heaven, hell and in between

Airports are weird places. And they are all completely different - even if they are in the same city. Take for example Washington Dulles and Washington Reagan - they are 2 totally different vibes. As for New York, I can't really say. I've flown through both LaGuardia and the more remote Newark (which yeah, I know is in New Jersey, but its all the same metropolis), but I don't know these airports at all. As far as JFK is concerned - its hard to even call it one airport considering there are 9, count them - nine terminals. I can't really say I know all of JFK airport, but i can tell you all about terminals 2, 3 & 4. Just so I can get it down, the first two are totally rubbish. Terminal 4 is set up totally different and Delta has nothing to do with it, so it is marginally better. However, I guess I can allow for the fact that if I was stuck in Terminal 4 for 2 days, I might think of it in terms of Terminal 2. As it was, I spent 5 hours in Terminal 4 yesterday and it was enough.

Thinking back, I've been in a lot of different airports, though I am not sure I could actually list them all. And i would certainly try if I didn't think I would lose the tiny readership that I have in the attempt to do so. Basically though, I have begun to equate airports with pregnancy. Think about it. You find out your are travelling and you are excited or apprehensive or whatever, but in any case, you begin to accept your fate. At the airport you find yourself weighted down by all kids of extra baggage, totally within your own world, waiting, while you place your life in the hands of others. Its just like being pregnant. And its dreadful. Temperature controls are off, people smell weird, and if you are like me - taking flights with ridiculous lay-overs in random places - then you are uncomfortable for too long, forced to sleep sitting up and constantly checking to see if the time is now or not yet. Its just like being pregnant. And more, when it is over, I will only remember that I didn't like it while forgetting many of the reasons I didn't like it. (And just so you know, I heard a baby crying just as I tried to make the broad leap to delivery...)

As I sit here writing this, I am in the middle of a ridiculously long 8-hour lay-over in Dubai, but believe it or not, there are free internet terminals here, which means I can even hike over there and type this all up after I finish my beer. Its a totally different airport, probably because I don't have a history of hanging out in Arab countries and no matter how international they make it, this is predominantly populated by Arabs. That's not bad, just different. I wonder what Joburg's airport felt like the first time around. I'm sure it felt like being in Africa - also not a place I was ever know for hanging out in.

The fact that I have been in 6 airports since I left - some twice, some for 2 days (ahem) makes me think I may be some sort of authority on the subject. But, kind of like being pregnant, I don't know any more than anyone else who has been through it before. Every experience is unique. So just nod your head and smile as you would do if you were talking to some pregnant woman. And be thankful if you never had to sped 2 days at JFK or 8 hours in any other airport... Cause airports are weird places and its probably good that they separate out arrivals, departures and transiting passengers - cause heaven, hell and purgatory are a lot to deal with all at once. As for me, I think I am waiting for the words "final destination", cause whether its Cleveland or Joburg - the arrivals hall is the best place to be...