Shutdown may mean slowdown for visa; childish behavior

I pushed the publish button by mistake -- instead of the save button -- on a handful of notes for my next blog, so the  notes were published as an actual blog, which would make no sense to anyone who actually reads the drivel I write in this space.  Whatever. The mistake prompted me to actually write a blog, so here goes.
I'm not sure since I'm reluctant to bother my lawyer, but I believe the U.S. government shutdown will slow down our efforts to get a spousal visa for my wife to come to the United States with me and our daughter. We put in the request last April, and things like this can take a year or longer for a response in the best of times. No word yet, and my gut along with guys like Anderson Cooper are telling me that the government shutdown could have dire consequences for a lot of people. The current U.S. president seems to be creating a lot of dire consequences for a lot of people. But our situation isn't really dire. It's more like inconvenient given the weather and dangerous traffic here in Vietnam. I sweat a lot and take taxis or walk, which isn't the worst thing that could happen by any stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately, my daughter and I will never be accepted here because we're a different race -- we're not 100 percent Vietnamese and we "look different." This fact gets pointed out to us nearly every day in our neighborhood -- with incessant staring and people telling us we "look different." And I've lived in this neighborhood five years, so I don't think that situation will change.
But for the most part, kids all over the world are OK because most of them don't care about skin and hair color or facial features. So far, my daughter shows no interest in what people look like. She cares more about wild animals and all kinds of fish -- and language and talking. Joanna asked her cousin in English if he wanted to go see the fish tank where we play tennis on Saturdays and Sundays. He didn't understand so she asked him in Vietnamese. He got it and off they went as Phuong whipped me 3-6, 3-6 on Sunday to reclaim the No. 1 ranking in our household. Regardless, I believe my daughter Joanna will do well no matter where we end up.

* * *

Here's a small tennis sidebar which might give you some insight into my circumstances and the mentality of some people here. I'm serving in a match with Phuong, when a construction worker stops working to watch us. His staring was a little over the top, but I smiled and bowed my head and started to serve. This guy yelps like a hyena in heat just as I'm about to serve, then laughs hysterically (like a hyena) and tells the other workers how he distracted the white guy serving. They're laughing, too. Phuong put her finger to her lips to shush the hyenas, and they sort of quieted down. Well, it is funny for a grown man to act like a juvenile and distract the White Monkey, who pays to play tennis. Adults and older teen-agers have performed this intelligent stunt about 10 times while I've been playing tennis here. Not dire, but inconvenient and immature. And really, some people are so nice to us here when we play. Yin and yang for the man of chi.

* * *

I'm very excited about seeing and spending time with my friend Andy. His visit gives us an excuse to visit some local landmarks and eat some top-notch food. Welcome, Andy.