People watching at ATL Airport

I haven't had internet for a few days so here are some old posts that I was unable to put up...

[Written June 2, 2009   ATL International Airport.  8:38pm]

I will be boarding my last flight to Israel in about two hours from now.  I am really excited to leave but I can’t wait to be settled at the kibbutz.  Approximately 13 hours of travel and two hours of waiting lie in between that time and now.  I’m already tired but I am going to try not to sleep very much on the plane because although I’m leaving at 10:35pm, I’m arriving at 5:35pm in Israel so I’ll have to try and sleep again not long after I arrive there.

I’m sitting in the gate across from my gate at the airport so I can just watch everyone I’m about to be on a plane with for 11 hours.  There are many beautiful people across the way right now.  There is a young mother and her two little boys who have way too much energy to be on a plane for that long.  Hopefully they’ll get tired soon.  As I watch all of these people I am trying to figure out where they are from—Israel or the states.  II have a lot of learning to do as far as telling who is Israeli and who is Palestinian, the States, or elsewhere.    Some of my soon-to-be plane neighbors are dark haired, have a darker complexion and obviously speak Hebrew.  There are a few Orthodox Jews with hats, shawls, and curls.  (I’ll have to look up what all of that is called once I have internet.  I sound a bit ignorant at the moment so forgive me.)  Others have lighter hair, often a generously proportioned nose, and striking eyes.  As I watch I wonder if they can figure out where I am from.  Then I remember that I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.  I don’t think that leaves them guessing much.

Then there are the tour groups.  Oh they are fun to watch.  Almost all of them look to be aged 50-80 and are likely carrying one of those really fashionable passport necklaces, which come in black or tan—although there are at least two high school aged girls whom I’ve heard introduced as grandkids. They also speak much louder than any other group of people in the crowd.

Ooh…my favorite guy just walked up.  He’s got a collared shirt on, khaki pants, a backpack, and an almost Indiana Jones looking hat on.   And yes, it never fails, a fanny pack.   Yep, he wins…”best dressed tourist” award goes to him.

Overall it looks like there are more tourists than nationals on this flight.  Or maybe the tourists are just so overpowering that I am not able to get a realistic head-count on the nationals.