It takes 26 hours to drive the 1,479 miles to Miami Beach, Fla. I have made this trip once a year, for as long as I can remember. This summer was different though. After spending a week with my dad, my cousin Annie asked if I could stay with her and her fiance, Paul, for a couple of more weeks. Two days later my dad left for Kansas and I embarked on the most interesting experience of my life.

Everything was different. Miami is in the same country and yet I felt like I was on a completely different continent. The city is populated with some of the most expensive and lavish cars and condos. Every time I explore downtown Miami I am blown away by the affluent lifestyle that some fortunate people get to live. There are some rich people in Kansas City, but there are not a lot of $10 million condos and Rolls Royces rolling down the street. People are attracted to the beaches, weather and lifestyle.

I spent a total of 23 days in Miami. It smells different, like after it rains in Kansas. Buildings are designed differently.They are usually narrower and taller than the wide and short buildings I was accustomed to. They all sported Spanish roofing tiles, and most of the skyscrapers, apartments and condos are bright colors like blue, pink, yellow and orange. Palm trees line every street. People have orange trees in their front yards.

When you greet a man, you shake his hand, and a woman you hug and kiss each other on the cheek. — even if you have never met that person in your life. The streets are filled with bums and lost souls. People walk everywhere in their swim suits. The drivers are crazy. Every time I’m on the highway I am afraid for my life. People swerve in and out of lanes without caring about any other cars but their own.

When I would step out of my cousins house it was like walking into a wall of mist. The humidity was palpable and it was hard to breathe if you’re not used to it. When it rains it pours, literally. It doesn’t just drizzle, the rain comes down in buckets that last for hours. When I was there, they opened the first Sonic in 15 years; the last one was blown down in a hurricane. People were blown away by the restaurant, and its setup.

I was paranoid whenever I went outside, because huge lizards would be waiting on the patio, walls, bushes and doors. One time I went to grab my sandals and there was a baby lizard, in the house, under my flip flop. If you go outside at night, along with lizards and snakes, there are giant frogs. I mean, huge. When I went fishing, driving home we ran over a crab that was trying to get across the road. A couple of years ago while fishing, we caught a lobster and a shark in the same night.

A lot of people don’t realize just how different, other states, and other areas are. You get so used to your own “culture” that you just look past other parts of the country.