This Issues in Communication narrative is designed to provoke individual thought or discussion about concepts raised in the chapter.
Peter Nelson, an American, was recently faced with a six-hour layover in Taiwan’s international airport. A long layover in any airport is usually a dreadful prospect, but in this case it was particularly difficult. Passengers transferring from one flight to another were banned from the shopping area. Additionally, there was only a single vending machine and a television tuned to Airport CNN.
Peter occupied much of his time “people watching.” He sat in a high balcony over an area where outgoing passengers left their loved ones to board international flights. He noticed that when Chinese couples approached the boarding gate, the partners usually looked at each other (sometimes bowing slightly) and said a few words, then parted as one entered a gate where nonpassengers were not allowed. During two hours of observation, only one couple—a young Chinese male and a youthful American female—actually embraced, hugged, and kissed. Otherwise, couple after couple repeated the same ritual, with the partners usually not touching each other or occasionally touching with just a quick hand on the shoulder.
A second part of the ritual became apparent to Peter only after he had watched for a while. After passengers went through the passengers-only gate, their loved ones lingered behind a glass partition where they could see the passengers standing in line to receive boarding passes. During this time, the people in line never looked back at their loved ones, even though they sometimes waited in line for 5 or 10 minutes. Only before disappearing down the corridor to the airplane would a passenger turn to wave quickly to his or her loved one waiting behind the glass. Then both would turn and leave.
Only once during the two-hour period that Peter was watching did the routine not play out this way, and that was with the Chinese male and American female who embraced and kissed before the man entered the passengers-only gate. Just like the other people, the American woman waited behind the glass partition as her Chinese companion waited in line for his boarding pass. When he finally got his boarding pass, he waved goodbye and then disappeared swiftly down the corridor. The woman, however, lingered and watched him disappear. When she turned to leave, Peter noticed tears rolling down her face.
