I am en route to Haiti on board Air France. Cramped. Tired.

But I just made a friend with Marilyn. An older woman sitting next to me who along with her friend, amid their shots of rum from the tiny bottle they had purchased began to talk about me. Marilyn dresses like my aunt Maureen and has the same hairstyle.

It seems the camera (maybe the hat too) made them think I was a journalist.

We eventually pushed the limits of my French to share that I am a scientist and I was in #Guadeloupe to study birds. I told them about #BirdsCarib2019 in #Guadeloupe ‘avec’ biologists de Caribe. It was a struggle, with lots of stuttering and questioning looks.

The camera helped and the two ladies were most impressed with the close up portraits of some Eurasian Collared-Doves*.

Marilyn is from Haiti but lives in France and the ladies speak French and Haitian creole.

Learn a language if you have the chance. Travel. Meet new friends. Share something simple as a photo, some #science or even just a smile.

Perhaps you can change someone’s #perspective or brighten their day.

* Eurasian Collared-Doves are a common invasive species throughout the Caribbean.

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