept for a lot of it. We travelled up Highway 101, past many mountains, through valleys and past loads of Mexican immigrants working on farms (the Californian economy depends on Mexicans, they are a large minority and most signs are translated into Spanish).

Eventually I got to San Francisco and after finding my hostel I set about finding my first real meal of the day (at 4pm - prior to that I'd had 2 apples, 2 oranges and a packet of crisps, nothing like a well rounded diet). I walked into Chinatown and found a cheap and cheerful restaurant, I asked the waitress for the most authentic meal they have and ended up with a "Chow fun with Beef and Greens", it consisted of bean sprouts, beef, spring onions and something that I'm concerned may have been thin strips of fat. Whatever it was it was a delicious bargain - only $5! There is an Afghani restaurant near the hostel that does a lunch buffet, I have to try it. I also did a bit of shopping, buying a travel journal, a tiny statue of a Boddhisatva for my friend Rhiannon and a Christmas present for my sister.

After dinner at the hostel an Australian girl I've met and myself decided to go to a comedy club for the night, once we had go there we discovered it cost $19 and decided our money was better spent elsewhere, but we took a slightly different route on the way back and ended up walking past the Church of Scientology, that happened to be offering tours, so we decided to go in. It was fascinating - it was set out exhibition style and the first five or so boards were dedicated to the life of L.Ron Hubbard, much less time was dedicated to actually explaining what Scientology is. They had videos of various speeches all of which had massive flaws in their arguments - the assumptions just stood out. The rules Scientologists have to follow mean that they cannot discuss any problems they may be experiencing with their faith and they have to promise allegiance and devotion to any group they are involved in (which presumably includes Scientology). There is so much brainwashing, all of the exhibits showed pictures of beautiful people enjoying themselves and prospering. It was very commercial and very judgmental. They laid claim to a lot of things other people have done (such as administrative systems, drug rehabilitation, etc). It was very interesting, but at the same time very concerning. I've filled in their personality test (200 questions!), what will they make of me? They also have seminars in the day, I may pop along and pose some exceptionally awkward questions. I'm very glad I walked that way home, it has made my day much more entertaining.

As you may be able to tell I'm feeling a lot more positive today, life is easier as a tourist and I've had an enjoyable day. I've also learnt that a dime is worth ten cents, for some reason the American mint assumes everyone automatically knows what a dime is and so doesn't feel the need to put its monetary value on the coin... Hopefully these little discoveries will come easier as a tourist and I won't feel nearly so awkward as I have done recently. I think that I'll have to learn to be very patient with myself and then I'll be fine. I'll take plenty of things for granted soon enough and life will become easier.