Airports, I love airports.

Pre-note: I'm so sorry it took so long again. I was swimming back into my "past-present" life so there was no free time to paste this little note since I was at Heathrow. And I have plenty of books to read... Yes it's ironic, too much to read and so much to write. Enjoy and the playlist will come soon. I have to say there's something great from Louis Armstrong I've got with a present. Yes, it's time to confess, I fell... I've got an Ipod as a present (if you remember I said I wasn't needing that little "crapy" thing). So let me see what's inside. I wish my old personal (beloved) DJ was there to fulfil it... Let's discover. So happy rest of the week!

XOXOXO
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Airports. I love airports. There’s a lot to think and to say about them. A lot of things are happening, many lives are coming over, some arrive, some depart... It’s like a mass cultural concentration. So the positive side is when I realized I even got my favourite type of water, or the place where I buy music and DVDs, or the place where I like to sit avoiding the inevitable long wait.

Then people appear. It’s just amazing to think about all people getting through a door and their lives are completely different. Some are working, some are in holidays, some have to do it because they have to leave, they’ve got a problem, they’re going to give a surprise… I think the concentration of possibilities at an airport is endless.

Some people are amazing wearing their “daily” clothes. People from the Russian church for example or Jewish people or African people. For me this is amazing mostly because I belong to the so called “occidental culture” so unless I’m visiting some small town in México (far from the city) or unless some special date occur, it’s very difficult to experience such kind of cultural “cat walk”. I’m amazed about the colours or the way they fix their hair. Languages… well languages are part of my favourites, but the physical part gives you a little taste to your imagination. Then I wonder how life could be there, where they live, or how is the society going. And the most interesting or funny thing is that maybe for them is absolutely normal… I guess.

So that’s what I would call the A side, where things sound interesting and amazing.

But, what about the other side? B sides. They are not always as good compilations of those musicians we love. No, no, no. It’s not even a bit close to it, when you talk about waiting for hours because you have a connection (my case) or when your flight is delayed… or because you lost your flight. So many ways for certainly not enjoying your trip… I also came to the idea that airports are the pyramid of consumption. You can buy everything, from food ‘til those sparkling and expensive crystals that personally I find no useful purpose in the way, like when you buy a colourful crystal parrot… what for?! Well, but that was not the point. The point is that you can spend your money, but such a reason, of collecting so many different cultures, is not even giving back to you a 30% of it… in some cultural way. Beside the cultural catwalk, of course.

I think when you have to walk or wait for such a long time, then why not to create some activities that fulfil your mind with some interesting information? What about a gallery or what about some special place where you can find all the information related to your destination? And I’m not talking about go and get your Lonely Planet guide, no. Those guides are very useful and helpful but different. I’m talking about a place where you can also pay (as everything at the airport) but to get a different service not related to the consumption of “goods”. Something like a place where you can get a video with the spotlights of your destination, a bit history a bit multimedia but interactive. Those, made in some way for each person, because students or director’s budgets are never the same. Or what about a quiet place for reading and listening music? So many things... Maybe the quiet places belong to those special halls for the golden clients or silver clients (or cow clients!) Or whatever the airlines use to call their “distinguished people”.

I think there’s a lot to improve the context of airports' life. There are so many interesting things that can be applied and maybe one fine day in the future, they will think that business can be walking by the hand of culture as well.