Pre-flight

August 2, 2008
12:30pm EST
Seat 59C, AC Flight 0001
Pearson Airport Tarmac, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

This is already weird.

My flight is Air Canada Flight 0001. That freaks me out.

All the announcements on the plane are in English, French, and Japanese. That freaks me out.

On this flight, we get 3 complimentary meals. That freaks me out.

The person sitting in front of me stowed several large 10kg bags in the overhead compartment, and I’m in the aisle seat, so if they fall, they’ll hit me. That freaks me out. And I’ll be really fucking disappointed if I go to halfway around the world, and someone’s fucking carry-on kills me. At least Japanese encephalitis…

The plane is full of Asians and Canadian students. The students are going for yearlong university exchanges in Tokyo and Singapore. In the 45-minute long line to check baggage, I was chatting with one of them. She looked at my giant suitcase and incredibly full backpack, and commented, “THAT’S ALL YOU’RE BRINGING?!” That freaks me out.

There’s about 20 of these students, all sitting in a big group near me. They keep talking about how it hasn’t sunk in yet that they’re leaving Canada. But they’re talking faster than anyone I’ve ever heard, in the highest-pitched voices I’ve ever heard. I remain pretty calm, cool, and collected. And that freaks me out too.

“In preparation for takeoff, please store all carry-on baggage under the seats or in the overhead bins. Please turn off all electronic devices until the captain has extinguished the seatbelt sign…”