Tuesday 18 December 2012

Airport Alone

 this was written yesterday next to the A gates of Malpensa Airport, but I couldn't publish it right away because wifi wasn't for free! ghhnhnh...those damn italians...


I shouldn't be allowed in airports alone.
I always mess it up. And now poor Elena has to pick up my suitcase from the airport because turns out I couldn't take it with me.
Filling the papers to leave my luggage there for her, I had this wonderfull conversation with the man at the counter:

-so.. Elena what?
-oh... I don't know her surname..

-well, I don't know it either.
(This made me kind of confused. It was 7 am and that's too early for me to understand sarcasm.)
-I can give you the name of the association she works for. Its LGL, the Lithuanian Gay League.
-Oh, it's a sports league!
-...not exactly..-
I mumble while he writes "sports" after Elena's name.

ahahahah

Anyway, this will not be a post about my luggage frustrations, and how I had to change airports in Milan, and couldn't bring anything home like it was my plan.. i'm such an idiot! gah! ok! let's not think of that!
Let's talk about the weather..

It got pretty cold in Vilnius this last weeks and I started obcessing a little about it.
During a week I dreamt EVERY NIGHT about buying wool socks. It didn't stop until I had time to go to Maxima and get myself some of this snowflake beauties:


(this was a photo added later to the post. I didn't really photograph my socks in the airport. 
I could have, though, I was sitting alone next to the gates for about 3 hours. No one there. I could have danced naked around the chairs and no one would have seen it. And maybe I did.)

Lithuanians have a weird pride in their cold weather. I think it makes them feel very tough.
I've been asked by everyone I meet if I think it's cold. And EVERYTIME I SAY YES, they are delighted to answer, in a paternalistic tone, that oooh but it's not THAT cold yet, just you wait until it's february and it reaches -30º.
 I've been hearing this so much, I had to come up with some comebacks.  I'll share them with you:

 #1 Spreading some southern smugness in their faces

"But you see, I'm from the south. I'm just not used to it. As you can imagine my people are now in the beach drinking pina-coladas and soaking in the sun." (Not true at all, my mum is now probably wrapped up in a blanket roasting chestnuts by the fire, but it seems that pointing out that  I'm from a magic land of sun and exotic fruits kind of wins the converstion and everyone is secretly jealous.)

rank of effectiveness: **
Usefull but doesnt work with everyone. Some people know that Portugal is not a tropical paradise.



#2 The bony body excuse

When I explain people that I'm very skinny, and say "I feel the cold more because I don't have as much fat in my body- point to the person I'm talking too- as other people have" - This is partly true, but also a delicate argument since not everyone is ok with being called fat.
rank of effectiveness:***
Doesn't work on equally skinny people.

and, for last, the most extreme one:



#3 The Leonardo DiCaprio

Never admit I'm cold. I may be frosted and holding to a chunk of floating ice while Titanic is going down. But I wont give it away!! I may even say I'm kind of sweaty.



rank of effectiveness:****




Regardless of the cold to come I still have two weeks for Christmas holidays in Porto and will only worry about it later. And it's only 1 hour and half for my flight to depart! ah! I'm so excited to go home!!

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