The Johnsons have arrived in California - part2

Well the kids didn't go crazy for 3 weeks - so part 2 was delayed because we all have been running around like headless chickens for the past few weeks trying to get settled before I start my PhD at UCSB on the 22nd of September.

This email is in two parts first there is the more reflective part on Californian life as we have experienced it so far and then there is the news of the last three weeks - if you want to jump to the news just jump over to the section <<< news >>>

<<<< More reflective part about California >>>>

One thing just stands out, especially in California - this is a place of abundant wealth - yes there are a small few who may be considered poor - but they can get by on food stamps which they pick up at the social security office. By the way we are considered poor, living on a student grant - actually if you earn less than $40000 per year here you are considered poor and can get all sorts of benefits - for example the kids can go on a free medical aid scheme thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger's medi-cal scheme. OK you have to go to doctors and dentists where you sit in a waiting room a bit longer but it beats paying the ridiculous premiums that most Californians pay - about $800 per month for a family of 4 and then you only get about 80% cover on most medical procedures.

The other thing about a place with so much wealth is that it's very hard to get rid of old stuff - so at our apartments, for example, you get these free thrift shops where you can walk in and just take stuff people just throw away - we got a good coffee maker, a wireless router and a whole bunch of kids toys.

Back to Arnie - his such an enigma this guy - the German Mr Universe waltzes into the US - makes action movies and then becomes the Governor of California which is kind of like being the president of a country - he can make a huge amount of changes within the boundaries of federal law. For example I have to take my second hand car I just bought for a smog-check thanks to his pollution laws and the free medical aid for us poor is also his doing. And yet he's a Republican in the most vehemently Democrat state.

Some other reflections

*America has a particular sweet smell when you walk into shops or public spaces - it's weird - but I think I've pinned it down to the detergents they use to clean stuff like carpets.
*I really miss ceres and liqui-fruit juice - it's so hard to find freshly squeezed fruit juices here - well I've bought a blender and there's lots of good fresh fruit around.
*The lack of regulation on petrol prices is really weird you can go to one petrol station and it's $4.01 a gallon at Mobil and across the road at 76 it's $3.58 and everyday it can change.
* There are rules everywhere - I have already been stopped by campus police for riding my bike in a pedestrian only side walk. Warnings aboutstuff also abound - I went to take my car for a service and there were big notices everywhere about stuff in the service garage that could give me cancer - made me not want to breath.
* But on the other hand - there is no roadworthy tested needed when you register a car - just the smog-test. So you can't kill people slowly with air pollution but you can kill them quickly with failed brakes.
* "You're all set" is the most common phrase we have encountered in the US - at ticketing offices, libraries ... just everywhere


<<< news >>>

All the pictures over the last 2 months are posted here - some have captions
http://picasaweb.google.com/david.lloyd.johnson/Use_august_2008#
http://picasaweb.google.com/david.lloyd.johnson/Usa_september#

They are all taken with my rather "not to bad" camera phone - so hopefully the picture quality will improve when we've picked out real digital camera.

So after arriving in our apartment on Thursday morning the 21st of August we went out to buy a queen size mattress and could then basically camp out in our empty apartment - it already had a huge gas fridge. I realized with a fridge a stove and a bed - you can basically survive for quite a while.

We then hired a monster U-haul truck which you will see in the pics - to go and buy IKEA furniture in Hollywood which is 140km away. It was a freaky experience driving this thing - I kept straddling lanes and getting hooted at. We bought couches and "flat packs" for book shelves, beds and basically everything and it took a good week to get all the stuff assembled.

That weekend we also did our first proper beach visit ; when our toes were in the beach sand we finally felt we had arrived. The ocean is very calm here - it actually reminded me a bit of mauritius with very shallow waist deep water for a few hundred meters from the shore line. We saw a few people paddle surfing near where the beach makes a point. This is how surfing first originated in Hawaii - it was a means of transport for locals. It looks very mellow you can surf small waves and you don't get wasted paddling out with your arms.

The following week it was Samuels first day at Isla Vista Elementary school for First Grade. Public shcools are free here - you just have to live in the area. We found the school very un-friendly when we arrived they wouldn't let him attend class until I had cycled back to the apartment to show my passport - Samuel had a terrible day - the teacher basically ignored him and all the other kids as well and we immediately pulled him out. we then took him to a "charter school" which is a less formal school that uses more alternative education with input like music and art. We found a school which was very homely and "hippie" like with couches in the classrooms - very small classes of about 10 and we through this would be great - we really liked all the teachers. But Samuel was so traumatized by the other school experience that he totally withdrew into himself and wouldn't make friends with any of the other classmates - Nula had to stay with him everyday - and eventually we made a decision to home school him to re-build his confidence and cushion all the changes until second grade next year.

So the whole school experience has been really hard but Nula really enjoys the educator role - The challenge will be trying to teach Samuel and Luke at the same time. We've ordered Christian based home-schooling material and Nula will also be going to groups that get together every week to share resources - moms also sometimes teach subjects which they may be good at.

Then we think of all the amazing friends Samuel and Luke have made around us in the apartments and the great people living around us that we get on so well with and it softens the blow a lot. The total safety of course also makes up for any hardship - it's amazing how much tension is released, even in your shoulders when you live in a place where there's no threat on your life.

Santa Barbara is just an absolutely stunning place - we've done some walks in the forested creeks up on the mountain and there are so many great beaches to walk on and surfing spots nearby. There are also dedicated biking lanes everywhere - so you can take your whole family with trailers behind the bikes all over the town. We feel truly blessed to be here and are going to try and make the most of everyday - we have a 2 day beach / mountain rule - which says we are not allowed to go for more than 2 days without going to a beach or the mountain. I have hardly needed a jersey (nobody knows what that is here) day or night - it's almost always 26 degrees in the day and about 17 degrees at night with a light sea breeze always blowing.

We went to our local public library today and were blown away - they have hundreds of educational dvd's for kids, music cd's, almost every doctor Seuss book - I found some great books on Richard Feynman and Nula brought back about 25 books which she will use for home schooling. You can take as many books/dvds/cds as you can carry. I don't think Americans really understand the amount of resources they have.

We are getting to the stage now where we wish some family or good friends could pop in for a braai and a lekker chat - but a year will fly by - next year July we're back again. But please visit if you want - we have enough space for 2 or 3 people to camp in our lounge.

Well goodnight and take care