Goodbye N.Y. Hello Doha!

Pre-flight:

My cousin in-law was probably the perfect person to drive us to the airport. Physically capable of doing so at a late hour, helping us with tons of luggage. Patient and familiar with international travel. Old enough to have a mature, calming presence but young enough to keep it light and breezy. Familiar enough for my wife to feel like she had close family, but just outside the circle of relatives she communicates with (maybe too) often. The whole check in and boarding process was SURPRISINGLY easy. Like VERY smooth and quick. More so than a domestic flight. Of course, food options at JFK were expensive, and limited at night. Finding Qatar Airways wasn't too hard. We had some overweight luggage (had to do some quick kilogram-pound conversion - shout out to paying attention to the metric system in math class), but they let us rock. That was cool. We had to check and pay for one extra bag but found out it was charged to the school. That was very cool.

The flight:

To sum it up: Qatar Air is fly.

The plane was gargantuan. High and wide with spacious seats and cool blue lights. The atmosphere was about as comfortable as you could want for a half-day long flight. My favorite amenity was the touch screen. With a few hundred movies old and new like The Avengers, Hunger Games, I Am Legend, Cool Hand Luke, Any Given Sunday, Iron Man 2, Rocky, seasons of countless tv shows we love, arcade, sports and trivia games, music videos, news, and more (even email available for a fee), there was absolutely no need for any personal device. It was the greatest on-demand service I've ever seen

The music collection was the best part. I decided to spend nearly the entire flight listening to the "100 Greatest Albums." Decided I'd see what all the fuss was/is about some of the legendary artists and records I grew up hearing about and not listening to. These are what I got around to:

"Pet Sounds" The Beach Boys (recognized some of my "Petting Zoo" in there, soothing sounds, boring after a while)
The Beatles "White Album" (most interesting musicians to release such popular music)
"Paul's Boutique" The Beastie Boys (a lotta fun, well-put together and does hip-hop in a way no one does anymore that groups used to; kind of inspiring)
Led Zeppelin "IV" (put me to sleep in a good way)
David Bowie "Ziggy Stardust" (a nice trip, dug this the most maybe of the rock stuff - then again, I may have confused what I remember with "IV" bc I was in and out of sleep)
"Electric Ladyland" Jimi Hendrix (don't remember much to be honest)
Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" (put me to sleep; I didn't know what to look for, after  while it all sounded similar)
AC/DC "Back in Black" (enjoyed it but didn't speak to me; I could certainly see how it could speak to young, aggressive white kids looking to rock out and tear shit up. I would've dug this a lot more 5 years ago)

"It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" Public Enemy (this wasn't on the list, although it should've been; "Marshal Mathers" and "Paul's" were the only rap albums on there - both great, but yeah, I know, I'm thinking what you're thinking. Anyway, Chuck's voice/flow/songwriting, the production, the touches of Flav, X and Griff - my goodness. I've said it before, it may not be the greatest rap album, but there isn't one greater)

The food was substantial. The veggie option was blah. But there was great chocolate mousse, cheese and crackers, bread and butter, soda, salad, it was nice. They constantly offered beverages and candy. Breakfast was excellent with omelets and croissants and pancakes and yogurt and fruit and all that good stuff. Food was high quality and service was attentive. Like I said, the  plane was very spacious (5 large sections, it was something else man), and modern, but with everyone so close over 12 overnight hours, everyone's breath STANK and so did their bodies, ugh.

I felt an urge, so I danced to these songs in my seat and had folks (particularly regal-looking older Indian lady) looking at me:

Drake "Make Me Proud" (I searched for this song because my journey is partly inspired by Nicki Minaj's line "they want me to take a break, I'll give it all away, I don't care what the people say/ I'll be a million, billion, trillion miles awaaaaay...")
Gotye "Somebody That I Used To Know" (This may be the best song since "Viva La Vida" or "Pretty Wings," whichever was more recent. Whereas those songs either have slightly better lyrics and/or singing, "Somebody" matches each in production compared with its genre, and has a much higher danceability and karaoke factor while still being a really good and weird song with a lot of words and an ADDICTIVE chorus.)

I looked at the map occasionally to get an idea of where we were flying and how many miles/hours were left.

When we arrived, I wanted to take flicks but there is a strict no-photography rule and I have a strict no-foreign prison rule. The men in traditional garb looked kinda intimidating in an Iron Shiek way. Went to the bathroom and didn't know what to do with the toilet.

Saw a skinny, tall-ish young black guy working in there who I guess had a habit of asking other black dudes their nationalities. Snobby sort of young light skinned dude said he was from somewhere in Africa and kept it moving. The worker guessed Uganda, I believe, for me, and lit up when I said "United States, New York." He was from Kenya, said he came to Doha for better pay although it was still bad and that his dream is to go to America but he'll never be able to. I felt really sad as someone who knows the obstacles that come with being  black man, but still feels like he has so many opportunities and possibilities. It felt like, upon arrival at the place which proves my ability to break free of any perceived constraints and stands as a testament to all of the things I've said were possible these past few years, I was met with the exact opposite of my experience. He was 26 but looked younger. I felt like telling him that he should never say never, but I felt like it would be hollow, and honestly, I felt like he thought there may be something I could do for him that I can't. Then again, maybe I just feared that I actually could do something for him, but wasn't willing to. He asked my age, and if I was on vacation. He was surprised when I told him I was here to teach and asked about the pay in his broken English. I said "not bad." When I left he said "One love." Rarely have I ever felt a connection with another black person that seemed so genuine. There was a slight language barrier, we didn't talk long or very deeply, or exchange names, but we got right into some realness and kept it moving. No one's path is in a straight line, so we cross people at these random sections all the time, but we don't always extract meaning. I remember 26, it was 2005, 2006, the years I went crazy and lost it. I'm still crazy but I've been finding myself more and more each day. I have no idea what sort of journey that dude is on. Maybe the moment meant something to him, I'd like to think so. I'd like to think seeing me come to Doha to be a teacher means his dream of coming to America is just slightly less impossible. It's hard to fathom the challenges to realizing dreams that may exist across cultures and continents. I just know that as my challenges presented themselves as being more and more formidable, I've only chosen to dream bigger and bigger. And to ponder the only useful "ifs:"

If not me (you/us), then who?
If not here, then where?
If not now, then when?

If I can do it, you can at least do it as well, probably better.

I'm StarPower, and I approve this message.

Sent from my iPhone