So I am not necessarily onboard with some of the excesses in America. (I was recently told by an American that she wouldn’t go to a Picasso museum because he “culturally appropriated” African art.) but America is a place of extremes. I am not keen on the GOP’s embrace of its far right, either. Spain is both socially conservative and politically liberal. In my town there is an LGBT safe space in the youth center, contraception is easy to come by, and people are non judgmental but respect social norms and don’t get mean with each other.

For what it’s worth I used to have a job that brought me close to a lot of US politicians in both parties. Of all of them, from Bernie Sanders to Mitch McConnell to Lindsay Graham, the single most impressive one I’ve met is Gavin Newsom, who I’ve worked and socialized with. I didn’t expect to like him. The first impression is of a slick pretty boy. But he’s the whole package and one political thing I miss about California.