Travelling makes a person vulnerable, or at least a bit weak in the soul, especially when you travel alone. Think about it, in between the commute to the airports, the endless waiting moments and the flight time itself, you are probably looking at six to twelve hours of solitude and reflexion time. This is if you travel somewhere within Europe, I couldn't talk about longer trips as, fortunately, I never have to endure them. Don't get me wrong, I like travelling with my friends, my partner, my family... but when I travel alone somehow is different, is more personal, is more intimate, is more and is less at the same time. Does anyone else feel the same?
I don't travel every week, but I live abroad, and when you live abroad you end up taking many planes and trains. I no longer get nervous about my bags, my boarding pass or where things are located. I think you can spot us, the expats, with the blink of an eye. We have developped routines, we travel with a rucksack, not a wheeled suitcase, we wear comfy jackets, we don't worry about boarding first on the plane, we get our goodies in the same shops, we anticipate where the boarding gates are and we even recognise familiar faces. Basically, we know the airports off by heart.
I like sitting down in the boarding area, observing people and guessing what their extraordinary lives may be like. Are they expats like me? Are they tourists? Are they British? Spanish? Mixed? Are they on holidays?
Quite frequently I spot what I like to call "the newies", those who are new to this universe of planes, trains, airports, turbulences, life. They usually travel in a pair or a small group and they often panic and start questioning each other. "Honey, where is the passport?" "Mummy, why do we have to wait here?" "Ana, where is your phone?" "Where is the gate? We are late!" It's like watching a tv series in real life: real people with their real, very ordinary problems. If they seem very desperate I want to get up and help them, guide them to that gate or tell them the train they need to take to get to their surely overpriced hotels. But I contain myself, I let them savour this moment, this tension, the doubt, the thrill, the anxiety and finally the satisfaction of finding a solution. As this is what travelling is all about: learning, experiencing and making room in your heart for a new perspective of the world, another piece in the big puzzle of our existence.
I don't travel every week, but I live abroad, and when you live abroad you end up taking many planes and trains. I no longer get nervous about my bags, my boarding pass or where things are located. I think you can spot us, the expats, with the blink of an eye. We have developped routines, we travel with a rucksack, not a wheeled suitcase, we wear comfy jackets, we don't worry about boarding first on the plane, we get our goodies in the same shops, we anticipate where the boarding gates are and we even recognise familiar faces. Basically, we know the airports off by heart.
I like sitting down in the boarding area, observing people and guessing what their extraordinary lives may be like. Are they expats like me? Are they tourists? Are they British? Spanish? Mixed? Are they on holidays?
Quite frequently I spot what I like to call "the newies", those who are new to this universe of planes, trains, airports, turbulences, life. They usually travel in a pair or a small group and they often panic and start questioning each other. "Honey, where is the passport?" "Mummy, why do we have to wait here?" "Ana, where is your phone?" "Where is the gate? We are late!" It's like watching a tv series in real life: real people with their real, very ordinary problems. If they seem very desperate I want to get up and help them, guide them to that gate or tell them the train they need to take to get to their surely overpriced hotels. But I contain myself, I let them savour this moment, this tension, the doubt, the thrill, the anxiety and finally the satisfaction of finding a solution. As this is what travelling is all about: learning, experiencing and making room in your heart for a new perspective of the world, another piece in the big puzzle of our existence.
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