Apparently international travel is much simpler than
domestic flights. I had absolutely no line at security. The TSA employee seemed
to have forgotten why he was standing there before he remembered his
responsibility to systematically violate my rights. Not only was security
incredibly simple but it took me longer to put my shoes back on than it did to
walk to my gate. Airports truly are the worst case of “hurry up and wait” that
one can experience, except for maybe the ER. Nothing like feeling like you’re
dying and being told someone else is dying just a bit more quickly than you so
you’ll have to wait your turn – but I digress. All in all, the beginnings of my
first foray into international travel have been stress free. I did manage to embarrass myself by
noticeably eaves dropping on a cute little old couple quietly speaking French
to each other. The older man noticed and came over and talked to me since I was
so obviously curious. He was kind and well-meaning but I kept my eyes firmly on
my laptop screen throughout the rest of my wait. Nothing like a bit of
embarrassment to round out your day.
I’m probably more excited than I should be about this but MY
PLANE HAS PROPELLERS! I know, I’m a child but come on. It is cool. Of course
there is a part of me, the part that is scared of things like death and that
monster that lives in the basement that finds a propeller plane frightening. No
one wants to fall out of the sky. Okay, maybe some people do but those people
are crazy and usually have parachutes. I am not crazy nor do I have a parachute
so I will stay firmly in the not-falling-out of-the-sky camp.
I don’t have a single plan for when I get there. I’m not
even 100% sure how I’m getting from the airport to Nikki’s and frankly, I’m
terrible excited about that. I’ve craved adventure and there is nothing like
navigating public transit in a city where they don’t speak your native
language. I rather look forward to putting my French skills to the test. I’ve
never used it in a practical situation so we’ll see how that goes. I’ll either
make a complete fool of myself or just embarrass myself a bit. It’s a toss-up.
It feels strange to travel without Professor. I love our
adventures. He is surprisingly easy to travel with and has a fearless nature. I
feel a bit guilty leaving him for the weekend but he will have a ton of fun
with my parents. Besides, I consider this my test run. Learning to manage this
on my own is the beginning of vacations and adventures with him down the road.
Of course, I forgot to run to the bathroom before I got on
my flight. Murphy’s law - When you have
a window seat, you will have to pee. I didn’t eat lunch so of course I accepted
the pretzels I was offered which then required I also have water but it is
impossible to eat pretzels without something to drink. I sipped the water so as
not to explode my bladder until turbulence hit. If you know anything about me,
and you must since you’ve read this far, you’ll know that I am a walking
accident waiting to happen. I watched as the water sloshed in my cup with each
pocket of air we hit. My choices were immediately apparent. I could either
watch my water inevitably spill on me and to the full effect of embarrassment,
likely the person sitting next to me OR I could punish my bladder further and
hope to God that I can hold it to Toronto. I’ve now made a bad situation even
worse and my bladder will seek revenge (hopefully when I’m old and don’t give a
damn that I’ve pissed myself).
On a giggle-worthy note I only just now realized that my
calendar reminder that pops up on my phone at 5pm every day reminding me to not
be a lazy student is abbreviated. So instead of “Read Assignments” my phone
kindly reminds me, every day at 5pm to “READ ASS”. Thanks, phone.
I’d like to add that I consider it barbaric that there is no
Wifi on my flight. Get with it, Air Canada. Mama needs to get her fix. I mean
I’ve resorted to offline blogging to get by. There are better methods to put
off the reading on Islamic history I’m supposed to be doing and I’m absolutely
disappointed at Air Canada but not better supporting my internet addiction.
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