The Adventure Begins

Flying by yourself to a foreign country that you have never visited before could seem rather daunting. I was expecting to fulfill the cliches of 'shaking in my boots', 'so nervous I could puke', or 'butterflies in my stomach' and many others; however, I survived with flying colors and even had the gumption of giving directions to other Americans who were lost and apparently couldn't read English (or were just too nervous to look at the signs). Today, I felt rather empowered. Yes. I can go though foreign airports without getting lost!

Airports are the BEST places to sit down with your favorite cup of joe, prop your feet up on your suitcase, and watch the people go by. It is practically the olympics of people-watching. So without further ado, I present...

THE PEOPLE-WATCHING OLYMPIC EVENTS!
This year's events are as follows: the Impressive, the Wierd, the Gross, and the OMG. To save time on this broadcast, I will only be covering the gold medal winners in each category. 

THE IMPRESSIVE Gold Medal Winner Goes To THUMB TWIDDLER OF ATLANTA!
Vital Statistics
Age: 70+
Attitude: Relaxation incarnate
Technology: NONE
I hereby award the gold to the Thumb Twiddler because 
of his unmatched skills in the art of thumb twiddling. 
This dude had it down to an art! 
Leaning back in the chair, feet stretched out in front,
fingers clasped together, and thumbs making 
intricate in-and-out patterns that went for the 
duration of three hours non-stop!
I aspire to his skill.

THE WEIRD Gold Medal Winner Goes To GRAPHIC ARTIST OF CHICAGO!
Vital Statistics
Age: 20+
Attitude: Girls have germs
Technology: Portable Nintendo and Game-boy
I hereby award the gold to the Graphic artist because
of his unabashed fright at coming anywhere close to 
accidentally touching me in the flight from Chicago 
to Tokyo.  Seriously, the guy smashed his 6'3" skinny 
frame against the window for 11.5 hours to avoid 
getting  the accidental brush of elbows that would 
surely have  given him a plethora of non-existent 
diseases. Who knew I was that frightening.

THE GROSS Gold Medal Winner Goes to THE THROW-UP-KID OF TOKYO!
Vital Statistics
Age: 10+
Attitude: Sick of Flying
Technology: Ipod/phone  
Admittedly, it was a long flight from Tokyo
to Okinawa. Midway through the flight, as my head
was falling nicely to one side then the other, I heard
the sound of gagging behind my seat. While everyone 
else was sleeping, this poor kid's stomach decided it
wanted to be empty. Fortunately, his mom was right
there to catch everything in the disposable bag. Nice
Going Mom!  

THE OMG Gold Medal Goes to THE ARMED AND READY OF OKINAWA!
Vital Statistics
Age: Group between 20-30
Attitude: Can we speak English now?
Technology: Varied
Lord have mercy, the typical man in uniform strikes 
again! Adorable US soldiers waiting on flights makes
for short 3 hour layovers. In conversation, these guys
are engaging, funny, and refreshingly English speaking.
Needless to say, I enjoyed my time waiting for the plane
to Okinawa the best of the whole trip. 

All that is left to say is "Sayōnara" for now!

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