Unemployment

I know it has been months since I last posted a blog, but I am pretty convinced my blog doesn't get much traffic anyway, so in the end, it doesn't matter much.  Since my last blog, I have proudly been letting everybody know that I survived the election.  In the weeks leading up to the election, I didn't do a damn thing besides election things.  Even my dreams were about Election Day.  Get Out the Vote came and went faster than I would have thought possible, and then there was nothing.  It was time for unemployment with no solid employment coming up.  So welcome fuckers (I only say that because of the picture) to the blog update about (almost) everything between then and now.

Charming graffiti at the hostel

Sometimes, people ask me why I love traveling to other countries so much when I know so little of my own native country.  And since one of the most popular states in the Union is California, I figured I should probably see it before leaving the USA again.  I got to go visit my old roommate (from when I lived in Santiago the first time) out in Oceanside (near San Diego).

O-Side Beach

The only bad thing is that she is kind of like a grown up and has a full time job.  And she works that job over nights.  It didn't stop us from having fun though.  We spent several afternoons just laying on the beach with the intention that Victoria could sleep and I could read my book or watch the surfers.  The problem is that we always ended up talking for hours.

Oceanside Beach at sunset

Victoria frolicking

There are millions of reasons I think this is the smallest world ever (I randomly ran into someone I met in Colombia last weekend on the streets of Santiago), but I happened upon an Ana Tijoux performance in LA when I was there.  And it was on a Sunday night so Victoria could go too!  If you don't know Ana Tijoux, you are missing out.  She is Chilean rapper and has some pretty politically charged songs.  Read more about her here.  For those of you that don't read Spanish, sorry.  Maybe you can understand some of it?)  We spend the evening chilling in Venice.  The city even made canals and put houses on them so it was like Venice, Italy!

Venice, Los Angeles, California

The cool kids on the beach

I didn't take my camera into the show, but I can tell you it was wonderful.  Even being one of about five white people there was wonderful.  Except she kind of made fun of gringos, and that just wasn't necessary.

We spent an afternoon doing the international houses where they give you samples of their food.  The only thing  slightly disappointing was that Latin America was significantly underrepresented.  Oh, well.  I like scones and cookies and egg salad sandwiches from the Queen just as much as the next person.

THE picture you HAVE to take (or something like that)

 For our final big outing, Victoria and I went to the Wild Animal Park.  It was kind of amazing- you get to travel through "Africa", where they have real kitenges draped on things and everything is way to clean to really be Africa.  You may or may not remember the Fredship Story, but I think I found some of Fred's friends in the petting zoo.  I also saw the cutest baby gorilla kissing the momma gorilla, and my heart fucking melted.  I also got to watch the moon rise over the man made savannah with a rhino.

Fred's Friends and me

Baby gorilla kisses

Rhino sunset

Some of my afternoons were spent on the promenade, or Victoria's back porch as it is better known as.  I miss our afternoon teas, speaking loudly and rudely in a British accent,  and brushing up on my Chilean slang.  The insane amount of Chilean and California wine that was consumed in good humor was the perfect detox from the election cycle, and I actually said that I still wanted to go back to work the 2014 election.  After leaving California, I carried my unemployment back to Santiago de Chile, where (hopefully) I won't be unemployed much longer.  They DO have elections coming up...

Peace and Love

Currently listening to: Lana del Ray.  I got so much new music in California, and I am not even listening to it right now.  I feel like I failed.