People-watching at The Airport, Sunday Morning

I never knew people-watching at the airport could be so amusing, especially in the pick-up area. You know, observing people and their interactions while we guessing their story from distance.

I woke up early, and had a very nice drive to the airport, a very peaceful one because it was Sunday morning and the highway was clear and quiet. The sky was a bit gloomy -just the way I like it, Fourplay was on the radio, and I was picking up a best friend whom I hadn't see for a while because we live in different cities. 

While waiting for my friend, I chose to stand facing the arrival door, where newly-arrived flight passengers were coming out and greeted anyone who was picking them up, whether it was family, colleague or long-time friends. The events probably seem normal from a regular ignorant eye, I mean, it was an airport, where reunions and good-byes happen every time and scattered along the terminals. But, take a look. 

Take a slow deep breath and look them with your curious heart. There's a hidden story in every 'hello' in this place. That tall European guy, he was greeted by a group of locals who was probably his long-time friends rather than his tour-guide, because they seem so friendly. That woman who just came out, she hugged her child on arrival door, because who knows maybe she just got from a long trip and missed her child so much. Or that young man, hugging his cheerful friends, he probably cannot wait to explore the city for the first time. That was just surprisingly heartwarming, I wonder myself why I never did that before. If you put down your smartphone (that Pokemon is going nowhere), and look at your surrounding, you can capture a lot of frank happiness, spread along between those arrival doors and parking lot. 

There is this genius concept of reality show in Canada, called 'Hello Goodbye'. They interview random people on arrival bay on Canada's busiest airport, who happened to have interesting story about the person they were picking up. The single father with his daughter who was waiting for his girlfriend, with surprise engagement ring. The Pakistani wife who was waiting for her husband that she met on arranged married, and still managed to say "My heart is pounding," for waiting for his arrival. And then there was my favourite, a guy in his fifties, meeting her long-lost sister for the first time. They never met before, but when she finally showed up, they hug like old families, all tearing up and he even brought her a plush doll to welcome her. To be honest, the show was sentimentally touching, even for me, the reality show skeptic who thinks that Animal Planet was the only non-orchestrated reality channel nowadays.

But, look, ordinary happiness was all around, they come in other people's stories but they are contagious as well. In airports, you can catch happiness in different forms. The joy of landed safely, the happiness to see the family again, the excitement of travelling to the new places. This is why I always enjoy airport vibes. 

So when my best friend finally showed up, there was my arrival story. We were both starving so we grabbed a breakfast on IKEA and stuffed ourselves with Swedish meatballs.