Oxnard & Wildfires

Today there are not many pictures because unfortunately the smoke didn't leave much room for beautiful photos :(. I spent the day in Oxnard, an actually super cute little town on the coast of California. My hosts were still super great... Only the fire didn't seem to allow me to fall in love with the California lifestyle. Fortunately, Oxnard was still spared from wildfires today, but the intense fires in the neighboring areas and forests were clearly visible. I have never experienced anything like this morning when I woke up: when I went out the door, I could barely breathe because everything was full of smoke. The cute little town was covered by a huge cloud of smoke and a strong smell of smoke, it was difficult in some places to make out the sea or the mountains.

For Harry and Ryan, my hosts, this was not as shocking as it was for me. They told me how sometimes in Europe the roads are impassable due to snow and ice and you can't leave the house, this occasionally happens in California due to fire and smoke. People mainly stay indoors during this extreme smoke, don't go to work, and wear masks. It was crazy for me to see that the streets actually seemed deserted. If you saw people outside, they were actually walking on the streets with masks on. Most likely they were sitting indoors and checking the news, which was not really positive: because so far the firefighters have hardly any control over the fires and more fires have ignited in Los Angeles, exactly where I was yesterday. The fires did not spare even the most luxurious villas and some have already been completely destroyed. I just find that crazy and am very glad that in Germany, if at all, we have to stay at home because of ice instead of ash rain.

Nevertheless, I envy how relaxed the Californians are in other respects. They love their state and accept that they have to pay the price of fire and earthquakes for the beauty and great weather. On the one hand, I find this sacrifice extremely crazy, but on the other hand, I can understand it very well. Somehow, I feel very comfortable in California! I can't even say that the landscape here is much more beautiful than the rest of the USA. It is really hardly possible to top Utah, Arizona, or Colorado. Nevertheless, the way of life here in California is completely different. Especially in the south, it never really gets cold. Harry and Ryan were already freezing last night when we had our beer by the sea because it was 'only' 15 degrees Celsius, but it doesn't get much colder. The sun here in Southern California shines practically all the time, the mountains make the surroundings beautiful, and the sea is simply calming and invites you to be outside all the time, to surf, swim, or just chill at the beach. You can really feel this quality of life from the Californians! Somehow, everyone has a good mood, is friendly, and seems incredibly joyful. The atmosphere here is simply incomparably relaxed and liberating. Multi-cultural people flock to California from all possible cultures and countries.

California is extremely liberal, Americans here laugh at things like Trump and the attitudes of the other (especially southern) states and live as if they are in their own country. I find it amazing how self-reflecting American people here view their state system and question education, health, and politics of their fellow citizens. There are huge differences between the individual American states. So, people in liberal states like California and Colorado are completely different from those in New Mexico or Utah. One could almost think of diving into two different worlds.

And once again I have to mention my two Californian hosts: it's just incredible how nice they were. They didn't know the concept of Couchsurfing before I told them about it. Nevertheless, after hearing my reports, they really wanted to try it out and hosted me as their first Couchsurfing guest. Even though they were not familiar with this concept, they have been one of the best hosts I've had so far. Harry practically cleared his room and bed for me so that I had enough space. The two of them cooked for me (typical Californian HEALTHY food and not fried =) ), they made great efforts to make my trip enjoyable, and helped me create the best possible travel plan for California. Although it was really difficult to do anything in Oxnard today, they found a nice spot at the harbor where the sky wasn't completely gray and where we could relax. We even encountered numerous sea lions sunbathing. While I was completely thrilled, such animals seem to be completely normal for Californians.

It was incredibly interesting to talk to Harry and Ryan. Somehow, we seem to come from the same world, as they do, than the rest of the Americans. In terms of attitude towards life, Californians are more similar to us Europeans, but they also have a bit more joy for life and of course the great hospitality that I have never encountered in such a form in Europe. Do you know the feeling when people treat you with so much appreciation and care completely selflessly? When an entire city is in a good mood and the sun is shining? This atmosphere is so special and great that it is absolutely contagious. I feel so happy, free, and good because of all the appreciation I experience here. In addition, I realize how much more open and loving I become towards other people and how I can enjoy life through this. It is simply great if everyone treats each other and themselves with more appreciation, helpfulness, and love instead of being stressed and disinterested. If we all treated each other that way, the earth would probably be a completely different planet. We might have to wait forever for this change... but it's even better that you can already get a taste of this way of life in small, sweet Californian towns. I hope I can bring as much of it home as possible! So, if I'm not nice to you next time, remind me of Oxnard ;).

As beautiful as the time here was, as the fires got closer, evacuations threatened, and activities other than sitting indoors (which is actually horror for me) became impossible, I changed my travel plans. I just arrived in Fresno, more in the northeast of California, to explore the national parks from here, where there is already snow and therefore no danger of fires. I hope the area around St. Barbara can be explored in more detail at another time and I am now looking forward to the great National Parks Yosemite and Sequoia Tree Park. I hope the parks are worth the cold here!