Welcome to Hollywood! What’s your dream?

Oh it’s good to be back in America!  I have to say that when I first got back to Chicago, I was hesitant to do things like brush my teeth with tap water and walk outside without a handkerchief to wipe my sweat.  It was bizarre to be consciously aware of the fact that I had gone 20 minutes without sweating the first time I stepped outside.  I knew I loved not sweating, but now I REALLY know how much I love it.  My first morning back I woke up in my sister’s condo and wondered what hotel I was in and in which city.  It took a solid 15 seconds and my brother running in to jump on the bed for me to realize that I was back home.  And that there was cheese in the fridge… oh the cheese…

A treat from my darling sister to welcome me home...

My time back in Chicago was a whirlwind of visiting family and friends, packing and loading up a moving truck with all my worldly possessions, and just generally gearing up to become a west-coaster.  The decision itself to move to LA was the easiest one I’ve ever made, but the thought of leaving Chicago indefinitely was a harder concept to wrap my head around.  I’m lucky to have many reasons to come back every year, and am hoping that my new proximity to the ocean entices many visitors!

umm...4'x7'x6'... this may not end well.

  

miracle packing!  truly.

Arrival Day!!!

Now, I initially started this blog to tell long-winded stories about my travel adventures and share personal opinions about my experiences in other cultures.  Well luckily for me, Los Angeles is a pretty foreign culture in itself… so I am constantly walking around looking at things and saying, “What is that?  Does everyone know about this?”  Generally followed by the standard response from Brendan, “Yes, Ann.  Everyone knows about this.”

Have you ever heard of food trucks?  I mean, I understand the concept of food in a truck.  But there has been a crazy food truck revolution here within the last 5 years.  There are tons of trucks that pull up on the side of the road and people just know to buy food from them.  Taco trucks, hot dog trucks, sandwich trucks, Italian food trucks…  They even have food truck night in Santa Monica where all the food trucks just come and park and everyone walks around and eats from the food trucks.  It’s like the Taste of Chicago, except with trucks, everywhere, everyday, all the time, and less people shoving you while you eat.

Let’s talk about “sign spinners” -- people who stand on the street corners and hold signs advertising for stores in the area.  This is obviously a marketing tactic I’ve seen before, but I didn’t know these people had an official title other than “guy who holds sign.”  Shops will hire people to stand on street corners and spin their store signs in fancy ways and throw them around to grab the attention of passing motorists.  So if you see a good one you should give them credit because they’ve stepped up their game and turned this job into an art-form.  The whole thing makes “guy who holds sign” look pretty sad in comparison, and I like to see these “sign spinners” having so much fun in their jobs on the side of the road.

Maybe I don’t go to Home Depot enough, but I’m pretty sure this next thing is a California thing as well.  We went to Home Depot and there were all these Hispanic men standing on the side of the road by the entrance, just hanging out.

I asked, “What are they doing?” 

“They’re looking for jobs.”

“Why don’t they just go into Home Depot and try to get one?”

“They can’t do that, they wait outside here for people to come to them.”

“Well why would the Home Depot people come out here and ask them to apply for jobs when all these guys have to do is walk 20 feet inside and fill out an application?”

“They’re day laborers.”

“Well why don’t they apply for the daytime shifts then?”

“They’re illegal, they are looking to do jobs for customers.”

“What?  Is that a thing?!  Does everyone know about this?”

“Yes, Ann, it’s a thing.  And everyone knows.”

-- the verdict is still out, but I don’t think this is normal protocol at all Home Depots across America.

Finally, the fact that every road with a number must be prefaced by “The” when talking about it is definitely foreign to me and specific to LA.  I think most people know about this, but I have many questions about its origins and who decided this rule?  It applies to all roads with a number (e.g. “the 10”, “the 405”, the “5”), and apparently it doesn’t matter if it is an even number or not.  I thought maybe certain roads would be exempt from this rule because they didn’t quite flow as well (e.g. “the 134”, “the 1”), but it seems that is not the case.  But regular roads are just roads.  There is no “the Lincoln Ave.” or “the Santa Monica Blvd.” so don’t even try it or you’ll just make a huge fool of yourself.

see that behind me, as i stand on my rooftop deck?  i believe that's what the natives call "ocean"

This is all I’ve got for my new world in Los Angeles/Santa Monica so far.  I’m sure there will be more, and I’ll certainly keep you informed when I come across more ”cultural differences.”  All in all, I am so happy to be living in California.  Though I’m already missing snow and cold crappiness of the holiday season in Chicago, I know I’ll feel pretty okay about the sunshine-y weather come January.  I’m told I can get to snow within an hour’s drive….so that makes me happy.

For now, I’m taking a brief hiatus from my new life in La La Land to check out a little place called “Swaziland.”  Where the wine flows like beer…  No, wait, that’s Aspen.  So I’m back on the road, back doing what I did this summer in Vietnam and Cambodia – working as a consultant for Hole in the Wall setting up camp/education programs for kids with HIV.  It came up pretty last minute and I am so excited to get another opportunity to do this!  I have no idea what to expect from South Africa, but I can’t wait to learn and publicly “deconstruct” my new cultural immersion experiences once again.

See you in Swazi!

APT

Brendan and I on the porch of our new place