No one wants to spend their time airport hopping, spending between 6 and 12 hours on planes, and eating plane and airport food for two days. You have to find ways to boost your spirits!
I was especially frustrated in LAX, where I discovered that Korean Air refused to check my bags until 4 hours before my flight...which was tricky considering I had a 13 hour layover.
With plans to visit the Getty Center in L.A., this definitely put a cramp in my style, but I went anyway. I took a shuttle to the bus, then bus 3, then bus 761, then the tram and finally 2 elevators left me at the coat check at Getty Center where I happily left my bags for the day while I wandered about looking at art displays, sleeping in the garden, and eating at the fabulously posh restaurant...all by myself. I took the taxi back to the airport because the $50 was well worth the exchange of a 2 hour bus commute for a 20 minute taxi ride.
Korean Air really has their class system figured out. You can be Economy, where they are suspicious that you are a sentient life form and treat you accordingly, Prestige where you get treated like royalty, or First Class where you're basically a minor deity. Guess where I was. Didn't sleep much.
As I traveled, and fought the feeling that my body was my worst enemy, I committed to noting every time someone was kind to me. It was amazing how frequently it happened. Then when I got physically uncomfortable or emotionally drained, I focused my thoughts and prayers on those individuals, hoping good things for them. It is amazing to me how many varieties good people come in. All ages, genders, and colors helped me on my journey across the ocean. Here is the list I made after day one of random strangers showing me kindness:
Lady at the airport cafe who filled my huge water bottle even though I didn't buy anything.
Baggage claim attendant that helped me find my way around LAX and gave me a free Smarte Carte because I had 3 bags.
Bernard on the phone at Getty, sympathising with my baggage predicament, and enthusiastic to help however he could.
My bus driver, who saw my wrist splints and immediately hopped off the bus to help me load my bags.
Randy and Shawn, two young dentists, that saw me struggling at Getty Center and helped me get the bags all the way to coat check.
Rose, at coat check, who treated me like she was a mother hen looking after a little chick. Her gut told her I should take the taxi. I told her I had learned to trust a woman's gut instinct.
Myoung at check in for Korean Air, who made sure he had all my preferences taken care of (even though he could not give me an aisle seat).
So, while I contemplate the size of my ankles, which may never fit into a pair of heels again, I take comfort in the thought of good people in the world, and hope that they all have happy journeys to wherever they go.
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