Airplane Air Pain

The day after I arrived at Shannon International Airport, Ireland back at the beginning of June, Sky News reported an Air France flight had gone missing off the coast of South America.  This was great considering my international flights were on Delta.  The two airlines have interlocked their flight plans together so closely, it can be difficult to tell if the operator of the plane and the logo splashed above the tail wings are the same company.  My tour group thankfully drove around in our motor coach while waiting to hear what happened to the 200+ people missing in flight and to see if our flights home would arrive on the tarmac  in one piece, or in pieces across an American beach.

Just this summer there have been over a dozen plane accidents, and in the past week three alone.  This morning a plane skidded off the airstrip in Thailand.  I was planning on going to Thailand to visit my friend Sarah doing missionary work there in November, now  I’ll make sure not to fly Merpati Nusantara Airlines.  I’ll also make sure to postpone my trip to Indonesia (plane missing since Sunday morning) and not fly light aircraft when traveling through Kenya.  Clearly looking through the list of “100 Worst” on www.planecrashinfo.com is not helping my nerves. Luckily, nothing came up when I searched for Quantas, the airline taking me to New Zealand, or JetBlue, my American carrier of choice, on this site.  Hopefully, the most I have to worry about in September would be my backpack being stuck in Brisbane while I’m jetting across to North Island.

One of the interns I work with has never flown.  I flew for the first time at age 8, while moving from Boston to Phoenix.  We took a decent sized plane to somewhere in Pennsylvania/Ohio then a prop plane to St. Louis to visit my childhood friend Renee.  The worst part of the trip was discovering I was not tall enough to ride the new Batman roller coaster at Six Flags.

I told intern Michael about my layover in Brisbane and the hassle I was already anticipating two months out from my flight.  “What’s so bad about a layover? Can’t you just leave?” he asked.

This is an interesting question.  I’ve been in a lot of airports, and I’d have to say most of them are not traveler-friendly when you have hours to kill.  The Dallas airport has a full-sized Disney store that I enjoyed during the layover from Phoenix to Washington-Dulles when I was 10.  Charles de Gaulle in Paris is so confusing my group found our way out of security without even realizing it when I was 16.  Palm Beach International has a putt-putt course in the waiting area, but not by the terminal.  In Athens, all of the gift shops are before the  American security checkpoint, so even if you wanted to bring home 0.8% acidity olive oil that you couldn’t find in the grocery shop like I did two years ago, sorry but no such luck.  JetBlue’s T5 at JFK is probably my favorite, since they do have a platform in the middle where yoga classes are held, and even though I hate flying in and out of New York, it does leave my home base Dulles with something to aspire to.

So yes, Michael, layovers are a pain.  They are even worse than finding out you have to pay an extra $50 to check your bag because it’s 57 pounds and you can’t bring that bottle of wine you bought in Napa Valley in your hand luggage.  Maybe if TSA lightened up on liquids, gels and aerosols, I could pass the bottle around the plane so we all wouldn’t have to worry about the runway tires not retracting or the turbulence that will keep your headache from check-in going.  When you fly for the first time Michael, don’t call me while you’re waiting at the terminal.  Can someone pass me a Dramamine so I can pass out for this flight already?!

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It is generally considered rude…

Since I’m attempting to visit several different countries while using NZ as home base, and was recently the recipient of some classic, cold European manners, I thought it would be interesting to compare a few things American with those of the South Pacific.

In America we hold doors open for others, chew with our mouths closed, say ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ and answer telephone calls and/or emails/text messages/etc. promptly (unless we’re avoiding you, and hopefully we have a good reason).  At prep school, we learned to pass pitchers with the handle facing out, to greet everyone older than us as ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am,’ and not to use dirty words when the dormitory mother was within ear shot.  We also kept the television volume on ‘super-low’ during study hall hours.  These are just a few of my favorites.

So how do we compare?  It’s always quite interesting to learn about other places around the world, especially other English-speaking countries.  The variations in language, culture, conduct, etc. are intriguing.  Many places have been impacted by the global market, economy, and media machines so it is difficult to say how much of the pure society has been kept from some new and some ancient societies.  Here’s a little that I dug up.  Please feel free to make comments or post suggestions/discoveries of your own.

New Zealand: According to one ex-Kiwi now living in Portland, it’s rude to address someone as ‘sir’ in NZ culture. I find it hard to believe an ex-British colony does not use such honorary titles, and kiwiessential.co.uk confirmed that.  Also, apparently it’s polite to smile, but don’t be too friendly until they get to know you better.

Australia: Australians on the other hand have absolutely no qualms in calling you by first name from the get-go.  It is also similarly considered rude to not participate in a social activity without good reason.  Friendships, ‘mates,’ are also vitally important, and society reinforces reciprocal friendships even in business.

Thailand: Raising your voice and speaking negatively are faux pas’ in Thai society.  I knew several girls at prep school from Thailand, and they were unequally pleasant ladies.  I’m sure they would not appreciate good, American sarcasm.  You also are not allowed Public Displays of Affection.  Not sure this is such a bad rule  actually…

Fiji: Not much info out there…Anyone know a Fijian so I can ask them?

China: Apparently the residents of Beijing are going along with the customs of the rest of China: the New York Times reports spitting on the sidewalk is down by half and even less continue to litter.  Also, the Chinese are supposedly humerus enough to appreciate American jokes, which can be quite bad, and don’t mind making small talk about the weather, general business, family, or Chinese food.  I’ll be sure to remember that.

Links for this post:
http://www.hobotraveler.com/ma2newzealandmanners.php
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/  (australia, new zealand)
http://www.guidetothailand.com/thailand-travel-faq/thailand-manners-customs.php

http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa031901a.htm

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