We’re waiting for our tour of Villa Aurora to begin. We sit in front of a bookshelf filled with free books. There are a lot of Lion Feuchtwanger books.
Who is Lion Feuchtwanger? Mücahit asks.
Some classic, or so, I say.
Ten minutes later we’re both very glad nobody overheard that conversation.
We’ve grown more tired. Fatigue induces laziness—how many new impressions can a brain even take in and process in such a short time. The laziness pushes me toward shopping, and honestly, shopping in LA is exceptionally fun, more than elsewhere.
I go to Erewhon and spend 32 dollars on a smoothie and five dumplings. It hits me no less than five minutes later, I start laughing, 32 dollars for ready‑to‑eat food wrapped in plastic and some puréed greens. They really know their game, they’re excellent at getting you to spend money, you have to hand it to them.
I reach for words to describe this place, but I keep feeling as if I’m only repeating what everyone already knows.
Traffic in LA? Groundbreaking information.
People often look fake? You don’t say.
Poverty downtown is extreme and the drug crisis truly shocking? Aha.
Ich greife nach Wörtern und Beschreibungen für diesen Ort, aber ich habe ständig das Gefühl, dass weiß eh jeder.
Stau in LA? Groundbreaking information.
Die Leute sehen oft fake aus? You don’t say.
Downtown ist die Armut extrem und das Drogenproblem wirklich erschreckend? Aha.
I record a voice message for a friend. “I don’t think I’m going to the ocean today, because the ocean, it’s kind of just the ocean.” “The sea is the sea. Some truths can be told in five words,” he replies. I nod and stare at yet another traffic jam I’m driving into at that very moment.
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.