Up Over "Down Under"

The whole fifteen hour flight I waited for that feeling, the excitement, the fresh newness in being in an exotic location.  Enterint eh Virgin Australia airplan was as opulent as ever.  The curved bar with the blue lighting looking like the 70's version of "the Future".  Light attendants, pristine, smiling, charming in their form fitting red dresses.  On every seat a packet of those flight necessities: small pen, ear plugs, eye mask.  A personal entertainment touch screen on the back of the sat in front of you, equipped with new releases and classic movies, music, TV shows, games, ways to chat with other people on the flight.

Fifteen hours on an airplane may be a dreadful prospect for many people, but with all the right amenities I find it to be delightful.  The timing of my flight was perfect, leaving at 10:30 pm from LA, arriving "fifteen hours" later at 9:30 am in Melbourne.  Seemingly just a long night.  I watched a movie, ate dinner (delicious lamb and good wine) then slept until "morning" where I watched another movie, at breakfast (unfortunately not delectable, good thing I still had a bagel) then landed in the land "down under".  Though I enjoyed the flight, even as we landed I never felt that unique thrill of international travel.

Even entering the airport, going through customs, collecting my luggage, and dropping off my luggage wasn't enough to excite my adventurous spirit. True, Australia is not awfully different from the US, with it's English speaking, white, wealthy citizens.  Colorful advertisements plaster the airport walls. But enough is different so that an American would know that they weren't in their homeland.  The toilets are shockingly circular, and the buttons on the water fountains are plastic and blue. Though those things aren't impossible in the US, they are at least not common.  Also, if you want to go down an escalator, you'd better go on the left stair way instead of the typical right, or the journey will be a little difficult.

 Even while noticing all these things, I still didn't have the feeling of being in a foreign land.  That was the key, I realized.  I won't feel like I"m in a foreign land, until I am physically on foreign land.  My flight didn't leave for a few hours, and it turns out that Australian security is much like pre-nine eleven American security, so I had time to go outside and see if I could find some Australian soil to step upon.

Walking outside and taking y first breath of Australian air was all it took.  A goofy smile filled my face. There it was.  The Feeling  The smell was new, the air. The air felt wet.  I set off looking for actual soil, not concrete.  Luckily a sidewalk ran along the ramp leading to the airport, and at the base was a little park.   Trees are trees the world round, but these were new to me, giving me the impression that I had entered a world dreamt up by Dr. Seuss. After photographing a few flowers I headed back to the airport to go on to Brisbane and my waiting parents.  I was satiated.

The flight to Brisbane was not a lovely as the longer flight, I think that knowing the flight is shorter affects my impressions.  Exiting the gate area I got a little nervous feeling.  What if my parents weren't there? How would I find them? I don't have a cell phone!  My fears were soon alleviated, walking toward me was a man who looked like he could be a young and fit Santa and a woman who could be me in not as many years as she is older than I.  They swept me off in their Land Cruiser to the apartment where we are staying and I had my first Tasty Cheese sandwich. Welcome to Australia.