Wednesday, August 5, 2009

I Thought This Airport Had AC?

I have now officially lost not only my luggage but also my sense of time and place. As I sit here (where?) in the airport, I am pretty sure it is morning, but I don’t have a clue what morning. The reason I think it is morning is because we had a bed to sleep in last night and a shower upon waking! Of course, following my shower, I had to get back into the clothes I put on when I left Canada, but it is not so bad. Turn your underwear inside out, hang your shirt under the fan all night and everything is just about like new. Before you start to feel too sorry for me, I have to admit that I do have a change of clothes, but if they can't get my bag to me, I don’t want to use my clean clothes up just yet. It is a bit like the good plywood in a stack in the barn: I don’t want to use the good stuff on this project because what if I need it later?
We spent many hours in the terminal of the Delhi airport yesterday. When we first went inside, I thought that there was air conditioning, but as the day worn on I concluded that there was not. I admit, I was distracted because I got an internet signal and spent most of the day writing and facebooking (looking at pictures of the hail that tore through our yard shortly after I left. That was my fault by the way, I said on the way to the airport how we had not had a good storm yet this year. )
By the time we went to the gate to board the plane, I was sure there was no A/C in the terminal. This airport has you get on a bus that drives you across the tarmac to the plane. As I walked out the door of the airport to board the bus, a wall of superheated air hit me like a truck. I was wrong! The terminal was most definitely air conditioned! Willing myself to breathe, I made it to the bus and onto the plane. As we landed in Kolkata in the dark, the pilot announced that the temperature was 37 degrees. I said to myself, “impossible,” but again I was wrong.

I spent another hour this morning trying to determine if I will ever see my bag again. I must say that everyone I have dealt with has been very professional and pleasant--a comment I cannot make about the service sector in every country in which I have been . As I think back on this experience so far, I think it is the people that stand out so far. Very polite, friendly and courteous, even if the job they have to do seems completely unnecessary!

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

I really hope your bag shows up soon! If it does, how will they get it to you, or will it just be waiting for you when you get back to the airport?

So not jealous about your weather, I'm gasping just thinking about it, ugh!