We have been sitting here now for 5 hours! Outside the rain is pelting down, the lighting is flashing. Planes are taking off periodically – but still we still sit and wait!

The outside wind rocks the plane. We wait for the storm to pass. I am at Hong Kong airport and this is the first time this has ever happened to me. I have realised tonight that I really am a positive person. All around me people are complaining, whinging about the heat of the plane, the fact that we were forced to board, only to be told we didn’t have a take off time. And now we are stuck. We can’t leave, cause we’ve missed our take off time and we need to stay ready for that illusive chance.

As always, it’s the American who complains the loudest.  He demands to be let off the plane, demands to retrieve his luggage, demands the right to get on the next flight and then realises to his horror that the next flight can’t leave until this one does. The captain has words with him. (I can see the pilot’s cabin, as the door is open). He shuts up. He sits down. He starts to avail of the free red wine. And he begins to talk loudly about communism and capitalism!! We are on Dragon air flying to China, and he has the conversation loudly with some other passengers! Why? Why, are there so many obnoxious, ignorant Americans?

Why do they feel they are above all others? He is one of five caucasians on this plane, my two colleagues and I being the three others and one girl, whom I presume is a student. We don’t behave like that, we don’t protest loudly. We are smiling and positive and glad not to be in the rain and to be fed and to be dry. Yes,  it’s annoying but who is to blame? Would we be any better sitting in a departure lounge?

We both come from countries stolen from others. But I have not been bred with the impression that I am any better than my fellow man.  The American psyche has a lot to answer for! We won’t be here forever, but that psyche is hard to shake. We will take off shortly and we will each assume again our mantels of airplane disinterest in each other. For the moment though, we just need to wait.

We have nothing to complain about, but if the American gets more obnoxious, he may well have his wish granted and finally be thrown off this plane! We will all then have to wait while they remove his luggage from the hold. But we won’t have any recourse.

He’s drunk now and what could be worse than a drunk, unhappy, American stuck on a plane with no sign of take off! I’m not really sure about that?

Thankfully, he falls asleep. But wakes two hours later and suddenly stands up and takes off his seatbelt – we are in the middle of landing! The entire plane grumbles and the hostess tells him to sit! And he does! We land. He rushes off the plane, pushes past the other passengers to be at the front of the line to disembark. Grabs his bags in a hurry from the carousel and goes off into his hurried world.

As  I leave in my hotel car, with a driver who has been wait for 5 hours for me – I see the American standing, waiting, getting wet and wonder what he’s thinking now? Was all that angst really worth it? We’ve all ended up at the same place, at the same time and I for one am just grateful I’m heading to my bed.