Leaving - The Flight

My trip started a little unexpectedly, with another passenger. One girl on our trip sent everyone an email - making the first offer of friendship by telling us about herself and wondering if anyone could give her a ride to the airport. She had made the first move, trying to break the ice. Its hard just putting yourself out there, especially when you show weakness, silly things about yourself, and your greatest passions. She also showed her personality s well and left herself so open to everyone in the email. My first thought was that no one was going to respond. Most people don't want to put themselves that our there and doing so is hard. I knew that I didn't want to take the time to respond, mainly because I would rather put myself out there in person, but I knew that she needed someone to respond. SO I told her that I would be more than willing to take her if no one else responded. I was right, no one did respond and I ended up taking her to the airport. She smiled a lot and was excited to go. I wonder how she would've felt if she hadn't gotten a ride. It had me wondering why more of us didn't respond to her. Was it wrong not to respond? Shouldn't we pass on a friendly gesture after one has been extended to us? Or does breaking social norms mean that people automatically get ignored? Shouldn't we treat everyone as a person, without taking into account what type of a person he or she are? I wonder - will our group be like this the rest of the trip to her? She gets ignored and gently set aside by the social group? I hoped not.

We ended up having to pick up a class book from a friends house. Once again I was reminded how small of a world it was when I found out that the girl knew my friend because he had lived with her old roommate, a girl I knew.

The airport went by quick. I discovered that I was one of the lightest packed people on our trip, although my backpack apparently was too heavy so I had to quickly remove my headphones and a fleece pullover to drop the weight below 8 kilos. I left the US with a quick bite of food, a strawberry CrèmeKula and a good old cheeseburger. I settled down with the group to eat, started working on names and joined the discussion about our readings, homework, and the adventures to come. I almost panicked when I couldn't get Internet access in the airport – a necessity for me to download my readings. I wondered up and down the gates trying to get a connection. Eventually I restarted the computer in the middle of the food area - on top of a trashcan, as there were no open tables, and was thankfully given a solid connection. I quickly downloaded my readings, opened my blog account in several different tabs, and I returned back to everyone else. Joining the group I couldn't help but notice another PLU girl I knew, and didn't think very highly of. She was talking to her group’s professor. The professor was asking her if she really wanted to go on the trip. She was sick. How sick I don't know, but I do know that she was walking with a cane and has a history of walking problems. The professor wanted to know if she needed to arrange a visit to a doctor the second they arrived or if the girl should stay. They had a long discussion with the girl say she wanted to go. I don't blame her, going to Venice, I would want to go too, especially considering what we are paying to go but did she make a good ethical decision? Would her choice put everyone at risk of catching her sickness? What about the time the professor would have to devote to her instead of the group. Not only that but she was on a cane and they were going to have to walk about four miles a day. This girl has been in a wheelchair multiple times during her education at PLU. Would her dragging her feet make this a less enjoyable experience for the rest of the group? I wonder - is she being self-centered, greedy, and reckless? Or is she being brave (defined as going forward despite not knowing the consequences as apposed to courage where you do know all the consequences), financially prudent, and optimistic? I guess it depends on who you are in that group. I was just thankful that no member in my group was in this situation.

When we got on the plane it was a very different experience than what I was used to. Two seats were on the window side, four in the center, and another two were on the other side. A blanket, pillow and headphones sat waiting for me with a TV screen on the back of the seat in front of me. It looked like it would be a comfortable flight until this little Indian boy started crying - scratch that - screaming. This went on forever… I don't know what his problem was, but the mother couldn’t get him to settle down. Personally I don't think he wanted to be buckled but I’m not sure 10 minutes later we had reached our breaking point. One of the kids on my trip asked if I had any Benadryl. I told him no and asked why - already guessing the answer. He said it would put the poor kid out and just let him sleep. I found this slightly repulsive as it reminded me of another story. My boss had gone to a formal social dinner somewhere and she had brought her sweet little daughter Maya, who is three. She apparently was really well behaved and coupled with Allison’s ability to keep her distracted she was Maya was so easy and content the whole night. One couple were so impressed they asked her if she had given her Benadryl to make her so "easy to deal with." The way Allison explained it, you could tell that these people had done this to their kids. What happened to parenting to make it seem even remotely logical to drug your kid so that you could have a good night? Shouldn't you have raised your children better so that drugging isn't the main tool you use to get your kid to behave? I told the guy that parents should be able to influence their kids more than drugs, which he agreed to - he just really wanted the peace and quiet that we all did. It was an interesting insight to learn that he worked at the Mary Bridge Hospital with kids all the time. I was surprised that he didn't have more patience dealing with an upset child - maybe I should learn to be less judgmental and critical, as I wished the kid would just shut up too. I still blame the mother a bit...my boss also told me to stick to what I say and own up to those words. I have a feeling I may need to this trip, especially after watching the row of students in front of me all get wine and then brandy later. Not exactly my thing, drinking, but there you go. I find it distasteful, or at least many of the effects it has on people’s behavior as well as the impact on their lives. I just hate that the main goal of the average teenager, or young adult, who drinks is to get wasted – or at least that is what I tend to see. We will see how, or if, my views of alcohol change with this journey.

All I can say for now is that I am thankful for this opportunity to grown, learn, and to meet new people. I am excited to get to know everyone more as I feel like this is going to be a great group of people explore Europe with. At the moment I just realized that if our plane has any trouble we are have 35,000 feet until we hit the ground...and a lot of time to build up velocity...all I can say is I am happy we reached the ground safely.