December 15, 2018

I don't even know why I am here. There were thousands of reasons why I was dragged into taking a very pricey winter vacation with my friends from work. It seemed like December was the month that we all reasons enough to justify why we had to splurge our hard-earned money on ourselves. A part of me felt guilty for even saying yes to getting a ticket booked to a country that I have never heard of except when I watch international beauty pageants taking place. I stood in front of the entrance of the smaller airport waiting for my boss who was still taking pictures of herself before entering. I just look at her, fascinated with the number of shots that she had to take of herself in the same place. “It's for documentation purposes” as she would say in her high-pitched voice which made me wonder what kind of documentation she was referring to. She had a social media account but I couldn't see the use of her having one since there wasn't enough updates to keep it going. I just huffed as I waited for her and aimlessly pushed and pulled my cart slowly back and fort in front of me. Seconds later, she decided to join me. 

“Had enough?” I asked as pushed the cart towards the entrance. 

“Well, that's for the part where we wait for the trip to begin," she answers while placing her phone inside of her sling bag. 

The airport was bustling. It was my first time to travel during winter and the scene that was unfolding before me amused me. I  used to see long queues of people in check-in counters during this season in Christmas-themed movies. Pathetic, that I know but then not all are blessed with the opportunity to travel abroad. There were people running towards the check-in counters to catch the boarding time. There were those standing patiently in the queues to get checked in. There were those who were looking at the flight information displays, checking at which time boarding will begin. There were people lounging about with their suitcases beside them. It felt surreal to become a part of this setting. As we continued to walk, I started to look for the rest of our travelling group who just sent a message that they were already there. 

“We might as well look for Aisha and her sister. She sent me a message 10 minutes ago that they've been here for half an hour already,” I informed my boss. 

“Let's do that. The sooner we find them, the sooner we can sit,” was her response. 

We started our adventure of looking for Aisha and her sister. There were hundreds of people there and who knows where they decided to sit. My feet were starting to hurt and I hoped that it wasn't going to take longer in finding them. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. Going in carefully between the rows of chairs in the lounge, we finally found the sisters tucked behind one of the charging stations with their devices plugged in the docks. 

“You're finally here! I am so excited to travel with you guys,” Aisha spoke with a wide smile on her face. Needless to say, she was geared up for the trip. I could tell that she and her wallet enjoyed the pre-trip shopping she did for her outfits. Everything seemed branded. “By the way,” she adds, “this is my younger sister Anila".

Anila looked too serious to be in the same tour group. She wore this typical strict headmistress look that was heavily accentuated by the thick-rimmed glasses she wore. She gave us a faint smile as she greeted us. Well, there's one interesting character. 

“I'm Claudette and this is Irina. Irina works the same department as me,” my boss responded. All I could do was smile. I wasn't very keen in meeting new people, especially those who didn't fall the millennial group.  

We took a seat in the chairs opposite them. I breathed in a sigh of relief as sat. Finally my feet could rest.   If my feet could speak, they would thank me profusely. I should have worn my sneakers more before the trip but then there wasn't enough time to break them in. I took my phone to start playing when it decided to ring. Anthony was calling. 

“Hey, where you at?” he asks breathlessly. 

“We are sitting behind one of these charging stations at the right side. To your right, when you enter.” 

“Okay. Ms. Ria and I will be there in a couple of minutes.” 

“Noted.”

Phone in my hand, I busied myself in looking at the people going about their business in front of me. I thought about the decision that brought me here, the misunderstanding that I had with my friend, the desire of just going out and be in a different environment, the thirst of finding something new in life and the kind of pride that I can have for myself. I used to look at the worn out passport of my father thinking to myself that one day, I'll be able to have as many stamps or more in my own passport. My sisters would laugh at me and my dreams. Yet here I am, getting ready to get my fourth or fifth stamp but the first for one for a vacation. A thousand questions rush into the back of my mind. Was all of this going to be worth it? Will it be interesting? Will it be worth the trouble of filing for my winter leave? Will be a good experience? Will I meet someone there? These questions remain unanswered and only once I get to that destination, will I find the answers. 

My questions came to a halt when Anthony and Ria appeared before us wearing goofy smiles with their suitcases in tow. Now the whole group was complete. I just felt the excitement level rose. Anthony took a seat opposite me while Ria took the one next to mine. He went on to explain that we only had a half an hour to get ready to check in for the flight. We all stood up and discussed what needs to done before heading out to the counter. We got some money exchanged into Georgian Lari then we proceeded to the counters. We didn't have to wait that long since we were at the beginning of the queue. 

We all got amped up after passing through immigration. I was not really ready to believe that this was happening. Well, it was happening anyway and I couldn't back out anymore since we were all in the boarding area. The six of us decided to have some food first before the gates open. I personally preferred to have a full belly before boarding the plane since our flight did not include any meals. We all helped ourselves with the slightly overpriced fast food that we usually had in the mall. There wasn't much choice. 

“Let's just double check before we all board that plane,” Anthony started as he took a big gulp from his soda cup. “Did anyone bring some meds just in case we all feel nauseous?"

“I have some. I also have some painkillers and some soothing menthol balm to help with the nausea,” was my quick reply. 

“Always ready, eh Irina?” Ria slightly pushed me playfully after taking a bite of her chicken.

“Well, I know how you people are during trips. It's not new to me that you'd all get queasy when the plane takes off and I've had heard tons of these stories from you after your countless trips abroad every summer,” came my embarrassed response. I was always ready like this. People used to tell me back at home why my bag was always heavy. I had this habit just to bring just about a little piece of anything that I think I would need somewhere. 

“That's good. I actually forgot to bring my own menthol balm so I think I'll hold on to yours during the trip,” Claudette commented, reaching for a fry on the table. She looked shy asking for something from my anytime. 

“Okay.” I reached for the wet wipe that the fast food gave us when they gave us our orders. We all got cleaned up and went straight to the washrooms for some break before boarding. 

The airport authority blared announcements that our plane was ready to board. This was it. Holding on to my passport in one hand and the coat on the other, I held my breath as I was getting my nerves ready to experience winter wonderland with a bunch of my work friends as I tried to forget the hassles of my life in the next 5 days. 

Tbilisi, here I come.