It was a small commuter plane going from Toronto To Philadelphia, USA, and the plane was less than 1/2 full. The plane ride was uneventful and it took about an hour.
With a 7 hour stopover at the Philadelphia International Airport before our connecting flight to Greece, we had plenty of time to kill. We didn't mind the stop over at all as we could relax, enjoy a lunch, coffee, and do our computer work.This was our first time travelling through the Philly airport.
Strolling around the airport, we discovered Art at the Airport. We admired large art projects done by local artists adorning the walls, and at Gate 22, a waiting lounge all spruced up by other artists' big paintings plus a playing area for those young at heart.
Arts have the effect of making a place beautiful and welcoming as well as elevating our mood. I felt happy when I saw these arts projects. Well done, Philly, love the artwork at your airport!
What made our 7 hour stopover at the Philly Airport more pleasant was my encounter with a lady named Angel working at one of the takeout food counters at the food court. Always willing to try different food wherever we travel, I ordered a Pretzel bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. Polite and cheerful, Angel made small talks with me while serving me. That made me feel welcome and relieved. We were travelling at the time while the TSA workers have not been paid for almost a month due to the US government shutdown and we dragged the thought of going through a U.S. airport. We were a little concerned that TSA and other airport staff might be fed up, overworked and frustrated which could lead to being short tempered, lost of patience and be rude to passengers.
We totally understand that TSA employees have been working without pay and have been overwhelemd with taking extra shifts due to some colleagues quitting or calling in sick. Therefore, this nice lady's kind words and good customer service helped lessened my anxiety of flying in U.S. cities.
I liked my pretzel sandwich but I knew it could taste better. I went back to the counter and asked Angel what sauce could I put on my pretzel sandwich. She patiently explained to me the different sauces available. It was quite a choice. I asked for the honey mustard and wanted to pay for it. Angel said, " No worry, you were here before. Therefore you can have it for free."
Wow, these days, who would give you something for free? I happily accepted it and enjoyed my sandwich with the mustard sauce. After the sandwich, I went back to Philly Pretzel Factory to buy a cup of coffee because Angel was so kind and welcoming. She saw me and said. " You are back again!" To which I replied, " You are so kind therefore I want to come back and buy the coffee from you."
She was tickle pink by my compliment. We started a conversation about each other's family and had a friendly exchange.
The boss who was preparing the pretzels not too far from us, overheard our conversation and because of my compliment, he offered to give me a free coffee! I could not accept that and gave my coffee money to Angel for her to buy herself a coffee.
Angel's kind gesture of making time and doing samll talk with me and her boss' generous offer of giving his return customer a free coffee touched me and warmed my heart. Trump's super aggressive behaviour and unfriendly and unwelcoming policies are making many people from around the world uncomfortable and avoid travelling to the US. However, knowing that a lot of Americans, like Angel and her boss are kind and welcoming makes me feel better and hopeful about America.
I would like to give a shout out to Philly Pretzel Factory at the Philadelphia International Airport. Thank you, Angel and your boss for being so welcoming and making a Canadian feel welcome during our stop over in your country!
RT, Philadelphia International Airport, USA
032026
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