About every six months I travel from Minneapolisto South Africafor work. Over the years, I've gotten used to the eight hour flight to Amsterdam,and now that the Schiphol Airporthas gone smoke-free, I don't mind the layover before boarding the plane againfor a 12-hour flight to Cape Town.The break from flying gives me the opportunity to begin to temporarilytransition from my very "northern" world view, to a more "southern"perspective. To kill time, as I wait for the flight that will take me tothe southernmost city in Africa, I head to a coffee shopfor a cappuccino and some Euro people watching. (I'm always struck by just howtall Dutch people are.) Next, I notice the clothes. Europeans' color of choiceis black, and no matter the season men in business suits and jackets seem toaccent their look with a scarf. Are the throats of European men that much moresensitive than North American men or is this just a firmly established fashionstatement? (Personally, I thought the Bay City Rollers, the passing British popsensation from the 70s, would have permanently ended the indoor scarf phenomenon,but old fashion habits die hard for men.) European women, of course, dressbetter for a short continental flight than most Americans do for a specialevent or ceremony. And then there is the weight difference. Rarely does anoverweight person I overhear speak with anything other than an American accent.
You can walk the entire length of the airport – and Schipholis a large airport – and rarely be out of listening distance of American music.The shops, as well, are filled with books by American authors and Americanfilms in DVD format – perfect for in-flight viewing. That said the kiosks andstores peddling tulips, wooden clogs, and cheese firmly place the dazedovernight flyer in Amsterdam. (And thosetulips look bright and welcoming on a gray morning in March.)
Although I glance at the news excerpts in the InternationalHerald Tribune while I sip my $5 cup of coffee, this layover really marksthe start of something of a news blackout for me for the duration of my trip. I'mone of those dinosaurs who prefers getting my information from a newspaperrather than the internet, and the newspapers in South Africa, except for the weekly Mail andGuardian, tend to concentrate on sensational crime and celebrity stories – evenmore than American daily papers do. BBC World provides an interestingperspective on events, but I find I'm rarely near a television on these Africanexcursions.
So, for the next three weeks I will try to glean bits andpieces of news from as many different sources as I can – especially sourcesthat filter news through an African lens. I'm not too concerned about missingbreaking stories, however. Somehow, I think when I return to the U.S in April that we willstill be in Iraqand our economy will still be in the toilet. Rihanna and Chris Brown will stillbe generating headlines. What I'm really afraid of though is that theColeman/Franken race still won't be decided. And, perhaps even worse, that itmight still be winter in Minnesota.
