Pre-departure: 25APR08
It is 5:00 a.m., and as I feared, my taxi has not arrived. I wait ten minutes and then reluctantly call my colleague, who sounds surprisingly alert. He says he will call the taxi-company and call me back. I wait, wondering again whether I should just take one of the (few) cabs passing in the street; and telling myself this is what I pay for being an "English only" speaker.
As I stand outside the driver of a car from the other side of the road signals to me and I presume this is my ride. He makes the block and comes back. I put my bags in the car and go back into the flat for my next bag. The telephone rings and it is my colleague telling me that the car should be there anytime. I tell him there is one here already. He gives me the number of the car and I am left wondering and whether I got into the wrong car. I say my goodbyes and thank yous, close the doors and starts scrutinising the car more closely.
The driver senses my doubts and makes the signal of having received a phone call. I get in the car and we are off, but he looks for and gives me a company card. A bit later, he picks up the clipboard and reads off my name. It is only in hindsight that I realised how perceptive he was and how much he tried to reassure me. The thing is I was just happy to be getting to the airport.
As I was only five minutes away from the airport I had elected to leave at 5:00 a.m., knowing, however, that if anything went wrong, I could be left rushing.
When I get to the counters there are not many people so check-in was quick. I proceed to my gate (A35) and find that it is right next to a restaurant so I have breakfast. Boarding starts while I eat.
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