Sanottua Idahossa

”Fucking Democrats.”
”Yeah, fucking Dems!”
”Wait, who here is voting for Donald Trump?”
(pari kättä nousee)
”Fucking Donald Trump, the guy’s a businessman and he’s bancrupted like four companies!”
”Fuck companies!”
Keski-ikäisten miesten porukka perjantai-iltana Boisen keskustassa matkalla baariin

”I buy ring, you know. I do many pedicure for men, many men, and I don’t like how they look. They look, I alone here at evening, then they ask if I do massage. I don’t do massage, but they think because I Asian, I do massage! So I buy ring, so they think I married, but I single.”
Pedikyristiyksityisyrittäjä, asunut Boisessa vuodesta 1994

”I’ve never been to Finland, but I’ve been to Tallinn and Stockholm. I was a sound technician for this American singing group, and we toured together with groups from Sweden and Finland. I really liked the Finnish group, great singers! Have you heard of Rajaton?”
Asiakas, jota kävin tapaamassa Idahossa

”I’ve been to Vietnam. I actually worked there. Or, well, I fought there. Wasn’t much of a choice.”
Vanha mies, jonka kanssa juttelin hotellin baaritiskillä

”It is very slow here. Boise very slow. I give you manicure, special price just for you, $10. Very good price!”
Sama pedikyristi puolivälissä pedikyyriä

”What’s this Signature Idaho Special appetizer?”
”It’s potatoes.”
”… just potatoes?”
”Well it’s potatoes, fingerling potatoes from Idaho. They’re really good!”
Minä keskustelussa ravintolan tarjoilijan kanssa

”The traffic this morning was pretty bad. It usually takes me 15 minutes to get to work, but now it took me 25! I know it’s not a lot compared to other places. I once went to Denver and couldn’t believe how many cars there were.”
Toinen asiakas

”Yeah I drive full time, and proud of it, this is my living! Though I’m just getting back to it after a motorcycle accident. A car crashed into me in March and I slid into the pavement, 60 miles an hour. Got fractures all over the place, skin missing everywhere… I spent three months in rehab, and some days are better than others. I can’t really bend my arms, and they hurt so bad sometimes. But it could be worse. Students are back in town so I’m making good money now.”
Uber-kuski, joka heitti minut hotellille

”You know in South Chicago the unemployment is at 50%!”
”No it isn’t.”
”Yes it is, Donald Trump says so.”
”Donald Trump says all kinds of things, they aren’t based on anything, he’s…”
”Oh wait, so maybe I got it wrong. Maybe it was a demographic. What’s the unemployment among 20-30-year-olds?”
”It’s around fifteen percent.”
”Fifteen? Or fifty? Five zero?”
”One five. There isn’t a demographic in Chicago with unemployment rate over 50%, except the unemployed themselves.”
”Well the statistics are wrong. I’ve been to Chicago, it looks pretty bad there.”
”I know what it looks like. I’m from Chicago.”
Kahden amerikkalaisen keskustelu hotellin baaritiskillä, joka jatkui kohteliaana, kun aiheet vaihtuivat terveydenhuoltoon ja aselakeihin

”Everybody told me the winters are mild in Boise and snow melts, but the first winter I spent here it was just so bad! I was thinking I couldn’t stand it, that I’ll have to move back to California. But since then, it’s been okay. And we have the American dream here, we have a house. Back in Bay Area, we couldn’t have afforded one. We made better money there, but real estate prices were even higher.”
Kolmas asiakas

”This election cycle is crazy. I’ve never seen two worse candidates. Of course it’s the internet these days. Kennedy said and did the darnest things, but papers didn’t write about it, and nobody knew, so of course people loved him. With social media, everybody knows everything. Kennedy wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Vanha mies puhelimessa lentokentällä

Vietin kuluneen viikon Idahossa työmatkalla. Tämä oli ensimmäinen kerta, kun kävin Idahossa, mutta tuskin viimeinen. Alueen vuoret näyttivät hienoilta lentokoneesta käsin, ja pari mielenkiintoista luonnonpuistoa odottaisi näkemistä, kun tämä viikko kului pitkälti toimistolla neljän seinän sisässä. Tykkäsin myös ihmisistä, ja jos jotain idaholaiset osaavat niin kohteliaisuuden liikenteessä. Ajoittain eksyksissä olevana matkailijana sitä arvostaa erityisesti.

Idahosta tuli samalla 40. vierailemani osavaltio. Enää kymmenen osavaltiota jäljellä!