By Anna Zhukova
- What do you think about her?
- She’s not that bad. But strange. And seemed sort of unglued.
- I knew you'd like her.
I could not understand what was the most
surprising: this strange dialogue or a swarm of Russian language right above my
ear? That is how even at the international airport in the heart of Europe I was
overtaken by a native culture. Or a lack of culture – depending on which way
you look.
I decided to look around. The watches show ten
to departure, so there were not many of the empty seats around me - one, two
... and there is one more in the third row. Here I see a couple of people,
already ‘guarding’ the gates. Something is preventing me from joining this
‘waiting for boarding’ group. Fear of looking stupid maybe? Hmm ...
Meanwhile, the couple can’t help staring at the
wall clock. I bet I need to get home much more than anyone around! But who am I
in comparison with the staff of the Frankfurt airport. Speaking about the
staff: neither woman, nor guy in a uniform have showed for at least forty
minutes. Seriously, why do we need to hurry up? I catch myself in a thinking
about how irritable I became. This June turned into a great loss of nerves.
Checked the clock - three minutes later I
should be on the board. And what are they thinking about? About 40 people
except me are waiting here! Oh, has something just taken off the ground? Through
the window we can see our luggage’s packing. Excellent. I’m going to watch how
‘carefully’ they fill up my suitcase in the plane’s cargo compartment. "My
God, do you know how much this bike cost!? That is the last time I use your
airlines, botchers! «Hmm, looks like I’m luckier than I thought.
The hands of the clock have probably crossed
the departure time. The atmosphere in the room was more than tense. Someone’s loud
whisper turned to indignation in voice. Someone measured the space in front of the
gate with the nervous steps. Combined with constant phone calls from work, this
led me to the light rage. And about 10 min left we can see a new hero appearing
on the stage - our lost woman in the uniform. Smiling, in perfect English, she
declares that I’ll have to spend another hour and a half in this room.
"WHAT? One and a half? "- I raise my voice. Noticing this, the
stewardess explains the reason for delay very quickly.
And here I am standing next to the saving rack
and do not know how to deliver the information. Meanwhile, dozens of pairs of
eyes are beginning to lose patience. "Girl, what is it? Where are the
stewardess? Put the same thing she’s told you! ". Details of the
"press conference" will not be disclosed. The fact that I
miraculously survived, delighted me much more.
Remaining time for me was a blur. Someone's
children cried while I tried in vain to sleep. Then someone broke a bottle of
rum from the duty free. And the two middle-aged women decided to finish my talk
of facial wrinkles and means of saving them. When finally on board, I realized
that three hours of peace and quiet
awaited me. I do not have neighbors, three aircraft seats miraculously
transformed into a sofa, and the window - just a fairy tale (in Frankfurt late
at night!). And no one else claims the next three hours of happiness. Thank
you, Lufthanza. Finally, I can have a good time.
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