So Los Angeles is now fully open … apparently.
If we are fully vaccinated we now don’t have to wear masks except for when a business asks us to.
I’ve got so used to being masked up, I now feel a bit naked without one. Although earlier this week I had to invite a plumber into my home. It was only 11.30 am and already a sweltering 90 degrees. I didn’t put my noisy air conditioning on as I was terrified of missing their knock at the door, so I happened to be maskless upon the arrival of said plumber and my greeting to him was probably going to be one of the most overused salutations of 2021… “I’m fully vaccinated, how about you?” followed with a big thumbs up. To my relief he was too, and even joked that I need to show him proof. At least I think he was joking… but he happily slipped off his mask and we continued on our appointment ‘unprotected’. This did feel slightly precarious but liberating at the same time. I didn’t even sanitize the door handles after he left; although that doesn’t mean I haven’t since!
It wasn’t until later that day that I realized how nice it was to see a whole face and especially a smile. It made the whole encounter much more pleasant. I’m sure we have all tried our best to articulate our feelings through our eyes and eyebrows, accompanied by exaggerated hand gestures but who knows if our intention is understood or just gets lost in translation.
Many of us were disappointed to hear that the UK is not opening up quite just yet. Whilst it is frustrating I do respect their current position, as at the time of writing only just over half of the population are fully vaccinated. Cases are on the rise again, so really it would silly to rush when they are almost at the final hurdle. Understandably, it has caused a lot of confusion, anger and upset. Not surprisingly we have received so many messages asking for advice and clarification on the ever-changing rules that we decided we had to add ‘Travel’ to our recently formed Immigration Group on Facebook. We have added at least 400 new members to this group over the last month, which just goes to show how anxious and bewildered everyone is feeling right now. But on the bright side, it has turned out to be a fantastic forum that has helped so many Brits in LA who had nowhere else to turn.
Members who have already completed their trips are sharing their experiences, which includes tips on where to get the requisite government-approved testing at the best price and also relaying tales of policeman knocking at their door at unlawful hours to check that they are actually quarantining. A special mention must go out to Jonathan Cowley of Corniche Travel, who has guided so many of us through the twists and turns that the American and British governments have thrown at us, and receives daily posts full of praise and thanks for all of his efforts. He helped me get back to LA right at the beginning of the pandemic, at no charge might I add. He just used his inside knowledge to help me get on a flight that had the least chance of getting cancelled, and it worked! He has assisted many of our members in obtaining an NIE (National Interest Exception) which enables people who are not residents or citizens of the US to fly direct to America rather than spending 14 days in an approved country before entering – although Mexico, Barbados, Antigua and St Lucia are just some of the places you can stop at, so why rush?
The other issue many of you seem to be having right now is securing an appointment to renew your visa. It seems that many of the US Embassies are either canceling or have long wait times. If this applies to you I highly recommend you join the group as embassy recommendations seem to change on a weekly basis.
If you are Facebook you can join by visiting facebook.com/groups/BritsinLAImmigration.
Otherwise email us at BritsinLA@gmail.com and we will try and help.
The other popular topic is of course ‘Where Can I Watch the Euros.” All of the British bars are screening the matches but if you need more info you can either email us or visit www.Britsin.la
Hopefully by the time you are reading this we are celebrating England, Scotland and Wales going through to the next round (and perhaps a travel corridor between the UK & USA!)
Cheers!
Eileen
