God bless California

It’s difficult to do injustice to a country like the United States but I think I have managed to do just that. I hadn’t been to the States a while. One the one hand because there was no good reason to go but on the other hand I sort of thought that even if there was a reason to go, that’s not a good enough reason to actually go. Having been to New York and Miami, arguably the hotspots of that great country, and having been unimpressed by both, I was feeling strongly neutral about travelling to USA and was absolutely sure there were about a thousand better places to go to.
This turned out to be injustice. I had come to that conclusion before I had been to California. It was very refreshing to be there, and not just because of the weather. Because it was a short work trip I couldn’t see and do enough to write a travel journal or even a travel memo but I did make a mental note not to rule out California as a holiday destination.
Still, one thing that was impossible to miss was that everyone in the States seemed to be talking about Obama, almost as if he is the Messiah. Looking at the state of the country he has to do miracles of similar magnitude, too. First he has to feed about 300 million people (and a few banks and auto makers) with two fish and 5 barley loaves. Then he has to calm the stormy seas of US foreign policy. I wish the man nothing but good luck.
The only time media didn’t only talk about Obama was when the commercials were on. In a very non-American way the commercials were mainly about how to turn excess gold jewelry into cash, get a free consultation on credit card debt or advice on paying taxes. On my previous visits they had mostly been about buying a bigger car that would get rid of the existing car’s problem of not consuming enough fuel. And hey, maybe it was this shift in the mentality that made this country more appealing to me. Might even try Utah next time.