Sunday, September 27, 2009

The Terminal

They say that you can tell a lot about a person by the way that they deal with little inconveniences in life -- just think of how people face adversity, are daunted by hardship, or are tempted by money and power.

Well, as I found out today -- you can also add to that flight delays and waiting for an indefinite time at an airport.

Kiddo and I were coming back from our annual summer trip which we decided to take in one of our yet-to-be-discovered remote islands. That may sound very exotic -- and it was -- but it did also mean that we were cut off from a lot of the comforts of civilization like paved roads and a steady, consistent mobile phone signal.

We were going back home and had just checked in when we were told that our flight was going to be delayed for 1 ½ hours. Bummer, but not being able to do anything about it, we decided to while away the time in one of the sari-sari stores eating chips.

I thought that it was a waste to have to stay at the airport for another hour when we could have had more time exploring the little provincial town that was our home for 4 days.

Kiddo began to commune with technology and kept herself busy with her hand-held games. We decided to wait outside so that I could have access to a mobile phone signal and text, and Kiddo could munch on some chips while communing with technology.

After an hour, we went back inside the terminal to wait for our boarding call. It was unusually hot inside and we found out there was no electricity.

We whiled away the time observing people. There was a group of middle aged ladies laughing, eating and just having a good time.

There were parents fanning their sleeping children who made beds out of the airport terminal benches.

And...finally, the announcement came!

Unfortunately, when the announcement came, it wasn’t to board, but to tell us that our flight was again going to be delayed for another hour. Effectively, this made our total waiting time close to 3 hours in an airport with no electricity, no cellphone signal. No reason was given for the additional delay, but there was a feeble attempt to appease us with a snack subsidy worth P70.

Now that really riled people up and got their ire. Because on top of the waiting, the heat and being cut off from the civilized world with no mobile phone would be enough to bring out the devil in anyone. People were hot, tired and hungry.

Actually, for typical Pinoys, hunger alone is already considered a major punishment.

A lioness emerged from a very poised and rich looking young mother traveling with her husband, three kids and nanny. She lashed out at the airport attendant and said in a loud voice, “My children are sick. I could sue this airline if anything untoward were to happen to my children.” It was quite a departure from her proper and quite demeanor.

Then there was the group of 17 or so matrons who let out a collective grunt of dissatisfaction and resignedly just decided to troop to the sari-sari store to see what their P70 meal allowance could get them.

There was another Caucasian couple whose teenage son was dehydrated and weak. He was led to a lounge area with a proper couch that he could sleep in.

At the sari-sari store, people were lining up and showing up for their P70 merienda. People were demanding hot wait to boil their cup noodles; asking to have luncheon meat micowaved so they would not have to wait for it to be fried. (the sari sari store apologized for not having a microwave). And of course, there were the sarcastic jokes and complaints about the airline that kept them waiting.

Then, there was my Kiddo who simply found a way to entertain herself by being resourceful and finding things around her that she could play with. She found some rocks, cooled them off and came up with a bright idea. She decided to have an impromptu cooking show where she would demonstrate how to make a rock smoothie. Of course, she wasn't going to do this without asking me to tape it.

She watched the first episode and asked me to tape another set. She talked about cleaning rocks – she called the act of dusting the dirt off the rocks as “peppering”. She was so happy with the first episode that she asked me to tape another one and made me primise to upload it on You tube.

Suddenly, the horn blew signallig the arrival of the plane. Finally!

In the middle of her cooking show, she jumped up and down and started shouting. “It’s here! It’s here! This is the happiest day of my life.” She shouted into the camera.

So yeah, if life’s little inconveniences and adversities are a good way to build character, then I am happy and proud to see the beginnings of tenacity, making do with what you have and not letting anything get you down in my Kiddo.

When I asked Kiddo what she was making and told her it was for this blog post that I’m writing, she looked down and suddenly very quietly and uncharacteristically shy told me, "Thank you mommy for including this in your magazine.”

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