A
Cambodian, an American, and a Korean all sit down together on the plane. The
Cambodian arrives first and takes the end seat. The American comes next and
attempts to motion that she needs to get into the window. The Cambodian sees
that the American needs to sit down, and so she moves all the way over to the
window. The American then takes the middle seat, a little annoyed that she
didn’t get the window. She’s been traveling for over 24 hours and wanted to
lean against the window to sleep. She gets over herself and her lack of having
a window pretty quickly, realizing that in the whole scheme of things, it’s not
that important. The Korean sits down next to her.
The
Cambodian takes her blanket and pillow. The Cambodian, who seems to be the
motherly type, motions to the American as if to ask where her blanket is.
Because at this point the American doesn’t know where it is and doesn’t feel
like asking for another one, she says and tries to motion that she does not
need it. This seems to satisfy the Cambodian who turns back towards her seat.
The
plane takes off and Cambodian closes her eyes. The stewardess comes by and
offers everyone headphones. The Korean and the American both take them. A moment
later, the Cambodian opens her eyes and sees that she does not have headphones.
She again motions at the American. The Korean, however, quicker on his feet,
realizes what is amiss and quickly asks the stewardess for another pair of
headphones. By this time, the American is beginning to realize that her
language skills are quite inadequate.
The
American lies down on her tray and attempts to sleep. While this is happening,
she is vaguely aware of supper being served. The only thought that goes through
her mind is that she hopes nothing is dropped on her as the tray is passed over
her head.
When
the American wakes up, she sees that customs forms have been passed out. After
receiving a pen from the stewardess, she begins to fill out the form. The Cambodian
is trying to ask questions to the American, who again, is no help at all.
Again, the Korean comes to the rescue and is able to help the Cambodian
successfully fill out her customs forms. The Korean even helps to
interpret between the Cambodian and the American.
As
the plane taxis to the gate, the Korean unbuckles his seatbelt and sits like a
runner ready to start a race. The moment the seatbelt sign actually goes off,
he rushes to the front of the plane in order to make a hasty
exit. The American gets out of the way and the Cambodian follows the
Korean up the aisle. The Cambodian says a quiet “bye-bye” to the American
before moving out of site in the crowded plane.
The
American stays where she is, knowing it will be a moment before she can exit the
plane. So many thoughts swarm through her head. She realizes how much she does
not understand. She begins to realize that she is walking into a culture where
she truly is the foreigner. The situations she will soon encounter will not be
familiar. And yet, she has comfort knowing there is one who knows all things
and watches over all situations. It is on Him she must lean, for on her own
strength she can do nothing. By Him, she moves forward into whatever trials and
adventure the next day will bring.
-Thoughts
from August 1st 2012
Note:
The two people I sat in between on my flight were both so beautiful. I could
not have asked for a better way to be introduced to the Asian culture. They
were so gracious to me, especially when I did not understand. This post came
around from realizing that our seating arrangement sounded like the start of a
bad joke, when it turned out to be such a humbling experience in the realm of
language.
