Here I'll quote my own little journal (graciously given to me by Marta Belli):
So far, the traveling has been more than bearable. On my first flight to NYC, I was enraptured by the book I am reading about the inner life of Autism. In the book, she describes her oversensitivity to sound or touch or other stimuli.
The baby behind me wailed as we began to descend. Autism or not, flying in a plane heightens a child's nervous system! I wasn't particularly bothered by the screaming, but I knew the mother was somewhat mortified, and desperately trying to soothe her baby!
Next to me sat my overly fluffy, overly cute, overly sized Bumble Bee Pillow Pet... and I had an idea.
I staged an impromptu puppet show over the back of my seat, immediately capturing the infant's attention. She eventually reached out to pull the Bee into her lap, and I obliged. It was well worth it: for the next 15 minutes I heard raucous giggling and a mother whispering "Buzz Buzz Buzz... No we don't put the bee in our mouths!"
Just a little distraction went a long way.
I arrived in JFK airport and felt like I was lost in the middle of a city. I managed to find my way, but only after being dumbfounded at how stranded I was...and I wasn't even out of the country yet!
I think it's true that when you set out on grand adventures, you meet very interesting people. While waiting to board my flight to Dubai, I met an American girl headed to her childhood friend's wedding in India. We happened to be standing next to an Indian man who politely asked the surname of her friend. He said that you can tell how many people will attend an Indian wedding by the surname. After hearing the name, he said to expect about 2000 guests and a 4 day event!!
My second flight was to Dubai, and was 12 hours long, with all sorts of funky time shifts along the way. I was so lucky to meet Ava, a freshmen at Princeton going home to Dubai after her last Final in Organic Chemistry. We shared a nice big empty seat between us. She showed me the ropes of flying with Emirates airline... when they came around with hot towels I looked over at her pleadingly, and she whispered "for your hands or face!". She then went on to describe her favorite part of the flight: the food. "They come around between meals with pizza that is sooo good!" By the time the pizza rolled around Ava was asleep, so I saved mine for her.
The meals and entertainment really are excellent on this airline! I watched Alice in Wonderland in Cantonese (to see if I could recognize sounds) and ate delicious cherry chocolate mousse. I was able to sleep for at least 6 hours, and had an enjoyable flight overall.
So far, the traveling has been more than bearable. On my first flight to NYC, I was enraptured by the book I am reading about the inner life of Autism. In the book, she describes her oversensitivity to sound or touch or other stimuli.
The baby behind me wailed as we began to descend. Autism or not, flying in a plane heightens a child's nervous system! I wasn't particularly bothered by the screaming, but I knew the mother was somewhat mortified, and desperately trying to soothe her baby!
Next to me sat my overly fluffy, overly cute, overly sized Bumble Bee Pillow Pet... and I had an idea.
I staged an impromptu puppet show over the back of my seat, immediately capturing the infant's attention. She eventually reached out to pull the Bee into her lap, and I obliged. It was well worth it: for the next 15 minutes I heard raucous giggling and a mother whispering "Buzz Buzz Buzz... No we don't put the bee in our mouths!"
Just a little distraction went a long way.
I arrived in JFK airport and felt like I was lost in the middle of a city. I managed to find my way, but only after being dumbfounded at how stranded I was...and I wasn't even out of the country yet!
I think it's true that when you set out on grand adventures, you meet very interesting people. While waiting to board my flight to Dubai, I met an American girl headed to her childhood friend's wedding in India. We happened to be standing next to an Indian man who politely asked the surname of her friend. He said that you can tell how many people will attend an Indian wedding by the surname. After hearing the name, he said to expect about 2000 guests and a 4 day event!!
My second flight was to Dubai, and was 12 hours long, with all sorts of funky time shifts along the way. I was so lucky to meet Ava, a freshmen at Princeton going home to Dubai after her last Final in Organic Chemistry. We shared a nice big empty seat between us. She showed me the ropes of flying with Emirates airline... when they came around with hot towels I looked over at her pleadingly, and she whispered "for your hands or face!". She then went on to describe her favorite part of the flight: the food. "They come around between meals with pizza that is sooo good!" By the time the pizza rolled around Ava was asleep, so I saved mine for her.
The meals and entertainment really are excellent on this airline! I watched Alice in Wonderland in Cantonese (to see if I could recognize sounds) and ate delicious cherry chocolate mousse. I was able to sleep for at least 6 hours, and had an enjoyable flight overall.