Hello from Abu Dhabi. It's Sunday morning here, which means it's tomorrow in Australia and the day before yesterday in my ultimate destination. No? That's what it feels like anyway.
Somewhere during the 14 hour flight from Melbourne as I dozed and woke and dozed and woke, I had a Very Important Thought. I know that planes are being designed that can fly further and further without needing to refuel (from Singapore to New York say), but let me tell you, you'd have to be mad to fly nonstop from Australia to Europe. 24 hours in narrow seat, with malodorous neighbours (people! wash before you go on the plane!) and distressed babies around you and not so much as a break to stretch your legs ... madness.
What? You were hoping for something more profound?
Oh, all right. The transit stopover is also a useful opportunity, it seems to me, to pause and reflect. Especially if one is in transit (as HTLT) between one existence and another. It's a time out of time, a place out of place. And with Duty Free thrown into the bargain!
I've learned that in Aboriginal culture, there's a belief that when you travel, your soul takes a little while to catch up with you. Updated to take modern methods of transportation into account, this is used to explain jet lag. So I'll just wait here for my soul to catch up and for Eithne-in-Australia to become Eithne-in-Europe.
Somewhere during the 14 hour flight from Melbourne as I dozed and woke and dozed and woke, I had a Very Important Thought. I know that planes are being designed that can fly further and further without needing to refuel (from Singapore to New York say), but let me tell you, you'd have to be mad to fly nonstop from Australia to Europe. 24 hours in narrow seat, with malodorous neighbours (people! wash before you go on the plane!) and distressed babies around you and not so much as a break to stretch your legs ... madness.
What? You were hoping for something more profound?
Oh, all right. The transit stopover is also a useful opportunity, it seems to me, to pause and reflect. Especially if one is in transit (as HTLT) between one existence and another. It's a time out of time, a place out of place. And with Duty Free thrown into the bargain!
I've learned that in Aboriginal culture, there's a belief that when you travel, your soul takes a little while to catch up with you. Updated to take modern methods of transportation into account, this is used to explain jet lag. So I'll just wait here for my soul to catch up and for Eithne-in-Australia to become Eithne-in-Europe.
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