Airports are
unusual places. A no man’s land of cheap booze and perfume. People of all
shapes and sizes sit and wait for their call to come and go.
For a people
watcher like me, this hold of people is heaven. I sit, watch and wonder where
they have been and where they are going. The Kiwi bloke wearing short rugby
shorts must be going somewhere warm, as its two degrees outside. The old Indian
Grandmother’s sari isn’t designed for the weather she is leaving. Adapting by
adding a balaclava and socks under her sandals.
I have always
thought there is a certain magic in the air at airports. Everyone sitting
waiting, are all on journeys, whether they are ending or
just beginning. This too is true for me as I wait for my flight to Singapore, for
leg one of the World Nomads Travel Writing Scholarship.
It is a huge opportunity for me
to launch my career as a travel writer. I’m a recent graduate of
journalism school, but have spent most of the last ten years in the charity
sector in community fundraising and engagement.
On the
road you are more likely to find me at a beauty parlour trying to explain the
haircut I want to women who don't speak English, than in a tour group or a
museum. I love finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, and believe
everyday travel at home is just as important as when it takes you around the
world.
So thank you World Nomads for this opportunity that has me sitting here,
waiting and watching and ready to go. My fingers are itching to write and my
feet are itching travel.
