I flew to Portland out of Fairbanks which has a very small, almost outpost airport. While there, I went to the little restaurant and ordered a soda for my wait. It was a self-serve unit, but there weren't any cups left, so I had to flag down the person who worked there and asked for some more. It was about this time that I noticed a young couple to my left that were speaking Japanese and obviously trying to figure out what was on the menu but were having trouble with the English. I thought back to asking the man for cups and realized that while I didn't say any exceptionally big words, I didn't use elementary English either. It was all so easy. I asked in a fairly sophisticated way for what I needed, he responded, I gave him money and I was done. Almost no mental strain had to go into the situation.

All of a sudden I missed my husband and wished we were in a foreign airport where we couldn't understand the menu and had to pick words out that we recognized - which would inevitably be few. I love the excitement of it all and the humility that comes from not knowing how to do everything or communicate my needs effectively. While standing there I took a second to appreciate the global world we live in and the fact that I was standing next to people I probably couldn't hold a conversation with but I felt a kinship towards. We were the same.