ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Goodbye, Athens.
Hello, adventure.
I’m a teacher.
But I’m also a traveller.
I’ve always wanted to do this — bounce around from one country to the next.
And now, thanks to the internet, I can.
So here I am, writing to you in an airport, waiting for my next flight….
English Is The Greater Weapon
“Forbidden. Danger.”
That’s what the woman at security told me before she threw my jump rope into the trash.
Well, your travelling teacher is a nice guy. But I also wanted my jump rope back.
So here’s what I did: I spoke English.
Then she spoke English.
But my English was faster, my words were bigger, and probably I was louder.
Security woman #1 sent me to talk to security lady #2, who sent me to #3, and so on and so on.
Finally, security woman #5 was tired of speaking English with me and gave me back my jump rope.
Would that have worked with German? Spanish? French? Japanese?
I don’t think so.
I wonder what dis you say exatly to the security women
Basically, I told her it was my property and I wanted her to solve the problem in another way. Something like that…
think woman #5 appreciated that you are not a threat and seem like a peaceful man. Maybe she was a sports fan and used to jump rope like you. Or she would have wanted that.
Or maybe the pilot was her ex-boyfriend and she secretly wished I would take the plane, and him, to Beirut.