a thought for the guy in 28C
written January 16th, 2018
The gentleman is 28C needs to get a clue. Six hours into the redeye from Philadelphia to Rome, the over 200 passengers on board my flight had been sleeping for a while… except a gentleman sitting in seat 28C. The cabin lights are down and not a soul was stirring in their seat… all but the gentleman in 28C. The scandalous behavior this curious individual has contentedly involved himself with for the past six hours involved knitting needles and an overtly large scarf. This may sound harmless enough, but apparently, it’s not feasible to knit in the dark. So here I sit under a floodlight unable to sleep with only my passive aggressive thoughts and my own nervous feelings about what happens when we land in Rome in just under two hours.
For the next five months, I will be studying aboard in a small mountain town a couple hours north of Rome. Orvieto, Italy will be a new home for me and 32 of my fellow students from Kansas State University where we will be pursuing our various degrees in architecture and city planning. This past fall semester was full of learning but was also seriously busy and stressful. I am very excited to take a break from the crazy life I signed up for four and a half years ago to submerge myself in the buildings, people, and food of the Italian culture. This trip promises to be a huge learning experience which I can only hope I am ready for. Large or small there are lessons to learn from almost everything we encounter… even the guy in 28C.
Living abroad with my classmates is going to take patience, communication, and understanding: all things I failed to give the man and his needles. Being a brat should not be my default setting, and this was a good wake up call to that. I may have lost sleep due to his frantic needlework, but let’s be honest: I am way to excited to sleep much anyway.
With the sun just beginning to peak over the French horizon, I am filled my nervous excitement to start my semester abroad. I am sooo ready to eat all the pasta, drink all the wine, walk the hundreds of miles throughout the Italian country side, and learn the secrets of those great architects who came before me. This time in Europe should prove to be truly transformative for me, my fellow classmates, and hopefully the guy in 28C.