A Mozambican Abroad: USA

Day 0: After almost 48h of travelling

Yes, I love travelling. And yes, travelling is amazing. But when it takes you 4 different flights on 3 different planes, through 5 different airports and almost 48h of travelling, after which your bag doesn't arrive, you don't love it so much. You do learn how to appreciate a warm shower and a bed, because when you finally arrive all you can think of is taking a shower and sleeping with your legs stretched for a change. And you also curse yourself for having forgotten to take a change of clothes with you, for the first time.

But not everything is horrible. You meet nice people who have been in South Africa for 8 months, and treat you to your first Phillie steak sandwich, you find peanut butter m&m's, meet more nice people on your way to the hotel, and get a glance at what looks like a preety cool city, New Orleans.

My first Phillie steak sandwich, courtesy of Keith

Peanut butter m&m's, because life has to be fair sometimes

You also, as you could bet your very small fortune on, meet people who have no idea whatsoever where Mozambique is, and either think the president is Mugabe, or even after you correct them 100 times, keep calling it South Africa.

But you also get called honey/baby/darling by everyone you meet in New Orleans, and this is just in the a couple of hours from when you arrive to when you get to the hotel. And the kind lady from baggage claim (who travells regularly to west Africa) gives you her number and offers to take you shopping, since you have no clothes besides the ones you are wearing, and she can see the desperation/exhaustion in your face. And you meet nice and funny (also slighly intoxicated) fellow travellers who tell you storied of when they dressed up like a chicken/penguin to receive guests for some kind of dancing camp, and how their angel fish just died and their cat loves them and they also love dogs but not as much as cats, and they wouldn't exactly shoot their dog. And the very funny and lively airport shuttle driver drops you off at your hotel, even though it isn't on his route, and you should have told him about this before you got in the car, which you didn't because your brain has pretty much stoped working.

And after relieving all of this, you start to get excited about the week ahead, and about meeting fellow turtle geeks and also a bit nervous about telling them about your work.

So Sea turtle symposium and New Orleans, I'm ready for you!