Taking matters on the fly – the trials and tribulations of an incidental traveler

 

[airport hall*]

Due to a personal situation, I had to fly to the United States from Israel on a moment’s notice, not an easy matter during the current war. Small courtesies and inconveniences make a great impression on a traveler especially for those occupied by difficult thoughts. In particular, I saw how differences in flight class, airline sites/applications and airports can affect the whole travel experience.

First, the luxury of business class goes well beyond the actual seats. Of course, it is wonderful to sleep properly on cross-Atlantic flights, allowing the traveler to arrive fresh and alert, just like in those old Pan Am commercials, not to mention to reduce the probablity of getting Covid. However, beyond the immediate comfort is the peace of mind that from arrival at the airport of departure to retrieval of the luggage at the airport of destination, the service staff is friendly and helpful. I do not have figure out those self-check-in machines; I can wait in a lounge that is quiet, has clean bathrooms, serves good coffee and meals and even has quiet rooms and showers in some cases. These relative peace and quiet calms the nerves significantly. Of course, business and first class get on and off the plane first, reducing the stress of crowding. For me, not having to worry about overhead space is an additional relief as I am worrier when I travel. For me, travelling business class on cross Atlantic flights , depending on the price, almost makes flying pleasurable.

However, to get a flight, it is necessary to order a ticket. That process has become quite complex due to the lack of complete information on any given route and the presentation of the existing information. People forget that some airlines have a policy not to list their flights with the certain sites, notably PSA in the United States, meaning that these sites do not show more convenient or less expensive options that may exist. Sometimes, it may be possible to find less expensive rates on another application or the actual airline site. Knowing that no site is totally comprehensive, I know to search widely for travel solutions. However, it is very distressing to discover that many airlines post one-way prices only, creating the impression that the flight is inexpensive. It is only several clicks later that one discovers that the desired route is no less expensive, if not more expensive, than the alternatives. This is annoying at minimum and, in my opinion, deceptive advertising at maximum. As one agent said, if seems too good to be true, it probably is. Booking tickets online can be a confusing and trying experience.

As I flew through three different airports, I could directly compare their user friendliness. I discovered that, regardless of size, the factors that influenced my impression of their design were access, signing, layouts and bathrooms To be specific, certain airports require long hikes to even get to the check-in point (LAX) while others are a hop, skip and jump (Athens). I really don’t want to get tired before I even get through security. I discovered the importance of signing as deplaning in an unknown airport is very confusing. I learned to appreciate omnipresent gate displays and arrows indicating the direction of distant gates. This element is related to the general layout of the airport. I felt at ease in the “market” atmosphere of Athens as compared to the open industrial clamor of Amersterdam. I have to mention that I regretted having a full breakfast when I saw that Greek fluffy pastry by the gate in Eleftherios Venizelos Airport. Still, bathrooms are the one single factor that make airport layovers easier. Plentiful and clean bathrooms are vital for mental health. Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport is a disaster. Reaching them requires going down stairs, not exactly a pleasure when carrying bags. Upon entering them, there were flooded or dirty. Given the longer and longer time between connecting flights, the airport experience has a great impact on the flying experience.

Alas, it is not always possible to afford business, easily identify the best flight and choose airports. Travel will always remain an adventure for better or worse. I do my best to roll with the situation and cope. Still, not all flights are created equally pleasant, alas.

* Picture captions allow the blind to fully access the Internet.

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Shooting the moon – My mother’s life

 

My mother, who just died peacefully at the age of 96, would quote her grandmother, who said that a person needed luck in birth and death. It could be understood that, in between, a person made his/her own life. My mother succeeded in playing her cards and living a full, rich life all the way to the end (and even was lucky in death). More than that, she influenced not her only family but inspired friends of all ages and even their children by the force of her character and personality.

Born in 1928 to an immigrant Jewish family in Paris, her childhood was rich in family warmth but poor in financial and social stability. The Great Depression left a mark on all those that endured it, making them appreciative of money and food. World War II saw her lose her father to the Germans, have her mother’s health deteriorate and have to take on the responsibility of raising her younger sister, all at the age of 14. The cancellation of her engagement by her fiancé’s family right after the war was the final blow. She was without hope, education or future in France.

Her reaction exemplifies her approach to life. In the early 1950’s, she immigrated to the United States, alone and without knowing a word of English. From then on, she made her life. She became a top perfume seller in New York (helped by her French accent), met my father there and got married. They moved to California, began a family at the age of 27, raised two boys, bought and created an elegant house, traveled the world and even owned at various times a house in Brittany and an apartment in Paris. She even survived cancer in both breasts. She even was far better read than most of her supposedly educated contemporaries. As she would say, not bad for a poor girl from the shetl [the Yiddish term for the Marais, the then poor Jewish area of Paris].

If I try to understand how she did it, I see three characteristics. First, she knew what she wanted. As most women of her generation, she wanted to raise a family, keep an elegant and orderly house (be a proper balabusta), eat well, travel the world, but she also dreamed of having  an apartment in France and eating strawberries in winter. She succeeded in all of them, working with my father to gradually attain her goals. If the conditions were not right, she waited for  a better moment. It took a least a decade to fully furnish her house but she bought items piece by piece as the budget allowed until she built the elegant home that my parents loved to their last day, all without getting into debt. The apartment in Paris was only a dream until relatively late in life when the stars lined up and allowed it to come true, giving them 10 years of great pleasure. Having a clear vision of what she wanted, she eventually lived her life as she wanted.

This determination was properly tempered by logic and reason. She freely expressed all emotions from joy to anger. Yet, she quickly analyzed and understood the reality of any situation, came to terms with a situation and sought a pratical solution. She was quick to forgive and admit her own error while adjusting her approach to the reality. This flexibility served her well both in her youth and old age, when she had to cope with ever growing limitations. She did not waste her energy on  getting angry at her difficulties but instead worked with them and was a proud, independent woman, even driving, till her last days.

Her most important strength was optimism. She believed that she would survive and succeed. She knew that she would not be picked up by the Germans, would survive the war, learn English, raise successful children, learn tennis and golf (despite derogatory comments from her teachers), playing to the age of 89, overcome cancer, live a long life and have a quick death. She was right. Not only that, she shared her optimism with others, including her nieces and nephews, the children of her friends and even inspired my childhood friend to become an artist. She not only sought the positive in her life but also in others. For that reason, I had the pleasure of speaking to so many people, old and young, after she died who remember what an inspiration she was for them.

My mother once asked my dad why he married such an uneducated girl. His answer, jokingly if you will, was that he saw that she had potential. There is a saying that God does not judge you for what you do but for what you do with the cards you have. If life was a round of hearts (a card game), my mother shot the moon and won the game. She lived with style and elegance. I hope that she has rejoined my father somewhere up there and they they are drinking the best champaign with their French bread and brie. My mother knew how to live. 

Chutes and ladders -Thoughts about 2023

 

[tree with clouds in background*]

2023 has not been a simple year, including for the residents of the Middle East and translators. To be blunt, it has been a year of earthquakes of the existential type. Collecting my thoughts, the two must powerful forces have been artificial intelligence and, for too many of us, the Gaza War. They have tested the faith in the future but I have also seen a much quieter but no less powerful force: the ability of the human mind to focus on a problem and improve reality.

ChatGPT in its many forms has hit the world like a sledgehammer. I will not even claim that I fully understand the techniques and manner of using it but I do have some, if limited, comprehension of the effect. The capacity to allow an algorithm to create a reality according to custom-made requirements is an amazing tool. Millions of people, including professionals, use it as an active tool. However, as a translator, I do not feel threatened because, while it creates a virtual reality, a verisimilitude, its outcomes may have nothing to do with reality. I suggest asking an IA engine of your choice to provide details of your life. You will discover some amazing facts. To be fair, fantasy is a powerful engine for creating reality. Think about how many gadgets on the Star Trek series have become everyday products, including cell phones and universal translators. However, this year too many people forgot how it is not human. Think about how often people accept doctored pictures as proof. In the courts, almost amusingly, Michael Cohen invented some legal cases sympathetic to his case using AI and sent them to his lawyer, who cited them. The judge was not amused. Even in translations, it is sad to say that a few so-called translators believe that unedited machine translation is actually how people write. My wife just spent seven hours rewriting a Google-translate text that should have required some 2 hours to edit if the translator had actually done the work. Children understand that Wile E. Coyote cannot actually survive having a rock fall on him. Their parents should be aware that artificial intelligence is just that, artificial.

On a more tragic note, the Gaza War, or whatever name it will receive in the history books, has created an enormous human tragedy and still is at the time of writing. The number of dead, wounded and traumatized  victims in Israel and, yes, Gaza, Syria and Lebanon is heartbreaking. The economic damage will have an impact for a decade. On an even sadder note for me, the intensity of pure, unbridled hatred that the war has unleased has shaken the belief in the essential goodness of human beings. It is, again, okay to wish the death of anybody that disagrees with you. This wave of hate goes far beyond the borders of the Middle East and is impacting most of the world. It makes it appear that human beings have made no progress and maybe regressed over the centuries. I find that destructive urge, whether in words or acts, extremely distressing.

On the other side, through conferences I have attended, I have encountered, physically and virtually, so many people that dedicate their lives to solving small problems and find beautiful solutions. There are countless academics delving in the intricacies of fascinating processes not because of the money but because they want to enrich their mind and the world, although they do not reject money, of course. I have seen the work of so many translators who invest disproportional time to find the absolute translation not because it matters to the customer but because they believe that translation is an art and, thus, is worthy of the effort to reach people and perfection. It is this ability to ignore the macro and focus on the micro that gives me hope for a better world as complicated situations are solved one step at a time.

With a bit of a heavy heart, I try to look optimistically to the future. Artificial intelligence will not disappear but people hopefully will learn how to apply its usefulness and recognize its limitations. The Gaza war will end at some time, one way or another. People will rebuild their lives, albeit as different people than they were before the war. What will not change is that the silent majority will continue to find solutions to small problems and, knowingly or unknowingly, make the world a better place. In short, let’s hope for a gentler 2024.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit