As I entered the plane and I relazed that I was going to be in the middle. I hate the middle. When you get the aisle seat, you can get out whenever you want without disturbing anyone and when you get the window, no one disturbs you as they get out. But the middle! the middle sucks!
I walked through the aisle and approached my seat. My "flight companions" had already taken theirs. A 20 year old girl from Switzerland, who spent seven months in whistler baby sitting for a family and a 30 some odd year old woman, going up to Scotland for a wedding. If you're going to be in middle, you might as well be in the middle of this.
To my right sat Heidi. She was from Switzerland and had taken some time off school to work in Canada. I felt she was disappointed that she was going back home. The family she was staying with apparently had treated her well, but deep inside I think she was disappointed to be back in school. She didn't bring it up, but I had a gut feeling she was also leaving a guy behind. She told me about about some fun places in Switzerland. Her English was as good as someone who's been in an English speaking country for seven months, but she was social and easy to talk to.
To my left, sat Kelly. She was in her late 30s, blonde hair, blue eyes with a slender yet visibly aged body. She appeared excited to be with people who were somewhat open to converse. She definitely had a lot to say. As we chatted more and I told her about my plan to travel the world, she told me about her trip to Paris. I never miss an opportunity to talk about how I was yelled at by random Frenchmen during my time in Paris back in 2006. I find it amusing and it always leads to other people sharing their stories dealing with the French.
She said when she was in Paris, not short of 20 minutes after getting off the plane, she was pickpocketed, left with 20 pounds and not much else. What I found interesting was how quickly she highlighted her perseverance. I could tell she was a type of person who didn't want to appear weak or a victim of circumstance. We continued to chat, I could tell she was getting more comfortable and she definitely had a lot to share.
I tend to study people when I talk to them. I believe what someone says carries ten percent of what they mean. I believe it is an art to be able to pick up and comprehend the other 90 percent. It's something that definitely takes practice and lots of trials and errors. One of the more interesting social behaviours I've come across is what I call a "Trojan comment". This is something I made up and if there is anyone with formal education on the subject that knows more about it, please do share because I find it truly fascinating.
As I was talking to Kelly she gave out one of these so called "Trojan comments". A "Trojan comment" as defined by me, is any statement that visibly carries heavy emotional weight by the speaker yet it's presented in a nonchalant, informal manner, as if it's not a big deal. We were on the topic of sleeping pills. She was planning on using one to sleep as much as possible before getting to London. I asked her if she has tried melatonin, and she replied that she hasn't because she suffers from MS.
It was obvious she wanted to talk about her condition. It was also visible through her body language and subtle behaviour that this was a topic that was emotionality charged. Slight squinting of the eyes along with a change of body posture showed this was a subject that brought about some degree of stress. Yet, she brought it up in a nonchalant manner, wrapped around the topics of sleeping pills and a long red-eye flight to London.
I personally think she wanted to appear strong and resilient. It would have been consistent with how she talked about being robbed in Paris. Although she was focusing on sleeping pills, what she was actually telling me was that: there is something in my life that a weak person either doesn't bring up or deals with in an emotional manner, but I'm strong and such things do not shake me. Look as I bring it up on a passing conversation and move through the topic unshaken.
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