NEW ZEALAND EXPERIENCE: Day 1

Aaah! Here I am embarking on the first day of my New Zealand adventure! It’s 10:26 Los Angeles time, and I’ve already been up for 11 hours. So far, the airport experience has been uneventful, but I still have 13 more hours in LAX, so perhaps that assessment is premature.

I believe the word for the day is going to be “small”. I feel quite tiny right now. The enormous, unbending backpack I’m using contributes to this feeling as it dwarfs my already small shoulders and causes my body to curl forward. The huge, sky-lighted ceiling in this departure terminal also enhances my impression of insignificance, and there’s definitely something about being 30,000 plus feet in the air that makes one feel slightly minute. Looking at all the people around me who are plugged into the world with every imaginable electronic device makes me feel a little tiny and alone. It’s funny how in airports humanity’s “connectedness” looks so disconnected. The couple next to me are totally enthralled- with their phones. They may as well be traveling alone! Everywhere you look, no one is looking at each other. Sometimes I feel like I’m out of the loop of something that every other traveler is in on. What exactly are people talking about so frantically, or sternly, or importantly as they walk through airports? Why the rush to turn on the phone as soon as the pilot gives us the ok? Am I missing something? Hmmm. The man to my right just mentioned 9 million dollars in one breath and “broke” in the next. Yes, I’m eavesdropping. Sometimes I really just want to ask- what are you talking about? Can I get in on the action? There’s so much going on with every individual, and sitting back, watching, and taking in the chaos makes me feel small. It’s nice in a way though. This airport is abuzz with life, and sitting here, feeling small and unobtrusive, I’m taking it all in.