My friend Z suggested that I blog every day from Egypt. I pointed out that was unlikely as I do not own a smart phone, but I find myself here in Amsterdam (long layover - nine hours) in lots of hang out places with cheap internet, and it's a bit drizzly outside, so it makes sense to keep myself occupied and awake by blogging.
I have been up for over 24 hours now, and I think there's definitely a sort of sheen a European city can take on when you're seeing it from sleep-deprived eyes. It seems more lovely, although perhaps that is just because I have been away for too long.
I was on one of those giant international flight plans on the way here - you know the kind, 3 three seats, aisle, 4 seats, aisle, 3 seats. Big. They start boarding them an hour early because it takes so long. One advantage is the deluxe in-flight entertainment systems, which have TONS of movies; unexpectedly, I had trouble finding a good one. I watched most of Robin Hood (the new one, with Russell Crowe, who, incidentally, was the oldest actor to ever play Robin Hood on screen, my in-flight magazine informed me), even though it wasn't very good, and I watched a documentary about the auditions for a recent revival of A Chorus Line, which lead to some bizarre scenes of watching actors audition for a role in which they are playing actors auditioning for a role. It was very meta. I wanted a dumb old romantic comedy but pickings were slim and I'd already seen some of them.
They DO give you free alcohol on international flights (although the airline had a new caveat I had never seen of "passengers will be served one drink at a time,") and that is a perk. They also come around prior to the meal with a box full of hot disposable cotton-soft scented hand wipes they hand out with these little tongs. It's all extremely civilized.
Another strange thing about international flight? You leave in, naturally, your home country, but the minute you get on board, it's like you're in another country. The main language changes, most notably in all the announcements. English makes an appearance, but only as an afterthought. I was on the ground at SFO in the plane for probably almost an hour (between boarding and a long takeoff wait) but it was as though I was already in foreign soil.
It also seems odd, because you think, oh, there are mostly Americans on this plane. We just left America. But then when you get off - and mind you, these are necessarily the same group of people you took off with - it seems like suddenly everyone else is speaking something other than English. As if they switched midflight. I find it highly suspicious.
And nothing makes me more grateful to be a native English speaker than travel abroad, where pretty much everyone still uses English, since we can't all know all of each other's languages. You see these Filipinos or Turks or Croatians trying to understand the English, because the announcement in Dutch did nothing for them. I feel for them. I speak a little French, and I have little luck with the announcements. Although, come to think of it, garbled train operator voices are a universal constant, and sometimes the accent is so heavy when they attempt English, I do better at the French.
I have no such illusions about Arabic, which I have only just learned a little of - enough to say "I understand a little Arabic, not very well" as well as most of the niceties. Of which, I may say, there are many - Arabic has a lot of protocols for proper greetings and specific responses at certain times of the day, or situations. Or so I have heard.
The Dutch, on the other hand, say "hallo" and "sorry." The first time I came here, whenever bikers or pedestrians came into close contact with me, they called out "sore-ee!" and I wondered how they all so instantly knew I was American (I pride myself on 1) traveling light and 2) not looking American), until I looked up the Dutch word for "sorry" and found out it was...."sorree."
Well, there you are. Better head back to the airport for the next leg of the journey.
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