I have successfully arrived in Europe.  I was actually surprised at the ease with which I did two redeyes to cross a couple of continents and ten time-zones.  I think that a wall will probably hit me soon, but I am currently very high energy and extremely psyched to be here.  Other than the baggage fee at the beginning of the trip (never take three bags on Swiss Air, they are extremely reasonable in every other way, but that third bag really takes it out of you) of $200, everything ran so smoothly that I began to get a little suspicious.  All of my bags made it (though if I was paying that much I sure hope so...), none of my flights were the least bit late, all of my connections were relaxed and there was free internet in every airport.  

 

I actually enjoyed the trip immensely.  I think I am a bit strange in that respect, but I feel incredibly safe flying and enjoy spending time in airports.  I like airports.  To tell the truth I like everything to do with airplanes except for jet lag, but there is just something about the psychological space you are in while hanging out in an airport.  Once you get through security, it's like leaving real life.  The security checkpoint is basically a rite of passage, and after the hassle of being partially stripped, searched, scanned, and verified, you get to enter a whole new realm of being. If you have something productive that you need to do immediately it's different, but for the most part I feel like being in an airport is like being suspended in time. Other than making your flight, time really isn't a concern.  You can't be expected to do anything, and are free do sit, walk, ponder, and absorb things to your hearts content.  If all you want to do is sit and read, it is utterly not frowned upon to do so.  You basically reap the benefits of stolen real estate in the space-time continuum.  The ambient music is usually suitably bland and relaxing, the buildings are architecturally interesting and clean, and while the people don't usually come up and talk, they seem to be relaxed and amiable.  I often feel an companionable bond with the people that I wait around in boarding areas with, especially if travel is going smoothly.  Of course I have no way of knowing if they feel the same way; they probably go home and talk about the dopey girl who looked at them too often, but I like to think they don't.  I like to think that the silence was comfortable, and that they were perhaps as curious about me as I was about them.  The people that are not companionable and aren't relaxed, are equally as interesting in terms of something to watch and consider.  Each airport varies, and each terminal in each airport varies, but I think in general they hold some degree of pleasant suspension from reality.

 

The people watching in airports is different than that of anywhere else.  I feel like it is the refined version of the hobby, like the difference between polo and soccer.  Really the only difference between the two is that polo is generally played by those of a different background and socioeconomic status than the hoi polloi that play soccer.  It requires more expensive equipment (namely a horse...).  This is very simple: airports are mostly limited to people who buy plane tickets.  This makes an airport a pretty safe place for me to hang out all by myself watching people.  I know that that was a gross generalization, but I honestly feel less likely to be approached by creepy people or mugged in an airport than I would downtown Chicago (not that I have ever been there, but you get my drift). This changes the experience for me because I am more free to observe.  

The real point of interest here here is that an airport is like a microcosm of human behavior, and that really makes for fun observations.  There are general rules of courtesy that people choose to (or not to) follow: like letting women with babies go first through doors or helping them carry things, enforced rules of conduct: like no bombs, and everyone has basically the same objective: to get from one city to another and be happy.  The way that each person goes about reaching their destination is the crux of the situation.  Behavior in airports is perhaps a truer representation of each individual’s character than it would be anywhere else because most of the people don’t know each other and probably will never see each other again.  When the boarding call for MVP Golds and first class passengers is announced, it is fun to watch who will go over to the door and hover before their group is called to board.  It is interesting to correlate their manner of talking, dress, or electronic gadgets with their behavior.  You can see who is caught up with being overly competitive about getting onboard, and who is more laid back.  They can often be the ones who care a whole lot about their appearance, and spend a lot of time on their cell phones.

 

After my highly enjoyable and ponderous airport experience, we stopped at a roadside truck-stop equivalent near Zurich:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The food was so good that they wouldn’t let me take photos.  Seriously. The lady in the white shut me down immediately.  And I can’t think of a place in Anchorage with that much good food in one place.

 

We arrived at our hotel about an hour later and Caitlin Paterson and I went for a run.  I miraculously have a room to myself (no one should tell the coaches that I am not sick anymore), all of my bags made it, and the hotel is quirky and fun but also high quality.  The logging roads right around here are seriously cool for running on and have signs for walkers at every intersection.  There are also hunters in orange with dachshunds and guns everywhere, I am not sure exactly what that is all about, but it’s funny to run by them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the end of writing this post, I am no longer

high energy, and am looking forward to going to bed.  Hopefully I will actually have some skiing to remark on tomorrow.