Acclimatizing to Slurpee, Sneezy and Smelly

I don't love living in Beijing. I just don't mind it as much anymore. But there are still things that annoy me... it always starts from the moment I board a plane back for Beijing. Oh. remind me not to fly Air China to and from Singapore. And if you think I'm whining/ complaining, I'll unabashed declare that I am!

Let's start with the flight back. The man who sat beside me was a slurper. I'm no fan of slurping. I understand slurping in some cultures is a sign of appreciation for the food and the food items "slurped" are usually noodles and soup. The Chinese passenger beside me slurped his salad, bread and rice. I really have no idea how he slurped coleslaw but he did. Lunch was served at 10.30am. At that hour, listening to someone slurp is really a nauseating experience. Made me NOT want to eat my lunch. And honestly, lunch at 10.30pm?? And nothing else between? The flight landed at 3.40pm and I was raving hungry by then. There were no snacks, nothing.

At immigration, the cacophony of returning Chinese tourists made me more irritable. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Or maybe it was their volume. It just made my eye start to twitch.

I had to wait a couple of hours at the airport for my dad who was arriving on a different flight. His flight was delayed by an hour. Great. I went to Burger King for a meal ( there's really nothing much to eat at the airport!). As I pushed my trolley along, I had to push pass people who just really had to block the exit. The airport is huge. Did you have to park yourself smack in front of the exit? Not my fault if I have to use the trolley to ram you when you don't move after several "excuse me".

After my snack, I went back to the arrival hall and found spot to watch for my dad... whoever designed the airport didn't seem to consider chairs a necessity for people waiting for delayed flights. I stood for a good hour or so. During this period, I was jostled innumerous times. Mind you, the spot where I was rooted to had empty space stretching several metres to my left, right and back. But people had to walk right into me. There was one who elbowed me too.

The eye twitched a couple more times. And more violently when someone sneezed without covering his mouth, at my brand new luggage. GROSS! Thank god I moved fast enough to push my trolley aside when I saw him working up a sneeze.

And finally... before my dad arrived and we hurried off to the sanctuary of home, 4 people who smelled like they haven't taken a bath or washed their clothes since yesterday , decided to station themselves near me. By then, the area around me was full and I was trapped between Sneezy and the Smellies. These were people that were dressed quite well but smelled awful!

By then, I was amazed I wasn't a twitching mass of nerves. Everything just rubbed me the wrong way. This always happens the first couple of days I get back to Beijing...