En route (France)

OK, so I quit my job over two weeks ago now, and am well on my way to the jungle.

My last day at work was Thursday, February 15th. I hit the road on Saturday the 17th, and got to New Jersey on Thursday the 22nd after about 2,800 miles (about 4,500km). The first four days (2,000 miles) were spent on I40 in a rental truck with Marco, Dude (the dog), and Turtle (the cat), while the subsequent two were spent on prettier roads in a rental car with my mom, Peggy.

I spent all day on Friday the 23rd in New York, trying (unsuccessfully) to get a new passport (my existing one had never arrived in the mail from the Congolese consulate), and then spent the weekend at my mom's in New Jersey trying to do last-minute organisation of stuff. I succeeded (miraculously) in getting a new US passport in Philadelphia on Monday the 26th (after delaying my planned Saturday flight), and my mom dropped me off at my cousin Steve's place (actually his girlfriend Ellie's) in New York that night. I got a new Congolese visa on Tuesday morning, along with some binoculars, and got the plane to Paris that afternoon (with a heavy fine for bringing way too much luggage).

It's now Monday, March 5th, and I've been in France since last Wednesday. I've spent two days in Lyon, followed by a weekend in Paris, with Mélanie. I'm planning on spending most of this week in Paris with Chris and Lucie, with a Tuesday evening with my cousin Mélanie in the suburbs, and Wednesday trip to Lille (in the north of France) to visit an old high school friend, Mikki.

I depart Paris for Kinshasa next Tuesday, March 13th. I'm not sure how long it'll be before I arrive at my final destination, but it'll sure be good to settle down after all this craziness!