Some people might say I'm nuts (they're not completely wrong), I mean who wants to stay at the airport waiting for hours and hours when you could be at the comfort of your home a lot sooner? But for me, an airport is much more than dealing with the angry check-in person because your bag is too heavy or buying that obligatory perfume because it costs 50 cents less than at home.
First of all, an airport is packed with emotion. Everybody's either as happy as a clam, pissed off, or bored out of their minds.
The happy people have come to pick up someone who's been abroad, or they're going abroad themselves for a nice vacation, or like me they're just excited to be there.
The pissed off people are waiting in line to report missing luggage, running to catch a flight that they've already kinda missed, or they've just heard that their flight to go home for Christmas has been cancelled (happened to me, I spent Christmas Eve eating chips and watching "Friends" dubbed in German at an airport hotel near Tegel Berlin).
The bored people are there because they HAVE TO be, like for a work trip, or they fly around so much that it's about as emotional as taking the bus to go see grandma. They just can't wait to be out of the airport.
But rarely do you find someone who's there and it's just "OK".
Second of all, I always meet the coolest people there.
There's the guy who works at the restaurant section, who flirts with you because you're a girl traveling alone and want to eat a cute little salad (don't eat the sandwiches, they'll give you gas). "Would you like some bread with that?" "HELL NO".
There's the womanizer-guy who works at the bar. He's flirting with you
a)to get you to drink a lot or
b) to get your number in order to ask you for dirty pictures later on.
True story. In any case, don't drink beer, it'll give you gas.
There's the woman working at the Hugo Boss store who looks at you thinking "you look poor, don't come here". Obviously she's right, but if they're having a sale I go in and buy something pointless like a HugoBoss-pencil, just to annoy her.
There's the middle aged woman who's travelling alone like me, and for some reason thinks I need her company, seeing that we're clearly fellow travelers. She'll give you her e-mail address so that you can keep in touch. Toss the paper in the bin while she's still there, it's the only way to make her leave you alone.
You also see how different nationalities act when there's a crisis. Like I said, one Christmas I was flying home on the 23rd of December. It was a flight from Venice to Berlin to Helsinki. I got to the airport and saw immediately that my flight had been cancelled because there was too much snow at the runway in Berlin. Obviously this makes a Finnish person laugh a little, because the airport in Helsinki works well even when there's 10 feet of snow on the ground and enough ice to build a village for the inuits. I sigh a little and get in line with the other passengers in order to find out what happens next. We were about 40 people from different countries, and there was no one at the service desk. This usually happens when the airline is scared to face the angry mob. Anyway, here's what happened in the next 30 minutes.
A german woman in front of me made out with her italian boyfriend for 15 minutes, then started to get angry, went away for 10 minutes, and then returned saying "honey come on I fixed us another flight". And off they went
A russian woman behind me talked for 20 minutes like the character Six in the TV-show Blossom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5-c8hoB6V0). His husband seemed like he was wishing he was deaf. After we'd all been in the line for 20 minutes, the woman turns to me and asks if I (!!) had any news. Sure, an invisible airline officer just came by to tell me what was going on... "No sorry I don't know anything"
The rest of the people were italians who just acted like the world was coming to an end, they called their families and friends and they all agreed that this was just the darnest thing ever.
Me, a lonely finn, stood in the line and texted mom that I probably wasn't going to make it home in time for Christmas Eve. I did think about saying hurtful things to the airline officer once he/she would arrive, but once I got to the counter I was all smiles. Happens every time, I just can't bare to be mad at these poor individuals who are sent out there to be eaten alive by the angry passengers wanting revenge or at least a free trip to the Bahamas as a compensation
I LOVE AIRPORTS. They're full of life, silly people and cool airplanes. Next time you go for a little flight, take it as an opportunity for an adventure.
Just remember to stay away from beer and sandwiches. They give you gas.
(all images by: Erika, age 33)
2 comments:
Love your graphics. Just awesome!
T
:D I only have Paint on my computer, gots to make do with whatcha got right? Thanks :)
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