My apologies for the delay in posting this update of the life and times of some English teacher in China, but when I last tried to put up a post, I realized I had completely forgotten my password! I recall back in the day when we were told to never write down or mention our password to anybody, not even family members. Well, those days seem rosy enough as we only had maaaaaybe one or two accounts to keep track of.
Nowadays, however, we’ve got lots more! Blog, email (still!), any number of social media accounts, bank accounts, PIN numbers, secret answers, admin and even cell phone passwords! I don’t think any generation has ever had to remember this much information before. I know that some browsers remember passwords and answers (which can be a great thing but is also a huge security hazard), but Lord forbid that the cache gets cleared or the cookies deleted! Then, if you don’t remember the password (to say nothing of the username), then you need to press that little “Forgot Password?” link only to find out that you’ve forgotten which email account you used for that website and its password!
And so that’s my excuse for not posting earlier.
Anyway, I’m back in Canada after what was one of my most botched attempts to book a last minute flight ever. Not only did I leave booking my flight to the last minute (which led to a rather hefty ticket price; hint: don’t fly last minute out of Beijing. It’s expensive!), I completely under-estimated how long it would take me to get to T3 of the Beijing International Airport. I thought I had enough time but, as I lined up at the baggage check, I asked one guy where he was headed and he said Seattle.
Strange, I thought. “Toronto” is still on the monitors. And about a minute later they shut off the monitors.
I never really feel dread about missing flights any more mostly because I think it’s all a part of the comedy of my international travel. This one would go, “Hey, remember that time when you tried to book a last minute flight from Beijing AND THEN MISSED THE PLANE! BAHAHAHAHA! WHO DOES THAT?!” Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I look for these things to happen but I know there are always other flights.
Gently excusing myself to the front of the line, I enquired if the Toronto flight option was still available. The attendants looked at me with that gentle “WTF?” look they give to white, bearded people who are late to their baggage check.
The man responded in perfect textbook English, “Toronto? Wait a minute please.”
A phone call ensued. Chinese. Looks at me. The lady beside him takes a photo of me. I look at the clock and say, “It’s only 1.20. Plenty of time.”
They weren’t so sure.
“You don’t have time. You need to run,” the male attendant informed me as he took my passport and began punching digits on the keyboard.
He checked me in as fast as he could, waited for my baggage to clear the baggage security screen, before handing me off to a female attendant who ran with me to the front of the line of customs. And that customs guy wasn’t too cheery to deal with a late foreigner, especially one who hadn’t filled in his departure card! Oops, another delay.
Through customs we go and this is where I began to think that Beijing airport has greatly increased its security. I had to take out ALL of my nicely packed electronics from my backpack and then was thoroughly patted down by a female security officer. I don’t blame them. A foreigner with a beard (always a flag) could be up to no good, so I give my kudos to the Chinese for being thorough in their search.
And then came the run across the airport to the appropriate gate at which there was still half a line up of people waiting to get onto the plane. See? Plenty of time! 😀
So that had me in a pool of sweat by the time I got onto the plane and comfortably ensconced in my middle-of-the-plane seat.
Oh, did I mention, the plane still had to wait 20 minutes to take off?
I flew with Hainan airlines and, though I give them credit for the late check in, I can’t give them much credit for the food they served. I chose the fried noodles option (because, really, how bad can you fuck up fried noodles) and was pleasantly surprised. The food was palatable, though mostly because of a lack of options. It was at this point two things crossed my mind:
- Who is in charge of ensuring that each and every food package has just enough? I mean, I get the impression that if a guy dropped an extra olive slice into a salad he’d smile proudly and say to himself, “This guy’ll have a good flight!”
- Given the cost of a last minute flight maybe, just maybe, if I booked my ticket far enough in advance, I could fly business class instead and get proper treatment, instead of the cattle car treatment. (Taking a quick look at prices, I don’t think that’ll work.)
Two mediocre movies and an uncomfortable nap later, we arrived in Toronto (which added one more hour onto my itinerary than had I gone through Vancouver). Although I was hungry, the amount of time it took to get all the requisite things done (baggage claim, recheck, security, and, worst of all, getting to Gate B2C from the other side of the airport) took just long enough that I had to run the last 150 metres and, of all things, for the first time ever MY NAME WAS CALLED OVER THE LOUDSPEAKERS! I am officially one of “those guys” delaying the plane!
😀
As I ran that last 100 or so metres, I heard one guy say to his girlfriend, “That must be Steve.”
Yes. Yes, it was.
Luckily my entrance to the plane was eased and I settled into a conversation with one lady who was going to Folk Fest and had actually worked in China years before. So that took off some of the attention of my lateness.
And so I’m back in Canada for the next few weeks, hitting the old haunts and meeting up with friends and family. I asked my nieces if they missed me while I was in China and all of the responded “No,” … but I think the youngest was just repeating what her older sisters were saying. Thanks for the love, girls!