A matter of identity at passport control

jobelo — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 18:51:00 GMT

So...Here we are. At the airport. With my boarding pass. And my passport. I smile at the gentleman in charge, who will (hopefully) let me drop-off my luggage.

He takes my passport, checks it for forgery and all the usual suspects. And then he proceeds to look me up on the passengers’ list. A minute goes by, his eyebrows go up and down several times. He frowns. He sighs. He doublechecks the spelling. Still nothing. Finally, he admits:

I can’t seem to find you.

(Neither do I, that happens quite often. Nearly every day. I should get a chip under my skin to be able to find myself when needed)

Is this your surname?

Yes. Well, I have two surnames, I don’t know which one you were looking for.

(I should really drop one surname, or at the very least tie them together with a little -. Joanie B-P)

Ah! - He has just found the answer.- Yes, you were listed under your first family name, but as a man. That is why I couldn’t find you. There you go. Have a nice flight!

Damn. I should have taken the opportunity to become a man. Now it’s too late. My dream of becoming John B-P has just dissolved into thin air. Back to womanhood. I shall seek solace on coffee.

To be continued...

Departure

jobelo — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 18:39:00 GMT

Travel begins even before you reach your destination. You pack your dear companions: your toothbrush, tennis shoes, your favourite Florence and the Machine t-shirt for those grumpy moments when all you wish for is the smooth cotton touch against your skin...and your camera.

This time I made the bold decision of leaving it behind. It wasn’t easy and I’m sure I will miss it many times over the next few days. But the plain truth is, I didn’t feel like carrying it around. It’s not just a matter of weight. A camera, a proper camera, is meant to take pictures. If you have it by your side, you’ll inevitably want to use it. And in order to use it, you must look at what surrounds you through its lenses. Your perception of the world changes, because you’re not using your “default” eyes, your human eyes version 1.0, you’re keeping them busy with angles, light, colour, framing...And then you end up missing a fabulous detail while making all those choices. So, New York being a city of skyscrapers and me being someone prone to obsessions, I decided to depart just with my iphone camera, a beautiful tool and totally unable to take photographs from a long distance. That way, I will have to focus on the details, on passersby, on street movement, on all those things that never feature on tourist guides.

We’ll see how this voluntary and temporary photographic short-sightedness turns out. :-)

Joanie goes to NYC

A matter of identity at passport control

Departure