How not to become one of childish behavior at an airport?

Story from Friday, March 9, 2012 – Spring Break to NYC

11:20 at Chicago Time…

I am going to share my travel experiences about what appropriate/inappropriate behaviors in various locations. I chose an airport – Chicago O’hare International Airport as a role model to demonstrate the hidden curriculum at the airport. My experience was about air travel, and someone was doing the much-childish behaviors in the airport upon at my flight departure. The story about these behaviors make them awkward, even I always had boring layovers. One thing was these actions were age inappropriate that makes us uncomfortable. I was thinking myself, “Whoa! They were little kids, not grown-ups.” The actions were like they were immature enough to deal with it. “These passengers’ behavior was wild animals.”

One cold day, a windy in Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the airport was cold as the freezer. I just got off the plane from San Francisco for one night, and I had to rush to the flight status.

“I’m chilling!” One passenger from my same flight said to airline agency.

“How cold in Chicago?”

“It’s 31 degrees Fahrenheit.” The airport agent said.

“It’s freezing outside.”

At the flight status, I saw my flight wasn’t departing until 14:55 (2:55 pm).

Heading to the departure lounge, one evil man started to ask me some personal information.

While I briskly walked to the next flight gate, a man tried to ask some personal information I don’t want to respond.

“Excuse me!” He asked me for something. “Is that your beautiful luggage you paint it? Who helped you to paint your lovely luggage? Is your father is in Chicago? Are you going to a funeral or what? How old are you?”

I succinctly changed the direction whom I am going to the departure lounge and said, “Sorry! It’s none of your business.” Then I kept walking as fast as a Canadian Geese.

“Yeah, whatever you want to…” he shouted back, and I walked away from him.

Darting, I was rushed into snack area to buy some lunch. I thought to myself,  “Which is healthy for me?”

I tried to look at the food label and the ingredient to make sure it’s salubrious for me since I don’t have any food left in my bag. I ate something earlier.

I did not say anything honestly. “Hmm, I rather chose nuts instead but it contains ‘high fructose corn syrup.'” Putting a bag of snack back, I didn’t pick any more of the meals. I was apprehensive about the situation and walked to the departure lounge.

Since I was walking to the departure gate, I realized that the plane was there and was excited (sorry about the aircraft was taken out of service for inspection).

When I arrived at the gate departure to Newark, I was thinking how to deal with unsuspecting behavior because someone was acting like a childish. I started to think about the hidden curriculum at the airport; I heard two girls will be on my same flight was talking about some personal information. I thought to myself, “Excuse me, don’t talk about personal information” but I didn’t tell them undeviatingly.

Just then my father called me. I answered him, saying I was at the airport to catch on another flight. I talked to my dad on the phone about his day at work.

When I was on the phone, I walked with my luggage and my backpack to isolated places (no one will hear my personal conversation).

I hang up the phone and thought about repurchasing snacks. I always took all my personal belongings with me to the gift outlet because no one was watching my bags and was travel alone.

Unattended belongings are subject to search and may damage/destroy their personal properties. Better to secure your personal belongings.

At the gift outlet, I saw the variety of snack choices.

“Wait a minute; I didn’t tell me to buy just junk food. I have to eat something healthy.”

Eating healthy and staying fit are the two critical part for traveling: by air, by car, or any modes of transportation. It is imperative to take care of your body and mind since mental illness are frequent when you are traveling. Be careful of your cognitive thinking and travel mentally and physically.

I thought in my brain. I grabbed a bag of nuts and a bottle of orange juice. Then I saw a bag of fat-free potato chips for 4.99. I gave it a try after I purchased them.

“Hey!” I greeted at the cashier.

“How are you doing today?”

“Well, I’m fine; snacking for much.”

“11.67.”

“I love fat-free potato chips and a healthy granola bar.”

Digging into my money from my pocket, I founded my cash. I don’t take my expensive grey wallet out. 

No matter if you are on tight budget, do not skip meals. If you don’t have snacks/food with you, buy cheaper snacks or meals to stay nourished. You don’t have to buy overpriced meals to eat healthily. You will need to eat healthy sized lunch and stay healthy.

Back in the departure lounge, there were 8-10 more passengers, waiting for the departure to Newark.

It was not a typical day at the airport, and unsuspecting behavior just began.

Then I saw two girls and a mother with the young lady were sitting down to wait for the plane to be parked at the gate. So, what was wrong with passengers who had been drinking and acting up in an airport?

Eating granola bars, I saw a drunken passenger lie on the row of seats. Sleeping for five minutes, he began to deep sleep. He took three seats as flight agent told him. “You, sit up! You can’t take too much space.”

“I’m too tired.” He mumbled. “Leave me alone.”

“WAKE UP! OTHER PEOPLE WILL HAVE A SEAT.” An airport agency told him.

“Come on, young man. You better sit up so other passengers can have a seat.” Another airport agencies told him.

He slowly got up and walked like an old disabled people. He then fell on the floor.

“Somebody has to call security.” One passenger screamed.

A few minutes later, I started to read my journal what I wrote about travel hidden curriculum. 

Something strange about them around where my flight departure lounge; I saw another drunk passenger was walking so slow he couldn’t walk 5 feet, not even for one minute. He walked like he was suffering pneumonia.

“Come on, hurry!” A 13-year old girl was traveling to NYC herself said in front of him as she walked around the crowds. After she had told him, I saw another drunk passenger fell on the floor. While I tried to finish up my lunch, I saw they were vomiting on the floor. I was totally grossed out; I stopped eating and closed my journal. It was tough to focus when this happens. Since I had plenty of time, I need to get up and walk to the gift outlet (getting exercise and stretch my body before my flight).

I did not say anything and walked away to a safer location, and about 20 minutes later (buying snacks again), I was back to departure lounge again for journaling.

“Someone has to clean it all up.” One agent shouted.

“Ill!” Women and a little girl said to themselves.

“Please stay back, they’re drunk!” Airport agents urged them to stay away from unsuspecting behavior around here.

“Gross,” said a little 5-year old girl as her mother told her to come back.

“Mandy, can you come back here,” her mother told her.

Drunk passengers shouldn’t be on the plane to the destinations regardless if they are on either domestic or international flight. They will kick off the flight for suspicious behavior. It is best not to drink alcohol before flights as you will get both dehydrated and aggression. 

I wondered if today is my unusual day at the airport and thought about airport tips through my head. A group of wayward boys ran around while I was paying for another snacks. Then they started to make shouting noises like horses. Upon exiting from the outlet, one very hyper passenger almost knocked me on the floor, and I was shocked that I nearly drop my backpack. I was worried about my laptop. It was delicate.

“Hey.” Another person approached me and said. “You better watch you are going.” Then I quickly walked back to where I was.

Back here, I saw two passengers arrested because they were over the limit. One of BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) was 0.09% and 0.12%.

Again, they fell down on the floor.

“GET UP AND SIT ON the ground.” He told them as he was in the grave mood.

I was sitting one of the departure lounges and turned on the old Toshiba Laptop (2009) and waited.

The airport agency had denied them to board the plane. While I turned on my laptop computer, my laptop computer still working by turning on the Wi-Fi.

Five minutes later, I was surprised that I also bought a charger (packed in a red decorated backpack).

“Yeah, my computer is working again.” I connected to the airport Wi-Fi to get on the internet. Now, it worked as a normal condition.

Since I wasn’t on the internet, I quickly shut down on the computer and saw drunken passengers were sitting on the floor. An airport officer was questioning about the incidents.

I was about to write another airport curriculum about “How not to become one of childish behavior at an airport?” I can’t concentrate on my travel work if something was distracting me.

Then I took off for another walk (to stretch my legs) and returned to the gate approximately 25 minutes later.

While someone was cleaning up all of the mess, they were questioning about the consequences based on drinking.

“Well, I…I…I… had; I… had, um… five dri…I…I… ink… drink.” He stuttered “I… don’t know; I… guess um. Fry… fry…fry, um…r-i-n-g.” he paused like he didn’t speak openly.

They were not able to make ethical judgments once airport securities told them about the incidents. They said drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and having quantity illegal is unlawful in the community.

Although they will be on my same flight, two of them will not be flying to NYC (Newark). I heard them shouting like a lion. Now only five passengers were on standby for the flight.

While more and more TSA workers arrived, they cursed under the breath at one of TSA employee. They were discussing the behavior they did, but they failed, to tell the truth.

They permanently removed them from the airport and shouted like an aggressive child.

“You booboo! Kiss me on the cheek and…” They then spat at the officers.

“Come on, let’s go!” another officer told them. “You’re going to the custody.”

Another security saw them running. “Can you please slow down and lower your voices.” The security guard told them as he was on duty.

They kept making the same noises again and again until the passengers thought from the brains. “What the heck they’re doing? Well, they were acting up in the airport.” A fellow passenger asked me about their behavior, “Is it appropriate to act like adults?”

I wrote on a piece of paper instead of typing on the laptop, “Oh sorry! That behavior was not aged appropriately. Instead, they were acting like preschoolers.” I mused to myself. “Little kids do, but we don’t; as a result, behaviors do change as we are getting older. I felt a little embarrassed about the way he was asking about the behavior.”

While I was waiting for the plane arrived at the gate, I saw the bunch of airport securities was gone, and passengers were walking in the boarding bridge and to the airport.

About an hour before leaving Chicago, I played on my phone as another two unruly passengers were lying down again on the floor. An airport agent told them to behave like a grown-up.

That’s not a grown-up behavior!

“Yo, grow up! If you don’t behave, you will not fly.”

“Shut up!”

“Hey, get up, or you’ll not be flying.”

Passengers, your parents are not there to watching you; you are on your own, and you will expect to behave like a grown-up.

By the time I was back in the departure lounge, I had seen more and more passengers were waiting. We waited until an airline agent call us it’s time to board the plane. I heard a female passenger who was talking on the phone way too loud. I got peculiar thought because I was not at the park. I heard she shouted like she was in pain day.

10 minutes before we board the plane, the [drunken passengers] removed from the flight to NYC and talked about the unexpected behavior associated with age.

After the critical conflicts in the airport, there were nine passengers were on standby, and new passengers came by to check in with flight agency.

Since only nine didn’t check in for my flight, I saw passengers were boarding with younger children and disabled passengers and then the first and business class.

Upon it was time to board, I took out my boarding pass so I can get on the plane. As long as the airport were no conflicts, courteous passengers got up and waited for a boarding pass to be scan. Now, they were behaving where I was left on the plane. After I had exited from the airport, I felt like I want to take a seat, but there were full of passengers waiting to board the plane.

“I’m cold. I need to put on a jacket back on” while I was walking through the jet bridge.

While I was waiting to be seated, I saw the bunch of passengers was slowly lifted up the carry-on into the compartments above the seats.

“Come on! I have a seat in 28F. HURRY UP.” I thought, but I didn’t say out loud.

“Excuse me my dear; you’re in the wrong seat so get up and…’ One passenger said to him.

Everyone laughed but me; I didn’t laugh, and I was so serious about talking like this to the stranger. I thought “Excuse me my dear” was not an acceptable response to the stranger. I meant I didn’t talk to the stranger and I felt like saying “Excuse me.”

When I was on the plane, I was writing about the hidden curriculum at the airport. I felt safer again when I was on the aircraft. Approximately hundred and seventy-five passengers felt safe as they were so lucky enough they were no real-life conflicts.

How not to become one of a childish behavior at an airport? (adapted by me)

• Don’t pick your [body part] in public – go to the restroom instead.
• Use indoor voice.
• Keep your body to yourself.
• Don’t lie down (unless you are sleeping at an airport).
• Walk, don’t run (like a marathon), unless you are on the tight connection.
• Don’t cut in line when (boarding the plane, ordering for meals, etc.).
• Don’t whine when something happens. Take a deep breath and take a walk if needed.
• Don’t talk to yourself in public.
• No weird body movements.
• No shouting, crying, screaming or yelling at someone at an airport of any kind. A lot of time, people got weird thoughts and thought you as a little kid.  
• No dancing in public places (same as shouting or crying, these behaviors can make people have weird thoughts about you). 
• Dress with age-appropriate, not look like a little kid. People will scrutinize you for having a preschoolers’ outfits. It’s okay to wear children’s jeans if you feel like but no “little kid’s look.”
• Use manners. 
• No giggling when no one was laughing or laughing both inappropriately and randomly.

Upon after leaving Chicago, I wrote on a piece of paper about hidden curriculum (another one) on plane:

• Don’t use loud voices when talking on the phone or with your friends.
• When listening to music or watching media, always use headphones or earbuds.
• Only behaving that associate with age-appropriate (see above).
• Do not lie down on the seats (unless you are in first/business class) or on the floor.
• Don’t talk to yourself.
• Avoid talking about personal information when people were around.
• Don’t invade other’s personal space and respect other people’s boundaries.

I was thinking more and more rules that relate based on people’s experiences.

As the plane goes by some of the clouds, I was safe again. I felt like I want to fell asleep until we reach the destination. I was so proud that I had dealt with boring layover with eating some snacks, writing on my travel journal about tips, taking a walk, and playing with my phone.

Written as part of Travel Conceptual Project for the 2012 Travel Rules