So I decided to do something totally spectacular and at the spur of the moment! I decided to get myself into a life time of debt and go visit the US of A! How can I rate it - Amazing. Yes you heard me, I enjoyed every minute of it, even the dodgy parts!
I must now point out, clearly my mother and I have been watching too much reality TV because OR Tambo border patrolled my ass, gotta love a good pat and bomb and drug wipe down in the evening to set the tone.
It started with an incredibly long and uncomfortable flight! Being my first time on an airplane I wanted to see, feel and experience every moment of the ride! During my 17 hour flight I was unfortunately awarded a middle seat! However it came with TV and Games so really who is complaining. I had a very friendly guy teach me the airplane ropes, 17 hours later he finally introduced himself as Bobby. I encountered a few problems during my flight:
1: The americans were americants - i.e. they had no clue what I was saying, so it was time to whip out my american sitcom vocabulary. And get laughed at.
2: I had clumsy fingers so the touch screen TV and I had issues!
3: Needing to pee at some ungodly hour in the morning becomes a sin as you need to wake up the person next to you to move.
4: No one told me to buy one of those pillows shaped like a sausage for my neck.... So apparently Bobby and I bonded intimately when I eventually fell asleep on his shoulder, to his dismay. However he took it like a man.
Entering the USA through their biggest airport was a somewhat daunting task! Walking through a non-descript room to meet up with customs, I stood in line and prayed I wouldnt get the unfriendly black man. God answered my prayers and the friendly customs officer showed me how to cut some custom corners. The first question I was asked was, "Ah South Africa, do you have any biltong?" Clearly I wasn't feeling so adventurous when packing to try sneak a dead smoked cow through their borders andIi went on my way. I welcomed myself to America by buying myself a sausage neck pillow and a starbucks. Tick tick! And then I was off to my final destination - Fort Lauderdale.
I arrived in Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport hoping to be able to find the exit and my ride - my cousin told me to walk out the door opposite Delta she would be waiting in her car outside. Thank goodness she came in because I somehow ambled my way into departures like the real star that I am. We jumped on the turnpike (a glorified tollroad) and arrived at her house in the middle of Floridian suberbia. The ride was disturbing as I could not get over being on the "right-hand side."
Not wanting to give in to jetlag and waste a moment in a foreign land, I had a shower and put on my walking shoes to help Karen with errands. My first trip into Miami was interesting, however I still maintain that they have nothing on Durban taxi drivers! I visited the local shop called "Publix." After moving past the awe of how common and practical a name it was, I then spent the next 30 minutes staring at the huge selection of Pringles - which I of course had to take a photo of, and the price of diet coke. Here we encountered a young woman, earning her living by stocking shelves, watching my curious behaviour with curiosity. She asked me where we were from, and of course we replied South Africa. It took me marginally longer to register the confusion on her face and luckily my cousin jumped in, educating her on the races you find in South AFRICA i.e. white people. I then made some witty remark about my rhino and then off we were to stock a boat.
Lets get this straight. I want a yacht. If you can buy me one please feel free to drop me an email. After drooling over the lush interior we head over to a little restuarant on the marina. Here I experienced Corona (yum yum yum) and a good old American burger. These people do not play with their portion sizes. I said a silent prayer to the Ethiopian children and tucked in. Burger - 1, Kathleen - 0. By now my will was slowly starting to fade as it grew later in South Africa and yet the sun contniued to shine in Florida. After a power nap on my cousins couch and a good home cooked meal, I jumped into bed a lot earlier then I probably should have and got myself a good nights sleep. The fun was about to begin - Orlando roadtrip tomorrow.
Hope you have enjoyed my frist day in the states, I will continue to blog all my adventures, and oh there were many!
Ciao!
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