I’m not sure there is a more “welcoming” place than the
airport! I remember the days of
waiting at the gates for people when they came home! There always seemed to be a huge mass of people waiting with
signs and flowers for a loved one who had been away for what seemed like
years. There was the young mother
with baby on hip whispering in her mothering tone, “Daddy, will be here soon,
baby.” And then there was my
favorite, the longing young lover.
The man who had been separated from his other half for an eternity of
one week and who kept fidgeting and fixing his collar and checking his
watch. He would switch hands over
and over not knowing which was the correct “rose holding hand.” He would rise to his tiptoes searching
the faces of those walking out of the tunnel until his eyes met those of his
beloved.
Suddenly, whoops and hollers came from the mass of on
lookers. Tears streamed from the
young mother who was clutched by her husband and the sound of “daddy” filled the air. And the sweet lingering embrace
captured you as you watched the two lovers finally make it to one another. Ok, ok, I know, maybe I’ve just seem a
LOT of movies, but I swear I’ve seen all those in person at some point during a
moment at the airport.
This visit to the airport was so much different! I wasn’t going to pick some one up or
drop them off at the “kiss-n-ride.”
This time I was left with an enormous pack that weighed HALF my own
weight to meet 32 other people in a city I had never visited to venture off to
a continent I never thought I would ever step foot on. Arriving in Seattle was very
anti-climatic. There was no one
there to run to, nobody who even knew I was there, and much less anyone who
wanted to enjoy a “lingering hug,” HA!
But surprisingly, I was ok.
I was ok. I waited for an
hour or so and then other “racers” began to show up. There was a moment when I realized my joy to see them wasn’t
comforting because I KNEW them but because they were as freaked out as I was
and embracing one another was the only soothing thing we could think to do!
We made our way to the hotel that night got a bit of sleep,
and left the next morning for Cambodia.
As I got on the plane, all I could think was, “what the heck am I
doing?” People don’t do this! People don’t get on a plane, abandon
everything stable in their lives, and go to a country that doesn’t want them
there! People don’t do this
because it’s crazy! Then I looked
around the plane and saw the faces of 32 other crazy people and realized people
DO this. We were doing this. We bought the tickets (actually, YOU
bought the tickets, thank you very much) and we were taking this ride…together.
Random facts:
1-Asiana Air flight attendants wear the coolest
outfits! When they were serving
our snacks and meals they wore these beautiful red satin aprons with
embroidered flowers! They were
stunning!
