Waiting at the airport for someone to arrive can be quite entertaining, you get to see so many kinds of people. When we got there yesterday, the place looked daunting, like a zoo, what with two extra flights arriving at the same time with two others already on schedule. We saw planeloads of people walking out into the lounge and a lot of them had someone in the crowd waiting for them. If it wasn't a friend or family member, it was a chauffeur holding up a placard with their name on it.
When I go to receive someone, I am sort of forced to people watch. There isn't much else to do. Folks waiting show a plethora of moods while they anticipate meeting their friends or family as they walk out through those automatic doors. Eyes scanning faces every time the doors open. It is fun to match expressions on faces that light up in the waiting crowd, with that of those walking out. Is either party equally thrilled to see each other? As trolleys roll out, I check out their emotions- beaming, excited folk, their long, tiring journey behind them, waiting to explore, or tired, jet lagged people simply waiting to get home and put their feet up. Then there is the business traveler who is eager to get to the hotel to catch up on sleep before getting down to business the next morning.
Most people never travel light on these international flights, whether it is aging parents walking out with airline provided assistance, or spouses getting back home after a vacation, sometimes with 2 or more kids in tow, visiting family members, or whole families getting home- they all arrive with truckloads of baggage. I know how that goes, I've been one of those people who fill up their suitcases upto the last permissible kilo. Adjusting stuff around in the bags would be one exciting exercise. Of course, that was when my mom was still around. I haven't visited after she passed away.
Interesting encounters between people is the whole reason behind people watching and I wasn't disappointed yesterday. A young family was waiting for someone. Well dressed, well groomed, with one 4-5 year old and a younger one in a stroller. The husband kept checking something on his phone the entire time. The lady guest they were waiting for walked out the door, and towards them. The guy was still on his phone as he followed his wife to greet the visitor. The wife (in green) and the visitor (in black) were smiling, all the time sizing each other up, what they were wearing, and all that. As they neared each other, the host lady in green pushed the stroller ahead, forcing the guest to focus on the child, giving her a chance to size up her visitor some more. Then they finally hugged as the hostess in green muttered- I love your necklace. It was all so dramatic, almost fake- the emotions, the smiles, the hugs. The husband finally looked up from his phone and muttered a hello. Then before the guest could open her mouth, the lady in green suggested they walk out to the car and talk later.
That was a very smart thing to do, unlike a bunch of young guys, three of them, who arrived to work here I suppose, and were received by a couple of their friends. They decided to stand right there and chat like they were home already. They were clearly in the way and weary people had to push their baggage around them to get to the long line near the elevators. The young bunch finally decided to leave only after about thirty minutes of catching up! It finally dawned on them that though the plane had landed at the final destination, the actual place they needed to be at was their home, and not the lounge!
Then there was this senior lady in a very modest getup. She waited patiently, seated on the chairs with her husband. Suddenly, she let out a gleeful whoop. She almost danced to the wheelchair that was being led out by an airline attendant. The lady in the wheelchair was brimming with equal enthusiasm. They hugged and cried at the same time. Maybe they were sisters, or who knows what the relation was. It was very heartfelt.
International arrivals can be dicey because processing times vary. It sometimes takes forever for the person you are scanning the door for finally emerges out of there. It took a good seventy five minutes yesterday. There was certainly no dearth of entertainment at the airport though, there never is.
When I go to receive someone, I am sort of forced to people watch. There isn't much else to do. Folks waiting show a plethora of moods while they anticipate meeting their friends or family as they walk out through those automatic doors. Eyes scanning faces every time the doors open. It is fun to match expressions on faces that light up in the waiting crowd, with that of those walking out. Is either party equally thrilled to see each other? As trolleys roll out, I check out their emotions- beaming, excited folk, their long, tiring journey behind them, waiting to explore, or tired, jet lagged people simply waiting to get home and put their feet up. Then there is the business traveler who is eager to get to the hotel to catch up on sleep before getting down to business the next morning.
Most people never travel light on these international flights, whether it is aging parents walking out with airline provided assistance, or spouses getting back home after a vacation, sometimes with 2 or more kids in tow, visiting family members, or whole families getting home- they all arrive with truckloads of baggage. I know how that goes, I've been one of those people who fill up their suitcases upto the last permissible kilo. Adjusting stuff around in the bags would be one exciting exercise. Of course, that was when my mom was still around. I haven't visited after she passed away.
Interesting encounters between people is the whole reason behind people watching and I wasn't disappointed yesterday. A young family was waiting for someone. Well dressed, well groomed, with one 4-5 year old and a younger one in a stroller. The husband kept checking something on his phone the entire time. The lady guest they were waiting for walked out the door, and towards them. The guy was still on his phone as he followed his wife to greet the visitor. The wife (in green) and the visitor (in black) were smiling, all the time sizing each other up, what they were wearing, and all that. As they neared each other, the host lady in green pushed the stroller ahead, forcing the guest to focus on the child, giving her a chance to size up her visitor some more. Then they finally hugged as the hostess in green muttered- I love your necklace. It was all so dramatic, almost fake- the emotions, the smiles, the hugs. The husband finally looked up from his phone and muttered a hello. Then before the guest could open her mouth, the lady in green suggested they walk out to the car and talk later.
That was a very smart thing to do, unlike a bunch of young guys, three of them, who arrived to work here I suppose, and were received by a couple of their friends. They decided to stand right there and chat like they were home already. They were clearly in the way and weary people had to push their baggage around them to get to the long line near the elevators. The young bunch finally decided to leave only after about thirty minutes of catching up! It finally dawned on them that though the plane had landed at the final destination, the actual place they needed to be at was their home, and not the lounge!
Then there was this senior lady in a very modest getup. She waited patiently, seated on the chairs with her husband. Suddenly, she let out a gleeful whoop. She almost danced to the wheelchair that was being led out by an airline attendant. The lady in the wheelchair was brimming with equal enthusiasm. They hugged and cried at the same time. Maybe they were sisters, or who knows what the relation was. It was very heartfelt.
International arrivals can be dicey because processing times vary. It sometimes takes forever for the person you are scanning the door for finally emerges out of there. It took a good seventy five minutes yesterday. There was certainly no dearth of entertainment at the airport though, there never is.
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