A Convo on an Airplane
Around March of this year, my college friends and I made a trip to Europe, where we got to see Munich, Prague, and the South of France. We never really got to do a senior trip after college, so we found this our opportunity to do so. After a rather strange encounter with an elderly woman, hiking 7 miles on empty stomachs to swim in the clearest, coldest water known to man, and two consecutive all-nighters which ended with us getting 40,000 steps per day (to name a few things), we concluded our degeneracy and headed home on separate flights. Mine happened to be a 2 hour journey from Nice to Frankfurt, and a 7 hour flight from Frankfurt to NYC.
As a kid I used to love flying; as an adult I have grown to enjoy it just as much as I enjoy being in Times Square.
There’s only so many times one can see giant screens and find them fascinating. 🫠
After checking my luggage, stocking up on snacks, and downloading just about every show and movie I found interesting, I boarded my flight and awaited the 7 hour journey. I was praying no one would sit next to me so I could get the entire two seats to myself and sleep through the whole flight. As I watched the aisle line grow shorter, my hopes grew taller. I think the last 3 people were in line to get seated when a young woman tapped on my shoulder and politely asked to take her seat next to me.
I cursed my luck and gave way for her to sit. “Oh well, she seems nice at least,” I thought to myself.
She was blonde, tall, and looked to be in her 20s. She had a German accent and seemed sociable so I figured I would strike up a conversation with her sometime during this journey. During our wait to finish boarding, I wondered to myself what brings her to take this flight. Is she a German tourist on her way to explore NYC? Is she a New York local coming back from a family visit to Germany? Does she have a work trip in NYC (or Frankfurt) which she is going to / returning from? I figured I’d get my answer eventually.
The plane began taxiing and I set my speculation aside to kill time in the most effective way possible: sleeping. As soon as the wheels left the runway and we were airborne, I knocked out.
I woke up around ~2 hours into the flight and celebrated my successful slumber. Only 5 more hours to go! Time for time killer activity #2: Watching a movie.
Although the movie was not particularly memorable, it did keep me occupied for a bit. I zoned out halfway through and spent some time savoring the memories I made during this trip. I remember looking out the window and seeing small towns and rolling hills on our train headed to Neuschwanstein Castle. I remember Aron’s teeth chattering when we went swimming in the freezing cold azure water at Calanque de Sugiton. I remember sprinting to catch the last metro from Monaco back to Nice while wearing high heels and a floor length evening gown.
“That must not be a very good movie.”
I flinched and I realized I had spaced out. The German girl was talking to me. Oops.
“Sorry, I did not mean to startle you” she said, having noticed my reaction.
“Haha you’re all good, I didn’t realize I zoned out. It’s a good movie, I just got busy thinking about my trip here and how nice it was. Are you from Germany?”
“Yes, I live in Frankfurt actually. Were you here for vacation? Where did you go?”
I proceeded to tell her about how I started out in Munich, went to Prague, and concluded with a week in the South of France. My original flight was supposed to be from Nice to NYC, but because of the strikes happening in France at the time, I had to get it moved to return from Frankfurt. She was surprised I visited Munich (of all the places) in Germany, as visitors typically go to Berlin. I mentioned I’ve been to Berlin in the past and how I was keen on experiencing the Bavaria side of Germany this time, to see the rich heritage that it has to offer. We talked about lederhosen and other cultural staples while visiting Hofbrauhaus, Snow White’s Bavarian origins as reflected in her dress, and how it’s essential to drink Radler on the lawn at Olympia Park while chowing down a large pretzel with a side of obatzda. The ice had officially been broken 🥳
“What brings you to New York?” I asked.
“I’m coming here for vacation. I’ve always wanted to see all the tall buildings in New York City. Do you live there?”
“Yes, I do! Although I’m originally from Texas, I’ve lived in New York for about 7-8 months now. Are you excited to visit New York? What all do you plan on seeing and doing?”
She told me about how her and her friend really want to visit the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise and watch as night turns to day in New York City. They wanted to get brunch at a nice restaurant and weren’t sure where to go, so I mentioned a few restaurants that I liked. They wanted to see the top of the Empire State Building (a classic) and ride a taxi. I found the overall intent to be quite touristy, but very wholesome.
We then started to compare life stories a bit. She told me about what life is like for a 20-something in Frankfurt, and how she works for communications in Nestle. A lot of finance people work in Frankfurt, and an average day in her life consisted of taking the metro to work, getting what you need to get done, then grabbing some beers with your coworkers afterwards, or perhaps winding down by the river with a book or a friend.
This surprised me. I thought her life would be a lot more different and sophisticated and what I thought to be European. I realized I had this illusion of a distant, glamorous place with fancy experiences, while in reality we lead quite similar lives. Despite having different upbringings in different countries working in different industries, I too spend the average day taking the subway to work, getting what I need to get done, then going to the occasional after work happy hour or reading a book by the water. Strange how life works that way.
At the end of the day, we’re all the same people.
I felt a tinge of sadness thinking about this. Germany isn’t really that different from New York, which isn’t as different from anywhere else. Is the rest of the world really so banal? I finally understood Paris syndrome, and felt it extend into the whole world. We’re all just living the same lives; everything and everywhere is surprisingly normal.
I didn’t like entertaining this thought. In the spirit of living life with pure optimism, I introspected further to find the bright side of this.
I thought about Pissarro’s The Garden of the Tuileries on a Winter Afternoon. It depicts the view from his Paris apartment in wintertime, which consists of barren trees, bitterly cold weather, and walking pedestrians. Why is it amongst the rest of the impressionist works which display sunny evenings and starry nights? The allure lies in the quotidian, and how his view is normal. The beauty of life is that it always goes on, and if we spend too long reminiscing in the past or waiting for the future, we’ll overlook the beauty this current moment has to offer us. This is what people mean when they say to enjoy the journey, not the destination.
As our flight started landing, I began to find joy in the things I think are ordinary now. I looked forward to when my new friend Lisa experiences the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time. I hoped she’d find the bright screens of Times Square inspiring and unreal, just like how I felt the first time I saw them. I’m happy she humored my joy in seeing people wear lederhosen at Hofbrauhaus, and found it sweet when she eagerly listened to my excitement upon seeing Olympia Park. I’m glad I made a friend on this plane ride, and know that when our paths cross again, we’ll have plenty more stories to exchange :)