Hey, all!
So some of you may know that I'm half American. I have loads of family in California that we go visit from time to time. However, last time was four years ago, so my family decided it was high time to go back. This resulted in a fantastical voyage through the land known as ~The United States~.
Ooh, magic!
Being born and raised European, I'm used to a certain pace of life. Let's just say that visiting the US caused a culture shock I did not expect, being from there myself.
So without further ado, I just want to tell you about some of my trip's thoughts and highlights, as well as a Book Haul! I rescued a lot a books throughout this trip and I'd love to share with you which ones I've decided to take home with me.
Disclaimer: This is going to include some brutally honest thoughts about life in the US. If you don't want to hear any negatives about the country, then it may be best to leave. Good things are included too! However, it's totally okay if our opinions differ, and I'm very open to having comments arguing against (or for!) my thoughts - the best way forward in life is by seeing opinions that may differ from your own!
Disclaimer 2.0: All of these photos are ones I took myself.
The Voyage
First of all, Jetlag sucks - you try to go to bed at a normal time, but you wake up way early or way late, you get hungry at weird hours and no matter what you do, it takes about a week to get back on schedule.
But once you're past that, things are much better. I'm from the North of California (around the Sacramento area), so there is a lot of Nature and not a lot of City.
The most amazing thing about California is how one can seemingly teleport from one climate to the next. Within 200 kilometres, you can go from semi-arid, dry areas to the constant rain and fog of San Fransisco, to huge forests to the ocean to high mountains to wineries. It's absolutely astounding!
San Fransisco is such a fun, free city. It felt the most European, and had so much to see! I loved riding the cable car through the steep streets and walking along the pier!
What I mean by European might have to do with the culture there. There was an importance placed on diversity and inclusion. People everywhere were able so simply be themselves and not have any dirty glances shot in their direction for just being themselves. It didn't feel sterilised like many other places I had been. What do I mean by sterilised? In the US I noticed that people lived in very segregated bubbles. Wether it be a community specifically designed for older people or a small town, each bubble followed its own rules, such as no children in housing and no driving past 9PM. Some places were also very racially segregated - white people in golf carts and black people literally cleaning up after them. It made me more than a little uncomfortable. There are very specific rules, topics of conversation that are hushed, and everything was sugar-coated. San Francisco felt a lot more inclusive and free, which I wholly enjoyed and overall felt a lot more at ease in. The lifestyle in other places felt like the country took a large step backwards in inclusion. I'm not saying that the European lifestyle is the ultimate one - it does have its problems. However, what I saw did not strike me as okay.
The nature in the US is unlike anything I've ever seen - you feel so small amongst the trees of Muir Woods and Calaveras park! It is amazing what nature can create. These places really show that us as humans are small inhabitants of this planet, and that nature is so much more mighty than any of us can ever hope to be. There are lakes so high up in the mountains they seem to be lost to civilisation, forests so vast it's common to see bears roam around, and mountains so high that trees cannot grow. I adored every moment of these visits!
Yet every year forests are burned down and holes are drilled for oil. The ocean is filled with plastic and the air with particulates. Our footprint is everywhere. The way of life in the US really focuses on consumerism - there's always gotta be more of everything, and everything has to be bigger and better than it once was. California took a good step forward in banning plastic straws, but there still is a long way to go.
We saw the whales off the coast of California at Point Reyes, as well! that was incredible in every way, I never wanted to leave! The Pacific is so vast, I could have sat there all day!
The little towns we visited were also so much fun! California has really kept some towns that were around in the 'Wild West' time intact, giving visitors a totally authentic experience. I really recommend Murphy and Nevada City, they are both fantastic in their own way! I discovered Cajun food there and I think I have a new favourite set of spices that I will definitely try cooking with!
Aside from California, we also took short trips to Washington DC and Florida. In DC, we went to the Air and Space museum, where rocket ships, satellites and aircraft of all sorts were on display, as well as a piece of the moon. I touched this seemingly uninteresting stone, and started crying my eyes out. The moon has always meant a lot to me, but I wan't expecting the tears by any means!
The US is so advanced with technology and innovation! It was difficult to believe the diversity of air and spacecraft they exhibited, and they still show every day! Science can take us to far forward, and I'm honoured to be a part of it!
We went to Florida to visit some family friends, who were happy to show us around despite the near-constant rain. I adored zooming across the bay on a boat to get to a restaurant! I was able to do so on Percy Jackson's birthday, which made it double cool! We saw dolphins out in the bay, as well as huge fish that could probably swallow me whole!
However, I also walked into an archery range, hoping to squeeze some practice into my trip. The place wasn't quite as was advertised on their website - right away, the storeowner came to speak to me, assuming I was there to buy a bow (or gun!) to hunt game with. There were dead animals everywhere, complete with descriptions of how they were hunted. Simple target practice didn't seem like something they catered for. Also, seeing guns (including real guns for children) merely days after the two shootings that recently happened made me sick - not only were they being sold, but they were being sold in the same manner a stapler or scissors or an ink cartridge would be - simply in a box, with no safety whatsoever. Saying that shootings are bad and something must be done simply isn't enough.
We also had some amazing bloopers! On the same day, my brother forgot his phone in a park, and I dropped mine in a river while gold panning! I forgot my camera battery on two of the most beautiful days we had, thus had to rely on my phone that had almost no battery itself at the time! We even had a laugh about our constant awe about the size of produce - comparing a normal sized avocado to a larger one made the standard avocado look like a small lime, or perhaps a large grape!
The US is also the perfect place to be a geek and nerd! So many specialty pop culture shops offer merchandise of a lot of series! Additionally, many larger cities show off science as a part of its culture, which I found to be amazing!
I also learned a new word during my trip - Keto. This is a diet that includes high animal fat and no sugars (even natural). This diet has taken California like a storm - it's recommended by every doctor and is advertised in every shop imaginable! Although it does obviously have some health benefits when done right, I could not believe how fashionable it was to have a Keto diet!
Finally, if you're gonna go road tripping around the US, I highly recommend the Air BNB system - we had whole houses that could hold up to 10 people for less than a hotel would have cost, in any location we wanted!
Rescue Book Haul
With the rise of Amazon and Kindle, bookstores in the US are loosing business. Thus, a whole collection of secondhand bookstores, as well as stores such as Barnes and Noble have entire sections where books are being sold for a fraction of their original price. This allowed me to rescue many, many books that I was happy to take home with me!
I was honored to bring 12 books home with me, each of which I find more intriguing than the next! These include...
The Dark Days Club, by Alison Goodman
The Thousandth Floor, by Katharine McGee
Legacy of Kings, by Eleanor Herman
The Serpent King, by Jeff Zenter
The Rest of the Story, by Sarah Dessn (Signed!)
Sky without Stars, by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell
The Luxe, by Anna Godbersen (4/5 stars)
The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
Scythe, by Neal Shusterman
Fairest, by Gail Carson Levine (3/5 stars)
The Dream Thieves, by Maggie Stiefvater
Satellite, by Nick Lake
Any opinions on which to read first would be greatly appreciated!
Why did I take the risk of talking about the issues I saw as well, when I could have so easily brushed it off and glorified everything I saw? Because I believe that it is important to discuss such matters. So I want to encourage you, whoever you are and wherever you're from, to have a think about what you think is important. Go out and speak to someone you haven't spoken to and listen to stories. Check the news on the other side of your political view, read a book about a culture other than your own. Ask yourself why what you think is wrong is wrong, and why what you think is right is right. I wholly believe that the world will move forward once discussions happen about the important topics. There is no right or wrong answer.
Overall, I loved my trip back to the states! There was so much to do and to see, and everything left me in awe! Everything screamed for its photo to be taken, and I had a lovely time with my family.
Please use the comments to discuss this! I can't wait to hear your thoughts and opinions!
Stay bookish!
"After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister, Scarlett, from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.
