We have been in America for just over two weeks now and plan to go to Mexico tomorrow. I have enjoyed California, particularly San Diego, and will be sad to say goodbye.
Constantly moving on was becoming tiring so when we arrived here in San Diego we just stopped for a while, we were on holiday from our holiday. It has been great to relax, the last two hostels were not great for different reasons but here we have had some space to unwind and catch up on a few chores and with friends and family.
California itself is very like how I had imagined it - hot, friendly and big, with very few exceptions. What I didn't imagine were the extremes - most people here are not obese, I think the problem is worse in London, however I have seen many chunkies so fat that they really struggle to walk. Apart from the fattest people I have ever met, I've also met the campest, the craziest, the loudest, the friendliest and the most desperate.
I thought everything here would seem very false but that has not been the case - people genuinely want you to "have a nice day!". I am really impressed by the respect people show one another. Passengers on public transport hold conversations with each other for the entire journey without having met each other before and unlikely to meet again. And what's more, they genuinely seem interested in each other. I have also seen so many examples people helping out strangers that I can't even begin to remember them all let alone write them down. I have also seen so many more beggars and destitute people than ever before. The irony is that you seem to need to be in a position where you can be the giver or receiver of aid before either of these things happen.
Mexico is just 17 miles away, but it feels as though we will be taking the biggest step in our journey so far as we leave behind the security of the western world that we know and begin to venture into the new - new language, new people, new culture.
Exciting!
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