Anyways, in reflecting on my experiences today, I realize how diverse the world traveler is. Besides the fact that on my London flight, I sat next to a Pakistani man, an Irish woman across the aisle, and was served by a Taiwanese lady, and on my Nairobi flight, next to a teenager from South England and an Indian med student from Kenya, the WAY people handle sitting in a big vessel soaring through the sky is very diverse. I look around me and there’s a man using those awkwardly comfortable neck pillows, a girl covered to her neck with the provided blanket, a little girl curled up legs in a ball leaning on her mother’s shoulder (I’m most jealous of her), some people dead asleep sitting STRAIGHT UP, my neighbor with his blanket fully covering his body like a green, Kenyan ghost, and then, of course, the lazy guy, who just passes out forward, head sticking to the entertainment screen in the seat in front of him. Me, I choose to utilize the built in pillow that bends in to embrace my head (I wish it were as comfortable as how I just described it). When awake, some people choose to talk to strangers or companions, others listen to music on their iPod or the provided radio stations, some read anything from the provided magazines to sexy romance novels (that my grandmother probably just finished) to the paper that the Kenya Air people were kind enough to provide, but most take advantage of the awesome technology we now have allowing each of us to watch movies, television shows, or Kenyan soap operas on demand on a little personalized screen in front of us in any language from English to Portuguese to Swahili…well, most people at least; my neighbor and I missed out on that technology, as our screens are stuck on the Radio: “RnB & Pop” section, the apparent abyss of in-flight entertainment, as our remotes cannot navigate away from listening to Britney, Miley, and a few Black Eyed Peas. No worries, I’ll just read my book and reflect and eat. This diversity makes me realize, though, that no matter how we travel, we are all taking advantage of the small, incredibly accessible world that we now live in, expanding our knowledge base and reading even more and more chapters of the book of our world.
AND, I gotta tell you, besides my entertainment screen not working, I have been so impressed with Kenya Airlines! They provide you with a newspaper as you walk on, coffee, tea, then water and juice, all served sequentially, the flight attendants are gorgeous, and the food has been AMAZING! I asked what my choices for dinner were, and I was told “Chicken, Veggie, or Lamb”….LAMB?! The flight attendant quickly noticed my shock and excitement and proceeded to hand me what would be by far the best meal I’ve ever had on the numerous overnight flights I’ve endured. Not only was there lamb that had an impressive flavor that tasted like Costa Rica, but rice and potatoes reminding me of Shamim’s wonderful Kenyan cooking, a roll that was soft and moist, “Laughing Cow” cheese (of which Meme will be jealous), and for desert? A berry cheese Danish sort of cake! As I said, Shamim, I am very impressed! But now that I have a happy stomach, full of tasty food and the numerous beverages that followed our meal, I am going to turn my head to the right and take advantage of the embrace of my built-in seat pillow and dream for a couple hours of the excitement to come!
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