LA from the outside

I’ve hosted out-of-town visitors for three weekends in a row now – and whenever I do this, it brings me into a greater awareness of LA. And I’m always amazed at some of the things I’ve become accustomed to:

Freeway traffic
Some areas’ likeness to Central America
Parking rates and availability
Crowds at Trader Joe’s
The fullness of my schedule
Pervasive billboards and the number in Spanish
Exotic cars
Palm trees

A former graduate school classmate of mine up north always wanted to come to Hollywood; he had come to the U.S. for school from China and said the movie industry was the best part of America. I imagined him with his camera around his neck, wandering amid crowds on the walk of fame, dodging cockroaches and homeless people as he cooed in delight at the exteriors of Ripley’s and the Hollywood Museum. He never came to Hollywood – he moved to New Jersey instead to take an internship in New York City, and last I heard, he said it was dirty and crowded.