Are you in a lounge at the airport? I love love love people watching in airports. People are always either saying an excited hug filled hello, or they are saying a tearful goodbye. Such emotional places they are. I always wanted a temporary summer job at one of those car rental kiosks in an airport, just so I could people watch.
jaime--i love airports too. there is a good energy there--the energy of expectation. and luckily, i don't seem to tire of them, which is good, since i spend quite a lot of time waiting around in their liminal space. :-)
I can really identify with your experiences here. I had a 9 hour stopover in Amersterdam on my way back from Ethiopia last year, slept most of it away in the lovely recliners in the upstairs lounge.
barb--thankfully, i was only there 2 hours and not 9! i think as tired as i was from only managing to sleep 3 hours on the (13 HOUR) day flt. from manila, it would have killed me to wait longer than that.
hele--loving the wind-up chronicles, so i must agree, it's definitely going on my list of faves as well. citizen of the world is actually pretty cool work if you can get it. :-) i'm not sure how i managed, but i am trying to remember to appreciate it! did you know your name means "whole" in danish. i think that's really cool!
I too love to watch people at airports. I always bring a book but spend more time looking around, content, with a book in my hands and my eyes taking in the curiosities of people.
May 16, 2008 at 5:13 PM
i'm lounging in the KLM lounge in amsterdam, experiencing the jarring transition of air travel. i left my hotel in manila 18 hours ago and i'm not home yet. the flight time was extended due to the chinese air space of the regular route being closed due to the earthquake. air traffic control in that area is out of comission at the moment. so, the flight was 13+ hours. that's plenty.
i was, once again, seated next to a seafarer. interesting that chevron flies their chief engineers in business class. we didn't talk during the flight until the very end. that was a shame. i guess i didn't really learn from my good experience with the italian captain and already reverted to my danish mode of behavior. when will i ever learn?
i'm sitting here in the lounge in amsterdam in a grouping of four wanna-be egg chairs. the other three people are german, french and dutch respectively. this is something i love--being in a truly international milieu. the french woman is on the phone, speaking rapid french. the german and dutch guys are reading newspapers in their respective languages. i'm sitting here reading my lastest haruki murakami acquisition (the wind-up bird chronicle) in english translation, of course. or at least i was until i realized there was wi-fi and so i turned to my norwegian computer. :-) and my norwegian phone just rang at the same moment a text came in on my danish phone. i am a confusion of nationalities. but somehow, it suits me.
6 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formAre you in a lounge at the airport? I love love love people watching in airports. People are always either saying an excited hug filled hello, or they are saying a tearful goodbye. Such emotional places they are. I always wanted a temporary summer job at one of those car rental kiosks in an airport, just so I could people watch.
May 16, 2008 at 7:18 AM
jaime--i love airports too. there is a good energy there--the energy of expectation. and luckily, i don't seem to tire of them, which is good, since i spend quite a lot of time waiting around in their liminal space. :-)
May 16, 2008 at 9:16 AM
I can really identify with your experiences here. I had a 9 hour stopover in Amersterdam on my way back from Ethiopia last year, slept most of it away in the lovely recliners in the upstairs lounge.
May 16, 2008 at 3:39 PM
The wind up chronicles is one of my favourite books ever. I would love to read it in a setting such as you described.
My plan. Finish University and become a citizen of the world.
May 16, 2008 at 4:49 PM
barb--thankfully, i was only there 2 hours and not 9! i think as tired as i was from only managing to sleep 3 hours on the (13 HOUR) day flt. from manila, it would have killed me to wait longer than that.
hele--loving the wind-up chronicles, so i must agree, it's definitely going on my list of faves as well. citizen of the world is actually pretty cool work if you can get it. :-) i'm not sure how i managed, but i am trying to remember to appreciate it! did you know your name means "whole" in danish. i think that's really cool!
May 16, 2008 at 4:58 PM
I too love to watch people at airports. I always bring a book but spend more time looking around, content, with a book in my hands and my eyes taking in the curiosities of people.
May 16, 2008 at 5:13 PM