Weblog:
We’ve been in California for a few weeks now, and today when I asked Elena what were the unexpected things that stood out the most to her about being here, she listed:
1) The beautiful clouds and the vast open sky she’s seen every single day since we arrived in California. She would squeal with delight whenever we’re just out driving around, because everywhere we looked above, the sky was like a beautiful painting. She filled the memory cards of our cameras with tons of cloud photos, and still couldn’t get enough of it:
See more sky photos here.
2) How very little skyscrappers there are and how far apart everything is. The vast amount of space available prevented the need to build things really tall in the States, and she’s not used to seeing so many one-story houses.
3) She had believed everything in the States would be more expensive than China, but it surprised her that some things are actually cheaper, while of much higher quality.
4) The amount of Chinese people and Chinese businesses in California. She’s heard about it, but to actually see Chinese stores, banks, auto shops, restaurants..etc everywhere and seeing/hearing Chinese people everywhere still surprised her.
5) The ridiculosly large servings in typical American restaurants. It freaked her out so much that she made me take photos:
…
Tonight we had dinner at my buddy Nadim and his girlfriend Vicky’s place tonight in Oakland. Oakland is a scary place for me because everytime I go there I feel oppressed–as if there’s a possible gang shooting or other violent crimes just around the corner. Vicky cooked Fajitas and it managed to change Elena’s negative opinion about Mexican food. Elena’s had Chevy’s and Taco Bell while in California, and they gave her a bad impression of Mexican food (although I explained those are not really authentic Mexican food). Vicky’s Fajita’s weren’t overly greasy or slathered with melted cheese, much to Elena’s delight. I talked a lot more than usual–maybe because I haven’t had anyone to really speak English to for the years I’ve been in China, and the topics were about sampling libraries, photography..etc, so I just couldn’t shut up. It’s been five years since I’ve seen Nadim, so it was awesome to see him again. He’s a pretty good musician, and is about to get his master’s degree in photography. You can see his website here.
Nadim looking seriously German.
Nadim and Vicky like two peas in a pot.
Unfortunately, Elena had to play deaf and mute again. I hope it pushes her to want to learn English faster–because she’ll be looking at many more situations where she’ll be forced to be deaf and mute once we move back to the States.
