Angelika As attentive newsletter readers know, I work as a behavioral therapist in a fourth grade class. In social studies, fourth grade is all about the state of California. As someone from northern Germany, I learned in my elementary school years about the Wadden Sea and the North Sea. Here in California, it's about the missions, the indigenous people of California, the gold rush, the expansion of the railroad, and the influx of immigrants.

Michael I recently heard that the scoop of ice cream in Germany now costs two euros. That's shocking for a dinosaur like me, who can still vaguely remember a time when a scoop of ice cream with a cone once cost 10 pfennigs, but that's nothing compared to the murderous ice cream prices in America.

Angelika We hadn't really thought that it would come to this again, but now both Trump and Biden want to try one more time and stand for election as President in 2024. The election campaign in America has already begun. Trump had always said that he wanted to run again, but nobody really believed it. The hope was that Trump would be forgotten with the passage of time. Unfortunately, that is not the case. His base remains loyal to him. Biden had also promised to retire after one term, but apparently he can't stay away from the White House either.

Michael Americans love to cruise around in huge recreational vehicles (RV) on the freeways, park it at a campsite in the evening, and then expect to find all the comforts of home.

Michael It's certainly not escaped your notice that everything is getting more expensive, and you're probably eager to find out if it's the same in the US as it is in financially-strapped Germany. To that I can say that certain goods have always been absurdly expensive here by international standards (cheese, butter, good bread, wine, beer, ice cream), while clothes or beef are definitely cheaper here.

Angelika The last winter and spring finally brought a lot of rain and snow to the higher elevations of California, which hopefully will help our drought-stricken state get through the fire season better. Of course, a good winter can't make up for years of drought, but it certainly helps. So the water reservoirs have been filled again (8 out of 12 are back to 75% according to official sources). The snow cover in the mountains has grown back to a healthy level and only 5% of California's land area is left in drought conditions.

Michael I am known to cook a lot at home, often Bavarian home-style cooking, since it is not so easy to get here in California. Recently, when I elegantly slid a breaded schnitzel into the bubbling pan of fat, it splashed back, burned my skin a bit on my forearm, and left a burn mark not unlike Gorbachev's bald spot (illustration 1 above).

Michael If you asked attentive drivers in our Bay Area which car brand is most dominant on the roads, "Tesla" would likely be one of the frontrunners. Californians also like to buy other electric cars, but the lack of charging stations, which is often lamented in Germany, is also a problem here.