Into the Wardrobe: Adventures in Narnia

Advances in Transporation make for something magical... they allow us to be in two completely different worlds within a day... This reality hit me as I waited for the plane in New York... I panic when I am at the airport on my way to Chn.  One of the ways that I deal with this panic is to raid the snack shop.  I take large amounts of time looking at the selection and thinking "What will I miss most in the next ___ months?"  Then I buy it for the plane ride.  It's always interesting to see what snacks make the cut...cheese-its are normally in the running as are Reeses Cups and Gummy Bears.   Coffee of some sort ALWAYS wins in the drink selection although I meant to also buy chocolate milk this time.  

This trip back my routine got messed up because I was frantically trying to send out my newsletter.   I realized how much I love food as a wave of sorrow struck me when the plane doors closed... "Open those doors... I need my last bag of Cheese-Its" I wanted to cry out.   Its funny how airlines announce the closing of the airplane doors.  When I'm going anywhere else I hear the words "Ladies and Gentlemen, the pilot has now closed the cabin doors."  When I'm on my way to Chn, I hear "You are now leaving the real world and venturing into Narnia."  The airport is like the wardrobe with the snack shop being like the coats that the kids pcik up before entering into Narnia.  They know that they're entering Narnia where it is winter so they must grab coats... I know that I am entering a land devoid of beef, dairly and coffee and so I shop accordingly.  

Although the plane ride is long, the transition feels abrupt.  One day you are sleeping in a soft bed, taking bubble baths, speaking a language that you understand in a culture that makes sense... then you enter the wardrobe and step into Narnia.  In Narnia you are sleeping in a rock hard bed, trying to figure out how to successfully shower using a showerhead but no shower curtain and not get the toilet paper or your clean clothes soaked, you are eating only G0d knows what, using toliets that can be horrifying and to top it off you don't understand what anyone is saying, let alone thinking.  On the 13 hour plane ride I went over the rules for re-entry... DON'T DRINK THE WATER, remember to carry toilet paper but try to use public toilets as infrequently as possible, don't eat unpeeled fruits or vegetables or you will be using the public toilets frequently, spitting is completely socially acceptable so don't get annoyed but do look around when you hear someone hawking or you may get hit with a piece of phlemn that defies reality, remember to speak in Chns even though you don't speak chns, remember that people don't tell you what they are thinking or expecting of you so be sure to read their minds, don't step off of the bus without looking or you will get hit by a motorcycle, don't believe the "walk" sign-it lies... All of these rules for a place that is only a plane ride away!  Despite the craziness of the transition and the troubles encountered... Like Lucy, Edmond, Peter and Susan... I just can't help venturing back into Narnia : )