Shock on a Domestic Flight to Ohio | My First Propeller Plane and a Little Panic After Arrival (Part 3)

"Wait, I'm getting on this?"

What stood before me was a small aircraft,
completely different from the plane I had imagined.

And after this,
a bit of a panic happens at the airport.

◆ It was nothing like the domestic flights I had imagined

After finishing my transfer in Chicago,
I finally boarded the domestic flight to Ohio.

The first thing that surprised me was—
how small the plane was.

When I went from San Francisco to Los Angeles,
the plane was reasonably large, so

I was genuinely surprised when I saw the plane in front of me.

To my surprise, it was a propeller plane.

Inside the cabin, there were two seats on each side of the aisle.

It felt more like
a "slightly larger bus" than an airplane.

There were few passengers, and only one flight attendant.

Depending on where you sat,
you could see near the pilot's cockpit,
which was also very fresh to me.

At first, I felt a little anxious, but

once I actually boarded—
both takeoff and landing were very smooth.

If anything, I felt it was
more comfortable than a large jumbo jet.

However,

the propeller spinning outside the window

was still quite a shock.

◆ The moment I thought, "I've really come to America"

Another thing that left an impression was
the atmosphere of the passengers.

On that flight,
almost everyone except me was a white American.

In California, I often saw Asian people,
so

I was surprised by this difference.

Even in the same America,
the air feels so different when the location changes.

At that moment, I felt it for the first time.

“The America I had seen until now was only a small part of it.”

◆ Conversation with the woman in the next seat

In the seat next to me was a young white woman.

Because of the time difference, I
didn't know the local time,

so I decided to ask her.

Then—

She kindly told me the time,
and we were able to have a short conversation.

It was just a brief conversation.

But,

being able to talk to a stranger in a strange land

made me happy,
and I remember my tension easing a little.

◆ A surprising little panic after arrival

We landed safely, and I was finally in Ohio.

…or so I thought,

I couldn't meet up with my cousin right away

Not knowing where to go,
I ended up wandering around the airport by myself.

Then,

the woman I had spoken to on the plane called out to me.

"Maybe she's over by the arrival gate?"

I went back just as she suggested, but
my cousin was still nowhere to be found.

I started to get anxious,

"What should I do..."

and I fell into a slight panic.

◆ Struggling even with a payphone

For some reason, I thought,

"I'll call my cousin's house"

and headed to a payphone.

But then—

I couldn't use bills

When I put a bill into the change machine next to it,
what came out was a one-dollar coin.

I used that coin to make the call, but

of course, no one was home, and it went to voicemail.

Thinking about it now,

it was pointless to call the house when she was supposed to be picking me up

But at that time,
I think I was just that flustered.

◆ Finally reunited

As I headed toward the exit wondering what to do—

My cousin's husband called out to me.

I finally found you...

At that moment,
I still remember all the strength leaving my body.

I heard later that

there were few Asians at that airport,
and I stood out quite a bit.

So he said I was easy to spot.

It worked out in the end, but

the feeling of being left all alone at that time
is something I still can't forget.

Even though it must have been a short time,
that moment felt so long.

And at this time,

I vaguely felt that "the life starting from here would be different from before."

I felt it deep down.

▶ Next time

Finally arrived in Ohio.

But from here, even more—
“trials” were waiting.

▶ Continue here👇
Trials immediately after arriving in Ohio | The reality of “American money” that confused me at McDonald's (Part 4)

▶ Related articles

👉Why I Ended Up Going to Ohio | The Reason My Cousin Who Can't Speak English Moved to America (Part 1)
👉Almost Lost During My First Connection | The Story of My Panic at Chicago O'Hare Airport (Part 2)

I will continue to write about the rest realistically.

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