The People You Meet on Planes

The East Indian and the Asian
Oh yea, and me

Last night I boarded my first of three flights en route to Malawi! As some of my closest friends know, I sometimes pass time between connecting flights by having a JD and ginger with strangers sitting up at the bar closest to my gate.

Through small talk and terrible Leaf’s games I have had some great conversations with complete strangers. Last night it was after my JDs and at the gate that I met this amazing young woman, name unknown, who was going home to India to visit her family.

She told me about her experiences coming to study abroad in Canada and how she had made the decision to move from Toronto to Edmonton for better opportunities after university. Of course we joked about winter in different parts of the country as most Canadians would, but we also talked love, education, fear, feminism and all sorts of things in just 20 minutes.

Once aboard the plane I said hello to the passenger next to me, a young asian guy named Lee who quickly turned my greeting into a two hour talk show. It was fantastic!

Let me just say when someone breaks the ice by referencing hilarious scenes from the Bridesmaids movie, you know it’s going to be a good flight. (Clips below for your own enjoyment.)

Once we had a few laughs our conversations flowed freely between topics ranging from ‘smart asian’ stereotypes to bullying to the importance of family and books each other needs to read.  I regrettably had taken gravol before boarding the plane so two hours was about all I could stay conscious for.

When I awoke from a pretty solid slumber my seat mate was nowhere to be found. He returned about twenty minutes later and since we were now BFFs he described to me with the details of a gripping John Grisham novel, all  his troubles with airsickness.

Poor Lee, my heart went out to the guy who just spent an hour in the 2×2 cubical and now had a fist full of barf bags. He tried to carry on our conversation through his nausea and my grogginess but we silently agreed to put our headphones in and keep comments to a minimum.

We landed about an hour later and after apologizing for the graphic nature of his uncontrollable actions and wishing me the best of luck in Malawi, Lee bolted for the front of the aircraft.

Right now I’m blogging from Heathrow and wondering how I will remember all the amazing and hilarious people I will meet in the months to come. As soon as my WiFi time runs out I will be on my way to finding some food and doing some ‘people watching’.

Take care friends and family, talk to you soon! 

BRIDESMAIDS