Anyway, I left the airport traveling light: just a small bag with my documents... They promised to deliver my luggage directly to the hostel the next day, and Airfrance promised to cover the cost of all necessary items (they mentioned something about a $150 compensation). Before I continue, I should mention that my friend arrived in Miami a week earlier than I did... it just happened that way... so I already knew where to go and how to get there...

So, I asked people where the exit was... I'm walking along... and just imagine my reaction: it's cold in Belarus, it's cold on the plane, the air conditioning is running in the airport - so, naturally, it's cold... and then I approach the exit... wearing jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie... the doors open... I step outside... oops?? I'm in shock! Where am I? What kind of joke is this? It's at least +40°C outside... like a greenhouse... the air is humid, it feels like you can touch it - water droplets are literally hanging in the air... it's very stuffy!... and... palm trees!! Real ones, with coconuts - that was my first impression of the city. Later, when I wrote to my family, to the inevitable question of how Miami is, I replied: "It's hot as hell... and, Mom, there are palm trees here!!" =)

But back to our story... I had to get to the hostel... A Shuttle-Bus is a very convenient thing, you pay $20 and they take you right to the door... in theory, as my friend described it to me... in practice, you still had to find it... I approach an airport worker - a full-figured American woman, excuse the tautology)) (by the way, their hairstyles are unreal!! Anything goes! Dreads, braids, buns and ponytails, ponytails made of braids, braids made of ponytails, buns made of dreads, dreads made of buns... regular dreads, dyed dreads, dreads curled with rollers... hats à la Bob Marley... anyone who played The Sims and wondered what kind of idiotic hairstyle selection there was - don't be surprised, people REALLY wear them like that... anyway, this Afro-American woman had it relatively "simple": a short, acid-red buzz cut...=))).. I ask where to find this Shuttle-Bus... she answers something very quickly and indistinctly and starts contacting someone on her radio... meanwhile, a little blue bus pulls up... I ask "is this it?" No, she says, you have to wait... I wait... another one pulls up... just in case, I repeat where I need to go... I ask "is this mine?" In response, I get another portion of indistinct, this time annoyed, "blah-blah-blah-blah..."... I don't dare to ask again... I feel like an idiot... I smile, nod as if, yes, everything has become perfectly clear now, and continue to wait... I wait... I wait... and then suddenly she yells: "It's right there!" But mine had already driven off about a hundred meters, I run away in English, shouting "thanx" as a farewell... in half an hour I'll be at the hostel..