Leaving the rainy drudge of Vancouver behind we arrived in paradise, which chose to adopt the name of Isla Vista, CA this time around. Karlijn, Bertine's sister is currently studying art history at the University of California Santa Barbara.
Fantastic beach-time, pelicans swooping over the waves and a spoiling 18 degrees - what can you do but enjoy. Well, you can gossip about Americans. When I arrived in Canada for the first time I was shocked how much it all was 'just like in the movies' (the North American ones I saw at home). I got used to it alright. Now I'm back at that point again and have to admit that California is a whole lot more like the movies than Vancouver could ever be. That's why they have to dress up the scenery when they make American movies in Canada.
What I also notice though is that sitting perceptively in Vancouver and hearing and reading about the US from a Canadian perspective, I developed quite the stereotype about this country. This stereotype is true in many sad ways but of course it is also quite wrong in many more. Yes, L.A. is a terrible place to be, a modern urban moloch which devours the victims which are drawn to it by need and despair. Isla Vista on the other hand is a paradise, idyllic and very chilled, very Westcoast. No country that has such beaches can really be bad. Too bad so few of the local population here are using them...
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