I am starting to loathe aeroplanes with a passion I never thought possible. I used to say that flying was a drag, but mostly I think cause it sounded so damn cosmopolitan. This is no longer the case, and so in order to affect some sort of catharsis I will make a list of things I hate about flying and the general experience of being at and around airports.
I hate the people who jump up as soon as the plane lands. Clearly it takes SOME time to get all that 747 planey crap done, so why do people even entertain the possibility that we will be jumping off the second we land?
This frustration is seriously compounded if I am lucky enough to be in the middle or aisle seats, because then I also have to stand up and stoop in that horrible squashed bit between seat and roof while everyone around me is frantically tipping bags from overloaded compartments and bumping strangers' elbows.
I hate people who board with group A when they are not group A. You act like you didn't hear or understand the announcement. I don't BELIEVE you.
Of course I also hate the overpriced food, the seemingly endless delays, the attempts to get there in traffic or on trains and the soul destroying requests to rid myself of electrical goods, coins, shoes, bags, whatever, every few minutes. (Note: why is my passport in a different place every time I look for it?)
The people annoy me more though. Essentially I suppose I want everyone to follow my own carefully thought-out rules of 'engagement' with the airport, and yet one of my own principles of social nicety is that you never show that you are annoyed or ask someone to sit down and wait their turn. Instead I quietly seethe and, unnoticed, roll my eyes occasionally-- pretty impotent, huh?!
Just to tie this in with the whole 'Turkey' thread, I guess this is why I disagree with people who get so annoyed with the honking of horns and pushing in line that seems to be part of Turkish culture. It seems a little pathetic to proffer disdain upon those who are doing actively what the rest of us are trying to do with our dirty looks and upturned noses. Ok, I still stand around with an air of hapless superiority when students push in at the canteen. But a little part of me is learning to respect them for it, too.
I hate the people who jump up as soon as the plane lands. Clearly it takes SOME time to get all that 747 planey crap done, so why do people even entertain the possibility that we will be jumping off the second we land?
This frustration is seriously compounded if I am lucky enough to be in the middle or aisle seats, because then I also have to stand up and stoop in that horrible squashed bit between seat and roof while everyone around me is frantically tipping bags from overloaded compartments and bumping strangers' elbows.
I hate people who board with group A when they are not group A. You act like you didn't hear or understand the announcement. I don't BELIEVE you.
Of course I also hate the overpriced food, the seemingly endless delays, the attempts to get there in traffic or on trains and the soul destroying requests to rid myself of electrical goods, coins, shoes, bags, whatever, every few minutes. (Note: why is my passport in a different place every time I look for it?)
The people annoy me more though. Essentially I suppose I want everyone to follow my own carefully thought-out rules of 'engagement' with the airport, and yet one of my own principles of social nicety is that you never show that you are annoyed or ask someone to sit down and wait their turn. Instead I quietly seethe and, unnoticed, roll my eyes occasionally-- pretty impotent, huh?!
Just to tie this in with the whole 'Turkey' thread, I guess this is why I disagree with people who get so annoyed with the honking of horns and pushing in line that seems to be part of Turkish culture. It seems a little pathetic to proffer disdain upon those who are doing actively what the rest of us are trying to do with our dirty looks and upturned noses. Ok, I still stand around with an air of hapless superiority when students push in at the canteen. But a little part of me is learning to respect them for it, too.
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