My eyes were very heavy, yet I could not sleep. The back of the aircraft was sparsely occupied, so I decided to move to seat 21E (a window seat) on the same side of the aircraft. I looked across the aisle and out the window. I noticed the first hints of daylight on the horizon behind the aircraft. As I turned my head to focus my gaze out of the window next to me, I noticed a few city lights below. My journey was already well underway as many upstate New York residents still slept.
As the sun continued to rise, I noticed the snow cover blanketing the frozen ground. There was Rochester. I see Buffalo. That must be Lake Erie, and that must be southern Ontario. I tried to pick out as many landmarks as possible to estimate the distance I had yet to travel. As I did so, I began to feel the aircraft descending through the broken clouds. Everything possessed a dull shade of grey. The engines began to vibrate as aircraft slowed and the pilots prepared to land.
I focused on the ground below as we flew over the snow-covered farm fields of southern Ontario and a frozen Lake Saint Clair (Lac Sainte-Claire). There is Downtown Detroit. The neighborhoods below looked so quiet and sleepy. Now and then, a car could be seen pulling out of a driveway. Interstate-94 was already jammed with rush hour traffic as the aircraft lined up with runway 21L in preparation to land. I noticed another aircraft lining up for a parallel runway, and both aircraft touched down at approximately the same time.
We pulled up to the gate around 7:15am, and as I deplaned, I remembered that I had a five hour layover. I walked through the waiting area and into the main part of the terminal, turning my head both left and right to peer down the seemingly endless terminal corridor. I remembered reading that Detroit's main terminal was the second-longest on the planet. The longest? The terminal at Kansai International Airport, my final destination. What a coincidence.
I found a McDonald's and decided to have breakfast. It had been years since I had a meal at a McDonald's restaurant. The young woman at the ticket counter - she was African American with a beautiful, calming smile and soothing voice - asked me where I was going. I told her that I was going to Japan, and that I'd be studying there for four months. Her reaction made me believe that she was more excited than I was. It was great to share such a moment of excitement with a total stranger, and I felt it was a shame to bid her farewell as I gathered my food and walked out of the restaurant.
I walked across the corridor and sat by a window that overlooked the main aircraft ramp. I was sitting in the middle of the terminal with a great view of all the aircraft activity. There were so many jet aircraft - large and small - with red tails and winglets, and the logo "NWA" painted in big black letters on both sides of each silver fuselage. I sat and watched the aircraft come and go, and wondered about the destination of each traveler. It was a great moment to observe and appreciate the planet on which we live.
I checked the flight information on a nearby monitor. My flight to Kansai International Airport was on time, and was to leave around 12:30pm. My watch told me it was shortly after 9:00am. I decided to walk the length of the terminal, which was over a mile long. At its far end, I stopped and sat down in a waiting area with black leather seats that were slightly better upholstered. I pulled out my lap top - the one on which I am writing this post - and began checking my emails. I emailed a few friends who were back in Albany and noticed that I had an email from a speaking partner to which I had been assigned. Her name was Sayuri - Lily in Japanese. What a beautiful name. Her email was warm and inviting.
After spending some time writing emails, I noticed that I still had two hours before I was to board my flight to 大阪 (Osaka). I looked up and to my left, and noticed a red train with a logo that read "NWA" in small white letters. I watched it travel from one end of the terminal to the other, and decided that I wanted to take a ride. It was approaching its terminus as I finished climbing the stairs. I stepped on the train with several business travelers as the wide doors swung open. I remember a young woman with short, highlighted hair and glasses with thin black frames. She was wearing a business suit and holding a suitcase in her right hand. She stepped off the train two stops before me and disappeared into an elevator. I thought about where she was going and realized that I'd likely never see her again. I appreciated this thought, for it was random chance that allowed us to briefly cross paths.
As the train reached its other terminus, I stepped off and into a glass elevator. I was the only one in the elevator as the doors closed. I took a moment to notice my surroundings. Domestic and foreign travelers, some traveling solo and others toting children, were moving at different paces, trying to locate the gates at which to board their next flights. I followed suit and found mine. My flight was parked at a gate adjacent to a flight bound for Nagoya. I gazed at the large Boeing 747-400 on the opposite side of the window. I found it humbling that the next fourteen hours of my life would be spent on this aircraft.
The gate agent began calling each zone for boarding. I grabbed my ticket and waited in line. I now seem to remember that this flight was registered as Northwest Airlines flight 69. As my zone was called for boarding, I walked through the gate and down the long jet bridge, following a sea of other passengers. I entered the aircraft through a door forward of the port (left) wing and walked toward the back of the aircraft to find my seat. I was assigned seat 54G, which was located on the inside of the right aisle of the aircraft. Fortunately, the seat to my left remained unoccupied, allowing for extra leg room.
I met two young Japanese women who were sitting in seats 54D and 54E. They were from 神戸 (Kobe), and were returning from a vacation in New York City. Across the aisle to my right, a man sat down next to the window. I recognized him; he had been on the flight from Albany. I turned to my carry-on luggage and reached for my phone. I texted my friends and wished them luck with the new semester - it was the last time they would receive a text message from me for four months.
I turned off my phone and stored it in my luggage as the cabin doors closed and the flight crew prepared for departure. Northwest Airlines flight 69 pushed back from the gate, ahead of its sister flight to Nagoya, shortly after 12:30pm on Friday, 23 January 2009. It began taxiing a few minutes later as a flight attend informed all passengers that our flight was to continue on to Taipei following our arrival in Osaka. Nearly ten minutes after push back, we met the runway 22L threshold. I looked out the window to my right and noticed an unusual paint scheme on a large aircraft parked at the North Terminal. I tried to catch a glimpse of its titles. After a few seconds, I was able to read the name of the airline - Royal Jordanian.
I continued to stare out the window to my right as Northwest Airlines flight 69 turned onto runway 22L and, with its engines roaring, accelerated down the runway. I watched as the scenery flashed by at an unusual angle only attributed to the g-forces associated with such a rapid acceleration. With a thump of the main landing gear and rattling of the airframe, the aircraft became airborne and gracefully climbed skyward. It banked gently to the right as it flew away from the airfield. I looked down and saw a snow-covered ground. I looked up and saw a beautiful, blue sky with widely scattered clouds. The sight was liberating in every sense of the word.
Goodbye USA. Hello Japan.
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