To tell you the truth, I love flying. I love airports. I love the feeling of having a destination to look forward to and the feeling of leaving somewhere where people will miss you. And let’s face it, when do I get to sit back and watch back to back movies, especially recently-released special features. That’s why I don’t mind the flying. Sure, your clothes and muscles get all wrinkled, and you go from extremes of dehydration to busting for the toilet precisely when 30 other passengers are waiting for it too. But all that is worth it. Not just for the movies. That’s just a benefit, a perk, a luxury, if you will. And it’s definitely not the airline food that makes it great.
It’s knowing that by the end of the flight, you’ll be in a whole new place. Somewhere different! Carrying expectations heavier than your luggage, but trying to suppress them so as not to be disappointed. Sometimes it’s coming home just in time for a holiday or family occasion. But what makes airports magical for me is seeing throngs of people, each one with a story, a journey. Airports are ideal for my favorite sport: people-watching! It’s actually a lot more interesting than people-watching at the park, for example, because in a park, you see people walking, or jogging, or attempting to jog, or reading, or pretending to read. Limited possibilities for analysis- anthropologically speaking, of course.
In an airport, you stand in line with people, with families, with couples. You see the interaction between them and can often pick up on nuances of anticipation or frustration or exhaustion, depending on what leg of the journey they’re on and how many pieces of their luggage have gone missing so far.
It’s beautiful how flying takes strangers from ‘shifty-eyes-and-avoid-eye-contact-at-all-cost’ to ‘smile-and-say-what-a-cute-baby.’ The conversations you have with fellow passengers usually start off with a ‘I-need-to-go-to-the-bathroom-so-can-you-kindly-move,’ and can progress to include ‘destination-or-purpose-of-your-trip-if-I-may’ and sometimes even go so far as, ‘I’m-allergic-to-the-pineapple-in-my-fruitcup-want-it?’
In an airport it’s perfectly reasonable to be sitting around for hours, practically doing nothing. I relish this waiting-around time. It’s good for reading, eating, thinking, and most of all: People-Watching! With your whole wardrobe in a glorified box, you wait for a pressurized cabin with wings to take you thousands of feet into the sky. While you’re flying high, you get to watch movies, meet cool strangers, and eat dehumidified food with a really high sodium content. What could be better. Of course, this may be because I am beyond exhausted and approaching hyperactivity after 17 hour flight.
Take time to enjoy the journey!
Leave a comment: What’s your favorite thing about traveling?
Lilach
ps. waiting in the airport’s apple store, I made a mini vlog: I was very emotional to leave Melbourne and also really excited to come on home!
