Chapter 2
The Flight Over
I arrived in Los Angeles International Airport and sat around at the United Airlines gate for about an hour, waiting for my connecting flight to Sydney, supposedly the longest commercial flight in the world. I didn't quite know how to prepare for such a long flight. Am I supposed to nap before it? How will I adjust to the time zone changes? How much reading material do I need? Will I get sick of reading? How long will my laptop last before the battery conks out?
While waiting at the gate, I spotted Claire Danes prancing around in a red sweatshirt. I couldn't believe it. I looked around to see if anyone else had seen her, but nobody seemed to know that she was there. Or perhaps they didn't care. It
was LA, and you see celebrities all the time over there. Either way, she was just going about her business, walking around, talking to a couple of people, digging through her bag, carrying stuff. She looked just like a regular person trying to get her shit together for an international flight.
I figured that if I ran up to her or started taking pictures, I might start some kind of scene. Either I would get pounded by her bodyguards (who I didn't see but assumed were there), or I would alert everyone to her presence and be responsible for the ensuing rush for autographs and photos. I decided to play it cool and discreetly snap a photo (without a flash) from across the gate so as not to draw attention to myself. That was my "insurance shot." I was hoping for a closer encounter, perhaps even a conversation. I wanted to ask her if it was really her who I had talked on the phone with in college.
When it was finally time to board, I was delighted to see Claire board my plane. I boarded a few minutes behind her, but when I got on the plane, I didn't see her. I assumed that she was sitting in another, more private section of the plane.
I took my seat in the middle of the plane, at a window seat on the right side. I've always preferred window seats because they allow me to see all the cool stuff going on outside, and when that gets boring, the corner makes a good nook for napping.
The plane wasn't very full, probably only about 30% capacity. On the opposite side of the plane, I saw a girl sitting in a seat by herself. She was cute, and it looked like she was traveling alone. Perhaps she was also doing something crazy for the first time. How great it would be to strike up a conversation with her and maybe have a travel partner in Australia. But we had just taken off, and approaching her now would make me look like a complete loser. So I sat back and took a nap.
I awoke in time for a midnight snack. A short conversation with a flight attendant revealed that Claire was indeed on the plane but inaccessible.
Claire was sitting in business class during the flight. That's on the upper deck (yes this plane had 2 decks), and I wasn't allowed to go up there. I really wanted to ask her if it was really her I talked to, cuz it's been bugging me these last few years. And once I was at it, I wanted to tell her how awesome she was in U-Turn, and what a great job she did with Princess Mononoke (those who haven't seen it yet should). I even asked the stewardess to go up there and ask her for me, but the stewardess returned saying that Claire was mugging down with her boyfriend and that she didn't want to interrupt. It was worth a shot.
Oh well. Hopefully, I could catch up to her after we landed.
They put on a movie and some news programming, had a couple of meals and snacks. I looked at the girl on the other side of the plane and thought about approaching her, but she was listening to music and had her eyes closed. She looked like she was enjoying herself, and I didn't really want to interrupt. So I went to the lavatory to brush my teeth and take out my contacts, returned to my seat, and went to sleep. It's weird being on a plane for so long.
My flight over wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Sure, it was 13 or so hours, but it didn't seem like it. Maybe it was all the adrenaline, maybe it was the 4 naps I took. But before I knew it we were descending through the clouds and over the industrial coastline of south Sydney.
By the time we were ready to land, I was getting a bit nervous. The land I saw below me made Australia a real place. It was no longer just part of a movie or funny-shaped island on a map. It was a real place where planes land and crazy people go on adventures.
The plane touched down, and we all got up to collect ourselves. People rushed to the front, and I lost track of that girl on the other side of the plane. I had 15 hours to approach her, but once again I was too shy to do anything. I let her get away, and I felt horrible. After a moment of fleeting regret, I decided that I would change myself. I would never hesitate to approach someone again. I would be bold. I would do all the things I was always too scared to do. I would use this trip to change a lot of things about myself.
I walked off the plane not knowing what to expect. Strange smells? Strange colors? People looking at me funny, curious about the new visitor? People cheering and celebrating my arrival? I was expecting an Alice in Wonderland type of thing. But looking around, it seemed like a regular airport. Nothing different except for a few strange-looking logos and advertisements. I followed the crowd to baggage claim, hoping to catch up with Claire. I jogged ahead, figuring she was one of the first off the plane and that she wouldn't hang around for long after collecting her bags.
Standing there with my backpack, I spotted Claire on the other side of the noisy carousel. She was standing there in sweatpants and a gray parka with a furry hood that covered most of her face. Nobody else seemed to recognize her.
I remembered the decision I made on the plane. With confidence I never had before, I walked towards her. She seemed a bit skittish as I came closer. Somehow, she knew I was there without actually looking at me. So I kept a few feet away, introducing myself and telling her my story as she collected her things and started walking. In hurried speech, she said she doesn't chat on the Internet and that the person I was talking to must have been somebody else. Mystery solved. I thanked her for answering my question and let her walk away. Two young Asian girls covered their mouths and giggled to each other as she walked by. They asked me if it was really her and I nodded.
I collected my bags, slipped through customs, and took a look around. I had the rest of the day to figure out where I was and where I was going to sleep that night. My adventure had begun. My encounter with Claire convinced me that I was already a different person, and I had this whole trip ahead of me to prove it. It was exhilarating.
The first thing I would need is money. I approached an ATM and prayed that my card from home would work. It did! Funny-looking coins rolled out of the machine and I stuffed them into my pocket. I found a kiosk lined with colorful brochures and tried to find a good place to go, but it was no help. I pulled out my Let's Go, flipped through it for the first time, and discovered that King's Cross was a popular destination for backpackers. Good enough for me.
I walked outside and spotted a small bus in front of me, with King's Cross listed as one of its stops. I approached a skinny black guy in uniform, presumably the bus driver, and asked him how much a ticket would cost. I hadn't heard the Australian accent yet, and I as really anxious to hear it in real life for the first time. He answered my questions in very plain English and welcomed me onto the bus.
The airport was nothing special. I was ready to see what the rest of Australia was all about.
