We’re given snacks.
We’re given wine.
We’re given a bag of fresh avocados and kiwis from the garden.
We’re given a home‑cooked dinner.
We’re given the keys to Amy’s Porsche and get to drive it.
We’re given a wonderful reading with wonderful people.
We’re given a spontaneous tour of a house Jack Kerouac once lived in — the owner just happened to be standing outside and had time.
We’re given compliments, attention, and the kindest conversations with everyone who lives here.
I have never felt so American. I’m so full of gratitude and bliss I want to write: I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I want to write a text using only words like incredible, beautiful, breathtaking, the most amazing, open, heartfelt, and kind people. I want to push every American superlative to its limit and then double it.
We go out at night and meet more than ten new people.
We walk along the river and admire the pretty lights in the trees.
We walk down the street and 17‑year‑olds invite us to their prom.
We convince someone to do Erasmus in Germany.
We let someone explain to us how bad German food is.
We listen to a band and everyone dances.
We share a vape with a galaxy on it.
We sing Wonderwall.
We tumble out of a dance bar at two in the morning, laughing loud, and a lot.
In three days of SLO living, I didn’t stop laughing once. My cheeks hurt every night.
This text is boring. Who likes reading about how wonderful everything was? But it was wonderful. I’ll be back.
A special thank you to Amy, for everything.
The views expressed in this text are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Goethe-Institut.