I’m so excited for my first visit to America (outside of LAX airport) for the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) conference to present my research findings! I am giving myself permission to rest before the conference kicks in, which is weird but liberating at the same time. It’s hard to switch off and I find myself still working on bits and pieces. So I thought I’d write a post about my odd American encounters so far.American airports are not as terrifying as I anticipated. Granted, not everyone was very friendly. I took every precaution I could to avoid the dreaded beeping of the metal detectors, down to wearing a bra with no underwire, removing my pump clip and wearing pants with no zipper or buttons (you can tell I hate going through security). But it seemed to work this time. I even brought my medication in its original packaging with a label with my name on it. Just in case.
At one point we didn’t even have to remove our laptops from our carry-on bags in what the customs officer described as “expedited security check on steroids”.
Other things I’ve discovered:
- Jet lag never gets easier to deal and I’ve been meaning to get melatonin for it.
- Uber is a great way to learn more about the city and educate Americans about Australia. Even if it’s to get reactions such as “So you’re saying that it’s 10pm tomorrow in Australia now? Man, that’s DOPE!” is priceless.
- Food portions here are ridiculously huge. One main meal lasted me three meals!
- Mac n Cheese. It’s not like we don’t have them in Australia but it’s next level here.
- Best Buy
- The sound a Gibbon makes
- Squirrels!
Follow updates from the AADE conference on twitter by following #AADE17 and I hope to provide my thoughts and updates here as well. I need to find something to do during my 20 hour flight home!
HangryPancreas 
When is your session and welcome to Indianapolis.