Transcription
Hello and welcome back to my Slow English podcast. Today we are at the airport. We are going to take a flight. Join us.
The automatic doors slide open and right away you see the FIDS board, the flight information display system where you can see your flight status, whether it's on time, delayed, or cancelled. Then we found our checkin counter. We were flying with Air Asia, so we had to find the Air Asia checkin counter. I am in line to check in. Some people prefer the self-checkin kiosk, but I don't like this self-checkin system as much. Sometimes it makes me nervous. I prefer to check in at a counter with a real person. What about you? Do you prefer the checkin counter or the self-checkin kiosk?
I am taking the escalator, the electric stairs. You can also take the elevator, but only if you need it. Maybe if you have big luggage or you're in a wheelchair, but it's exclusive for people who need the elevator. I'm okay with taking the escalator, the electric stairs.
We got some lunch before our flight. We were close to international arrivals, but we had to get to international departures because we were departing, not arriving. I got my passport ready and my ticket and we passed through the security checkpoint where you have to take out anything metal like keys, bracelets, coins or change, your computer or laptop, your phone, your headphones and sometimes even your shoes. The queue or line was very long, but once we got through security, we were in.
I always love the duty-free stores. They're super expensive, but I like looking through each store while I wait. We walk past Cartier and Starbucks as we make our way to our gate by following the signs with gate number instructions on them. It was super useful that they put how long of a walk each gate was at. 10 minutes, 5 minutes, 1 minute. That way, you're not super rushed or in a hurry to get to your gate when you still have lots of time to get there. When it's only a five-minute walk and you also know if you need to hurry if you need to rush to your gate.
I usually eat something while I wait at my gate. I wait at my boarding gate. It can be long sometimes, so I usually get some dessert. This one was a sweet bean dessert in Thailand. It was so sweet. I loved it. I'm curious. Have you ever tried one of these little sweet treats? What do you think of them?
Before boarding, I always go to the bathroom. I make sure I have my two bags. And then we get on the airport shuttle bus. This shuttle drives us to the airplane. Sometimes we take a shuttle to a plane and sometimes you just go straight through and board the plane. I prefer going straight to the plane, but sometimes you have to take a shuttle. The shuttle took all of the passengers to the plane and then we waited in line to board. We had to climb stairs to board our plane.
We walked through the aisle of the plane and we put our luggage in the overhead bin right above our seats. Here I am sitting in the aisle seat because I'm right next to the aisle. This is my personal favorite seat because I can get up and go to the bathroom however many times I need and I use the bathroom a lot. I love a plane with screens to watch movies on. This plane was super empty. So, I got a window seat. The aisle seat and the middle seat were both empty. So, I chose the window seat. And then we are ready to take off. The plane drives on the runway for a little while and once it gains enough speed, we take off and then I'm ready to put on my sleep mask and take a long nap. The best way to spend a flight is sleeping through it.
On long flights, they normally give you a pillow and a blanket. And you get to watch movies on the flight. On long flights, I always bring my neck pillow and I like watching the screen to see how far we have traveled. I also like just looking at the world and learning about different countries that I've never heard of before. During my flights, I like to work on my computer. And during longer flights, I love how they tint out the windows so that even if it's sunny outside, it will seem like it's nighttime. It makes the sun look very pretty. Then the sun rises and I think it's almost time to land.
Finally, I wait my turn to get off the plane. I get my bags down from the overhead bin and we walk out. There is normally an escalator to get to immigration or passport control. You scan your passport and maybe talk to some immigration officer and then you're there in the country you want to be in. But if you have a layover, you normally still have to go through passport control depending on the country, but you just don't leave the airport. You stay.
When I have layovers, I usually stop by the food court where I can find pizza, Mexican food, Chinese food, or McDonald's. This time I got an orange smoothie and a croissant sandwich. I eat during my layovers. Then I make my way to my gate again. Now, this gate is to get me to my final destination, not just my layover. I saw these super cool suitcases. You can drive and sit down on them. That way, you don't need to walk.
Now, sometimes your next gate is at a different terminal. Maybe you're at terminal 1 and your next flight leaves at terminal 4, maybe terminal A, and you need to get to terminal F, depending on the airport. So, you need to take the airport train or airport shuttle. So, you look at the signs and you follow them to the airport shuttle and that takes you to your next terminal. This flight left from terminal 4. So, I took the shuttle from terminal 1 to terminal 4. I love walking on the moving walkway or the moving sidewalks. I feel like I'm flying here. I looked so tired I barely got any sleep. So, I ordered a juice and I edited for a little while. Then it's time to wait at your gate. You don't want to wait somewhere else because you might miss your flight.
Finally, you land at your final destination. Whether that's home or a place you want to travel or the home of someone you love. But if you checked a bag, then you need to go get your bag at the luggage carousel. You check your gates and your flight to make sure it's the same as yours, and you wait until you see your luggage pass by.
I don't know about you, but I love my airport outfits. They are super cozy. Here's one. A baggy shirt, my high bun, and some very loose pants. Now, here's a little story time of when I lost my passport in Beijing. Have you ever lost your passport?
I am at the airport. This is my airport outfit. What do you wear to the airport? I feel so comfy. Like I'm wearing a blanket. I have two big backpacks. One is a carry-on and the other one is a personal item. I am at the Beijing airport, but I'm not staying here. Beijing is just my layover to go to Bangkok, Thailand. My final destination is Bangkok, Thailand. But don't worry, I will be back to Beijing in one week to visit the city. My flight from Tijuana to Beijing was 12 hours long. I'm super jetlagged and I still have another 4 hours. And actually, I was so stressed out about getting Wi-Fi to work on my videos, editing, and answering emails that I forgot my passport. I left it on the table and I walked away searching for Wi-Fi. I realized I lost my passport and I ran desperately looking and asking everyone, but nobody speaks English. So, I was super stressed just a minute ago. Now, I'm a lot more relaxed. I don't have Wi-Fi, but now I know it could be much worse. Sometimes life just teaches you lessons that you need at that moment to really appreciate what you do have and not stress about little things like Wi-Fi. Have you ever lost your passport before?
All right, guys. Thank you so much for joining me. I hope you learned some new English vocabulary and I hope this helps you in the future if you're ever traveling anywhere and you need to find your passport or your gate number or your terminal. If you're feeling nervous about traveling somewhere and not knowing what to do, use this video to guide you through that unknown vocabulary at airports. Have a beautiful day and don't stop learning. See you next time. Bye.