En Route to Turkey

The day had finally come for my family trip to Turkey. Before we could all argue about which direction to go in the maze of tourist attractions, we had to endure the joy of a transatlantic flight. I tried to check us all in the night before the flight so we could all sit next to each other. For reasons that were not explained, British Airways decided that my little sister Sami would not be allowed to check in, and her seat assignment was left in limbo. I always wonder who I may be sitting next to on airplanes... Why are they on their way to Europe? Will a hairy old man snore loudly and take up the armrest? Will there be a cute boy? No matter who would be next to me, surly they would switch seats so that two sisters could sit next to each other on an eight hour flight.

Fortunately, we found that we weren't seated too far from each other. Sami's window seat was directly in front of mine. We walked onto the flight to find a gentle looking woman in her 50s to be seated next to me, and a friendly guy in his 20s to be seated next to Sami. I asked the gentle looking woman if she wouldn't mind switching seats with my little sister. I gestured towards Sami as if to say, she is young, and will get lonely and scared on this very long flight. The woman wasn't fooled (Sami has always looked older than me), and asked, "Well, where is she sitting?" I pointed to Sami's window seat just one row away. The woman said, "Oh no honey, I need an aisle." I instantly hated her. I took a look at the guy in his 20s to see if he would be receptive to switching, but he lowered his gaze as if to say, "Please don't make me sit next to her." Feeling annoyed, I told the woman she was blocking my path to my seat, and squeezed past her.

A polite looking guy in khakis and a polo shirt came by to help the woman put her bag in the overhead storage. They appeared to be traveling in the same group, but did not actually know each other. Mr. Polite commented on the book in the woman's lap full of writing in the margins and page markers.
"My, that is a well used Bible," said Mr. Polite.
"It surely is - I wore my last one completely out! I always have it with me to read and take notes - I can never get enough!" exclaimed the woman, a little too loud, forcing me to overhear her conversation.

It was then that I realized she would try to convert me. I immediately remembered an episode of This American Life where they interviewed a preacher who talked about how he would ride planes with his Bible in his lap. The preacher would wait for the person sitting next to him to ask him about his Bible as an invitation to talk about religion. Now, I don't care what you practice - I just don't want to be converted. I knew no matter what I did, I could not ask about the Bible.

She tried to start a conversation with me, and apologized for not switching seats with Sami. She told me she had to get up a lot during long flights (she got up a whopping two times), and needed the aisle. I found out she was going on a mission trip to Uganda. I told her I was going on a medical mission trip to Nicaragua in August so that she might get the point that I was already a good person, and I didn't need her religious enlightenment. She asked if I was a nurse, and my dislike for her only grew. I looked forward to the seat in front of me to see Sami getting along famously with the 20-something guy. I was angry about her better seating for a few seconds, and then decided to write her a note on the back on my boarding card. The woman offered me a piece of paper from her notebook full of notes from the Bible. She was both trying to butter me up and willing me to read her notes on the other pages, so I politely declined and went back to writing on my boarding card.

Dear Sami,

How is life? I missed you a lot during the take off. Take off is always so boring because you have to turn off your iPod. I see you have found a BFF. Maybe later, you can facebook him, and make the friendship official. Hope to hear from you soon. We could watch the same movie later and pretend like we didn't have to sit so far away.
Love, Farrah

She wrote back on a barf bag.

Dear Farrah,

Life is good. Watch out for the lady next to you. She's trying to CHANGE you. I overheard her conversation with that guy. The guy next to me is named Matt. He is from Texas, and his favorite movie is Brokeback Mountain. I miss you too!
Love, Sami

I managed to make it through the flight without being converted, and I stopped talking to the woman to watch The Namesake. Sami managed to make it through the flight with a new friend, and didn't even need to watch a movie because she was talking to Matt the whole time. I always thought that friendships blossoming out of airline seating only happened in the movies. Leave it to my sister and her bubbling personality to make a friend anywhere, and bring the movies to life.

--By Farrah, who got to sit next to Sami on the way back, woo!