Last Saturday, I set off with my family to Durban to have a farewell lunch with my aunts and uncles. I ate a healthy amount of biltong to make up for the upcoming deprivation and to my great pride checked in online. Every day of last week I woke up feeling very anxious about leaving and wondered if I was doing the right thing. On Saturday morning however, all anxiety was gone and there was only peace.
My good friend Claire joined us at the airport which was such a treat. After a sad farewell I was through the security check and waiting to board. to my great relief I sat next to a very kind Grandpa who helped me stow my very heavy hand luggage (yes I really did have to take all those books with me:). In between his viewing of Happy Feet 2 and mine of Susan Boyle's documentary (very inspiring) he asked me questions about myself and gave me handy tips for travelling.
As a chronic avoider of asking strangers for help I had decided that it was a good time to start asking for help. Dubai airport gave me plenty of opportunites! 5 minutes after arrival I had asked 2 airport staff who had neither understood me nor I them. Changing tack I approached the first fellow traveller I saw and he became my first ever airport buddy. He turned out to be a South African and was also a bit confused so we set off to find our way together (literally haha). Seeing as we both had long layovers and no friends we had coffee together and then spent a fair portion of the morning escaping the heat in a lovely, quiet air conditioned lounge. After lunch, during which I met some more South Africans, my airport buddy left. So began quest stay awake. Over the next few hours I emailed, ordered a Starbucks frappucino with caramel and to my great consternation discovered it was a cold drink, stubbed my toe, thought I saw a man taking my photo out the corner of my eye (although it was in a crowded restaurant so can't be sure), showered (did wonders for my self esteem), had dinner at an Irish pub and revelled in the countless accents all around me.
Eventually I boarded the plane at 1130ish for Bangkok, relieved to still be on track and with all my luggage and person intact.
My good friend Claire joined us at the airport which was such a treat. After a sad farewell I was through the security check and waiting to board. to my great relief I sat next to a very kind Grandpa who helped me stow my very heavy hand luggage (yes I really did have to take all those books with me:). In between his viewing of Happy Feet 2 and mine of Susan Boyle's documentary (very inspiring) he asked me questions about myself and gave me handy tips for travelling.
As a chronic avoider of asking strangers for help I had decided that it was a good time to start asking for help. Dubai airport gave me plenty of opportunites! 5 minutes after arrival I had asked 2 airport staff who had neither understood me nor I them. Changing tack I approached the first fellow traveller I saw and he became my first ever airport buddy. He turned out to be a South African and was also a bit confused so we set off to find our way together (literally haha). Seeing as we both had long layovers and no friends we had coffee together and then spent a fair portion of the morning escaping the heat in a lovely, quiet air conditioned lounge. After lunch, during which I met some more South Africans, my airport buddy left. So began quest stay awake. Over the next few hours I emailed, ordered a Starbucks frappucino with caramel and to my great consternation discovered it was a cold drink, stubbed my toe, thought I saw a man taking my photo out the corner of my eye (although it was in a crowded restaurant so can't be sure), showered (did wonders for my self esteem), had dinner at an Irish pub and revelled in the countless accents all around me.
Eventually I boarded the plane at 1130ish for Bangkok, relieved to still be on track and with all my luggage and person intact.
Congrats Mighty traveller. First leg over. I remember my first overseas trip - arrived in Miami (English speaking country) and could not find anyone who understood me!
ReplyDeleteHahaha glad I'm not the only one who's not understood:)
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