What Surprised Me in America: An Immigrant’s Account of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

On May 12th, 2015 I was invited to speak alongside Governor Rick Perry at a Lincoln Dinner organized by Okaloosa Republican Executive Committee in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. I was supposed to warm up the crowd for the Honorable Rick Perry, but the order of appearances was switched at the last moment; Perry gave his keynote speech first, and then I stepped in, thanking the Governor for warming up the crowd for me.

I titled my speech What surprised me in America: an immigrant’s account of the good, the bad, and the ugly. There was no way I could cover this topic in 20 minutes, so I’m expecting more invitations from groups who will be willing to give me twice as much time or more.

Fort Walton Beach is right next to Destin, home of the largest U.S. Air Force base, which explains why the district is largely Republican. It is a beautiful place to visit, with warm and wonderful people, and I had a great time.

Talking with Rick Perry in the lobby.

The event was organized by Laurie Bartlett, a radio talk show host who had interviewed me several times for her program (we made friends during my 2011 book tour in Austin, TX). Special thanks to Bettina Viviano for her great introduction (she admits she reads the People’s Cube every day). And, of course, to Mrs. Red Square who drove our Red Cube vehicle all the way to Okaloosa while I kept adding final touches to my speech in the passenger seat.

Below is a page from the brochure for the event.

For a larger view click on the image.

 EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on The Peoples Cube.

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