Road Scholar

Andrei Codrescu is a successful writer, poet, and radio-commentator. The first half of his life he lived in Rumania, the second in the United States, and as a result he is struggling with his cultural identity. He is going through an unusual mid-life crisis. To complete his metamorphosis to 'homo americanus' he submits himself to the holy American ritual of the road trip. In order to do that he first has to negotiate the obstacle called 'driver's license'. Once he has that, he leaves his place of residence New Orleans and hits the road in his dreamcar, a light-red 1968 Cadillac convertible. In a little under six weeks he then drives 4,500 miles through America, along highways and B-roads. He visits places and friends from the early days of his life as an immigrant, and goes to areas he has never been to before. Via New York, Detroit, Chicago, Denver, Santa Fe and Las Vegas he arrives in San Francisco, and by then he has met a great variety of people.