Touchdown in Detroit
To save me spamming up all your inboxes with news, Kit's suggested that I run a blog for the couple of months I'm in Detroit. I'll be the first to admit that I've not a clue how to put a blog together, but at the least it'll be a learning experience!
I touched down in Detroit yesterday afternoon. This is my third visit to the city, and the first time that I've landed and it wasn't snowing. In fact it's remarkably warm and sunny weather at the moment - which I think has to be a good omen for the research ahead.
The flight itself was fine. I was sitting next to an elderly lady who hardly spoke any English. In some ways this was a bit of a relief, as I tend to be very anti-social while travelling, and it was nice to just switch off and read (I finished Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami). But it was also a shame, as she seemed a very interesting person and it would have been nice to have spoken with her, rather than trying to use a combination of hand gestures and the classic English method of speaking slowly and loudly just to ask her to move so that I could stretch my legs. It struck me how strange it is when you're not able to communicate with someone, and also how rarely I'm in that position. Considering I only speak one language with any fluency, this is a sad indictment of how little I've travelled. Fortunately I saw her again at the airport, with her daughter and son-in-law, and I was able to quickly tell them what a pleasant travelling companion she had been, however limited our conversation.
One quick request. I watched Syriana on the flight, but we landed about 10 minutes before the end. If anyone has seen it all the way through you can win my eternal gratitude by letting me know what happens.
I touched down in Detroit yesterday afternoon. This is my third visit to the city, and the first time that I've landed and it wasn't snowing. In fact it's remarkably warm and sunny weather at the moment - which I think has to be a good omen for the research ahead.
The flight itself was fine. I was sitting next to an elderly lady who hardly spoke any English. In some ways this was a bit of a relief, as I tend to be very anti-social while travelling, and it was nice to just switch off and read (I finished Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami). But it was also a shame, as she seemed a very interesting person and it would have been nice to have spoken with her, rather than trying to use a combination of hand gestures and the classic English method of speaking slowly and loudly just to ask her to move so that I could stretch my legs. It struck me how strange it is when you're not able to communicate with someone, and also how rarely I'm in that position. Considering I only speak one language with any fluency, this is a sad indictment of how little I've travelled. Fortunately I saw her again at the airport, with her daughter and son-in-law, and I was able to quickly tell them what a pleasant travelling companion she had been, however limited our conversation.
One quick request. I watched Syriana on the flight, but we landed about 10 minutes before the end. If anyone has seen it all the way through you can win my eternal gratitude by letting me know what happens.
posted by Patrick at
3:10 PM
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