Free Junction City
Before I recount my spring break adventure in future posts, here's an anecdote about an unsettling incident I experienced at KCI yesterday.
An anxious man approached me as I loaded my sedan in a bus lane at the American Airlines terminal. "Pardon me," he apologetically said in stilted English. "Junction City." He handed me a sheet of thin parchment by way of explanation. An address in Junction City, Kansas, was surrounded by Chinese manuscript on the official-looking document. "How?" the bedraggled man pleaded.
I hadn't slept in almost 24 hours and I was desperate for my pillow. And now a Chinese official was turning to me to help him get to the center of Kansas? Gee whiz. Apparently maps and travel agents don't exist in China. Instead of screaming "Free Tibet!" at the poor man, I explained that he'd need to rent a car, catch a bus or take the train to get to Junction City. But the guy barely spoke English. I led him to the unmanned ground transportation area of the terminal and wished him luck.
I'm horribly afraid that the poor sap is still standing there.
(Image of queue at airport not captured in Kansas City.)
posted by Happy In Bag @ 10:22 AM
3 Comments:
At 8:56 PM,
Anonymous said…
Directions to Junction City:
Go to the middle of nowhere.
Turn left.
At 10:27 PM,
kcmeesha said…
actually, each airline has a translating service available, maybe he just got out of the airport by accident.next time direct people back to the counter instead of prompting some crazy guy to rent a car and drive it to the middle of ks.
At 7:50 AM,
Happy In Bag said…
I suppose you're right, Meesha. I confirmed with the man that he'd arrived via American Airlines. And their counter staff at KCI has long been anchored by a remarkable British woman that surely could have handled the situation with authority. I reckon that the Chinese diplomat anticipated being greeted with a full array of transportation options once he stepped off the plane. KCI has many virtues, but that's not one of them.
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