Dramamine & An Isle Seat

I’m not much of a sleeper when it comes to plane travel, perusal, and my secret weapon, Dramamine, has betrayed me. As does my kindness for letting Pengfei have the window seat. I look over and he is sound asleep. Nothing could wake him.

One of my favorite things to do while on the plane is watch that little screen that is directly in front of my face. This is when my geeky love of travel sets in. I love knowing the altitude we currently are at, the temperature, the geographic region we are, and the estimated time of arrival. None of these change too drastically, yet my eyes are glued to the changing screen. Finally my body gives in and I fall asleep.

As I wake up, the little screen has finally changed. We are about two hours from landing. The flight attendants are coming around to serve us breakfast. At this point, it gives me an excuse to awake Pengfei, so I no longer have to sit in solitude.

Shortly after breakfast, the flight attendant that has been watching me the entire flight gives me two little pouches. They look like pencil holders with the zipper on top, although, the contents are far from office supplies. The pouches contain a toothbrush, toothpaste, face-cleaning wipe, and slippers. I thank attendant with a smile and say thank you. Soon I realize that no one around us received the bag. This was finally affirming that I wasn’t being conceded with the thought that he found be attractive. Pengfei laughs when I tell him why we received these goodie bags.

The captain’s announcement is sounding. The same rehearsed announcement this man probably says when arriving to the destination of every flight. We have made it! My adrenaline begins to pump. I’m finally going to see what China looks like, the air smells like, and how the people interact. When getting off the plane I am engulfed with a sea of people. A sea that is aggressively making it’s way to the exit. I either keep up with Pengfei or down in the waves.

Once reaching the exit, Pengfei is on his phone speaking in Mandarin. This is the point of the trip where Pengfei not only is my friend, but also quickly becomes my translator. The roles have switched and now he must take care of me.