The Transit

First trip is always both exciting and nerve-cracking. There are so many things to be cautious and excited about. I remember my first trip to Japan  and took a transit at Changi Airport four years ago. 

I was among 22 teachers who were appointed to go to Japan for a short course. We had to switch planes in Changi Airport. This was my first time going abroad and also the first one to transit and switch planes. I was nervous because we had to rush to another terminal immediately after getting off the first plane. It turned out that the terminal we should go to was rather far from the arrival terminal. We only had thirty minutes to walk and take a skytrain to the departure terminal. I walked with two heavy bags and sat for seconds on a couch in a terminal just to take a breath before rushing again to keep up with the group. Once we got on the skytrain, I suddenly felt something was wrong. 

It turned out that I left my handbag on the couch. I had a panic attack because all the important papers were in the bag. I could not stop the train and I sweated all over because we only had few minutes before taking off. 

Once the group got off the train, I spoke to the group leader and he kindly said that he would accompany me to the previous terminal to get the bag. I was worried because even though we could get back to the terminal, there was no guarantee that the bag was still around.

We took the train again and once we got off I almost ran to get to the couch. God bless! The bag was still on the couch. It felt like I was granted another scholarship when I saw and grabbed the bag. Then we went as quickly as possible to reach the departure terminal. And we were the last passengers who boarded the plane to Japan. We were also the only passengers who had sweat all over our clothes. I didn’t care because in seven hours I would be stepping my feet on the soil of the samurais.