21D

21D is a tiny seat, scrunched in between many other seats on a 9 hour flight from Amsterdam to Mumbai!! I cannot stretch my legs because the space under the chair in front of me is blocked, I am squished like a sardine in a can between very friendly people, and at this point of the trip, I really wish I could just stretch out a bit and sleep.

Whoever decided that paying $1500 for an air fare to Mumbai should not cover basic needs such as sufficient leg space, obviously does not fly coach or is only 4 feet tall, weighing 80 pounds. Maybe they figured I might as well get used to being cramped for space. Hm.

Oh well. We arrived well in Amsterdam from Minneapolis early this morning and had the chance to walk a little before beginning another 9 hour flight. It was interesting to be in Amsterdam again and hear the language I for years considered my primary language. We had hoped to buy some chocolate (every girl’s emergency item) but decided that we really did not need that mega box for the mega price. Instead, we spent a few Euros on buying 30 minutes of Internet and got to send our families an email. That felt so incredibly good!

As we sat at the Internet café I observed the people walking through the airport. It is still my favorite pass time activity and I noticed how much the wardrobe had change. I could have been in Minneapolis airport, as far as appearances would tell me. Granted, we were in the international terminal at 6:30 am, so many of the people there probably were not Dutch.

After the well needed internet break we returned to our gate to find a long line of people slowly admitted to a separate security area. Hanna and I also enjoyed the extra security stop and were asked questions we never even thought about. “How long have you known each other”. This might seem an easy question when you are fully awake, but early in the morning in a foreign airport after a long flight, this actually is a hard question. “ Ehh…..well, since Dr. Lyons’ Ready-to-Wear Analysis class.” Anyway, the guy was really friendly and we were permitted to go to the metal detectors. There we were both frisked. For all who know me, you are at this point already laughing. While the hands of a total stranger examined just about every part of my body I focused mentally on the greater good and endured the half minute it took.

I have to tell you that at this point fatigue was really hitting hard but as we sat and waited to board the plane it also started hitting us really hard that from here on we would most certainly be the minority on just about every level. We also found out that we had not been seated together. That is how I ended up squished into 21D and Hanna smooshed into 30J.

As I sat there feeling a little sorry for myself I learned that Indians are immensely friendly and helpful. I started talking to a lady next to me, Priya, who explained so many things about the food I was eating, what we should wear and why, places to go and what to watch out for, and so forth. Hanna and I had already noticed the predominant dress codes of the different generations amongst Indians. The older will wear traditional clothing, if needed accessorized with tennis shoes and a crocheted or knitted sweater that not necessarily matches anything else. The younger generations are far more westernized in their appearance and then there is the middle group that has a leg in each culture. They will wear modernized clothing but with clear elements of the traditional Indian wardrobe, such as certain colors, prints or shoes. Yet another lady on plane also gave us plenty insight into Mumbai and how quickly it has become westernized over the past few years. I guess I am about to find out in approximately 3 hours.