The one topic that went unspoken in the prior blog post (originally included but it really got away from me after a massage & a couple glasses of wine) is the repetitive topic I’m so goddam tired of talking about but I have to at least pay attention to weekly US headlines or I’ll find myself out of the loop on current events when a cab driver in a tiny little Colombian town or a cowboy in the pampas of Patagonia brings it up… good ol’ Donny. I can’t yet refer to him as the president bc my denial runs deep. It’s not like he’s living up to the title as his actions to date have been downright mortifying as a citizen traveling the world. It’s so unlike traveling while Obama was president – wow did the world love & respect him. It was even loads better when W was pres (& I recall some tough convos in Europe) but while he blew Iraq & Katrina, he at least brought with him some decorum, restraint, an established agenda, & (I can’t believe I’m saying this but wow have my standards changed recently) intelligence that comes with experience. Locals here primarily need some kind of assurance that Americans don’t favor or support Don’s racist isolationist policies. My response is those that do wouldn’t be traveling abroad like I am so I suspect they’ve never met any (the answer is no they haven’t). In my broken Spanish I’ve successfully conveyed that our new US President, no longer the “leader of the free world”, was elected bc a lot of US citizens who bothered to take the time to vote see themselves in a very bad place, are tired of the same old DC politics & were looking for change. It also means those same people are one or more of the following:

• Politically stubborn in this time of broken partisan politics so they support their party’s candidate bc they are unwilling to admit he’s atrocious;
• Stupid bc they voted against their interests as if the lying narcissistic Trump cares about anything but himself & his rich friends;
• Secretly racist & scared of foreigners bc of the fear culture we’ve lived in since 9/11 or bc they’re bad people & I’ll just stop there;
• Secretly sexist & misogynistic & not only can’t see a woman running the US but rationalize blatant sexual assault & harassment by the Don (this may be my fave bucket);
• Selfish for thinking any potential financial savings as a result of Trump’s (current) Republican leanings are worth selling your soul on social issues; or finally
• Short-sighted & self-centered & couldn’t be bothered to think that any of Don’s crazy beliefs would ever apply to themselves or anyone in their circle but only to bad people who deserve it (this is the saddest & most frustrating bucket IMHO bc I suspect they now regret their decision & could’ve reshaped the election). 

Now I know there are those people who blame his ascension (I purposely chose that word bc he really wants to be a dictator – to hell w the judicial system or the press) on the fact that “crooked Hilary” was running bc she wasn’t a “viable candidate” or “good alternative”. Now she may not be a Bernie but my goodness, there is literally no one worse than the man we have elected. So come on. I suspect those people really belong in another category noted above (or if I’ve forgotten any, pls let me know!) but aren’t quite yet ready to admit to such. 
This nonsense going on at home has not only resulted in me having to at least glance at the news headlines on a semi-regular basis, but it also has taken up valuable time convincing SA locals that all US citizens aren’t racist assholes & inspired me to write this heated post that I’m sure all of you are annoyed at by now. You were warned.