D-Day: Is this exactly what I need?

My spontaneous trip to Canada started out unexpectedly.

My stop at Phoenix, AZ was supposed to be a layover- an hour at most. But the delay from Los Angeles caused it to be an overnight stay. So when US Airways announced the delayed flight, we were told to decide either to spend the night in LA or in Phoenix. For those of us missing our next flight, overnight hotel rooms were to be provided by the airline until the next earliest flight to our individual destinations. I decided to take the 2-hour delayed flight to Phoenix. For some reason I couldn’t bear the idea of staying in LA another night. Many psychological and social preparations were done prior to departing and I was not ready to go back so soon.

Usually, when irritated passengers come together, they naturally expose unnecessary stories to find that mutual connection between complete strangers. I sat next to a woman who traveled to Asia and is on her way to Phoenix, her home. Her voice was hoarse from the exhaustion of continuous flights before this one- a total of 24 hours up in the air. As a traveler she seemed to have mastered the art of dealing with incompetent airline agents. She also told me that Asian airlines are friendlier and a lot more helpful when it comes to unexpected disasters. I’m pretty sure she had told me this because I’m Asian, not necessarily because it’s true. But I guess a little white lie is helpful when you’re sitting next to someone for over an hour.

As people were settling down on the plane, two foreign students sat down. Turns out they're international students who were to fly to Denver to take a test at 8am. Due to the delayed flight and the uncertainty of their next one, these two had no idea what to do next. With broken English they tried to explain the urgency of their situation. But soon they realized that there was nothing any of us can do.

After arriving at the Sky Harbor International Airport, a US Airways agent told me the next earliest flight to Edmonton is at 8pm the next day. Hence, they booked me a hotel. Rather than being flustered by the unexpected 24 hours I had in Phoenix, I was overwhelmed with this freedom. A form of liberation I haven’t felt in awhile.

When I arrived at the hotel, I went straight to the bar after check-in. I met 2 people at the bar— 1 Mexican girl (Jessica) and one white guy (didn't catch his name). While Jessica was busy flirting with the bartender (Jonathan), I ended up chatting it up with the white guy. A former marine, who is currently studying Psychology with children with traumatic experiences, had a lot to say to me. His drunken self challenged my knowledge of sociology with his own knowledge of psychology. At the end of the night, with our common interest in early childhood education, he made me wonder why I’m so interested and what my ultimate goal is. He reminded me why I decided to leave LA in the first place.

First time in a long time, walking into an empty hotel room allowed me to feel lonely. It gave me exactly what I was looking for on this trip—some alone time. Although being lonely and having some alone time are completely different state of minds, the transition between the two only took a couple of minutes for me.

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I actually wanted to spend the day visiting the infamous party school, Arizona State University, which was a few blocks away from my hotel. But the 105-degree weather and the long sleeves I packed for Canada discouraged me from taking more than 3 steps outside the hotel. Though I am a little saddened by this, it would’ve been considered a suicide attempt.

Here I am at the Sky Harbor Airport trying to kill 8 hours before my flight. I was given some (a lot) of time to do what I do best: people watching. While drinking with a friend in LA a week ago, he had told me that his favorite place to people watch is the airport. I am now here to experience it first hand.