Have you thought about interacting with the world differently? Have you ever noticed all the unseen clues around you? Have you ever navigated using your sense of hearing or your sense of smell instead of your sense of sight? How would you know who to approach for directions? What would you do if you were lost and thought you were going to miss something important?
Welcome to Planes, Trains, and Canes! Here I explore how a blind person travels using only public transportation, navigating the world using only planes, trains, and canes (and sometimes buses).
In this article, you’ll come along on the start of my very first adventure as I travel from my home in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to Gauteng, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Johannesburg marked my first time visiting the southern hemisphere, and I decided to make this journey without using any of the built-in assistance at the airport. I had done my research and memorized the airlines and flight numbers. I had researched the trains I would take to get to my hotel after landing in Johannesburg. Equipped with this knowledge, I hopped on the Red Line. I headed for the Boston Logan International Airport with a sense of determination.
I didn’t know how things would unfold. I knew I had a two- hour layover at the Atlanta airport. The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, USA, is one of the world’s busiest airports. I was determined to make that connection and find my flight to Johannesburg on my own. Also, I did not know exactly how to find my hotel in Johannesburg. This massive task in front of me was daunting and exciting. How would I approach it?
When the flight landed in Atlanta, I told myself, Mona, you have two hours. You have never tried navigating this airport without assistance. And, at that moment, I thought to myself, it’s okay to get lost, and it’s okay to miss my flight, and that was my first revelation. I was trying to do this on my own. This idea was revolutionary to me. It’s not about the destination it’s about the journey. There’s a reason why this cliche exists. Giving myself the freedom to miss the flight allowed me to exist in the moment and enjoy the journey. Why Not?
As a reader, you might be sitting there asking yourself, why would I even allow this chance to miss my flight? Why would I take this risk? Let me tell you this. The point is to experience traveling independently. Even if I missed my flight but still catch the next flight on my own, the feeling I thought I would get, the sense of empowerment, was something I needed to experience. I tried to push myself. Because my question to you, the reader, would be, why not? Why not miss one flight when another flight is just around the corner?
I went off into the Atlanta International Airport, merging with the sounds and chaos of fast- moving people and the clicking sounds of rolling suitcases. I take a minute to absorb all the sounds and smells. I’m listening to people. I’m trying to find my bearings, the calm within the chaos of a storm. I hear people walking in every direction. I smell food cooking in the many restaurants, I hear music, people talking, and snippets of conversations -- these sounds and smells all give me little clues. I stand there, slowly experiencing these new surroundings until I find my center within the chaos. Usually, within that, I can determine flow: like gate number patterns and locations of restaurants. I can generally tell where I’m supposed to go.
I found my way to the airport train. I felt so accomplished navigating the airport when I realized I had boarded the wrong train. I take off in a completely different direction than I had intended. But, despite this mishap, I still managed to get to the correct gate on my own and make the flight with plenty of time to spare. The feeling of empowerment, just that small step of figuring things out on my own, is something I cannot even describe. This filled me with even more determination.
Boarding the flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg, I made new friends, found my seat, and talked with the flight attendant. Instead of a call button, I learned the plane was equipped with touch screens that are completely inaccessible to a blind person.
Landing in Johannesburg 14 hours later, I was exhausted, but excitement was vibrating through my veins. I didn’t know what was awaiting me on the other side of that jet bridge.
I entered the unknown of this new airport. As I listened to the sounds around me, I followed the flow of people. It felt like I was entering a river of people, and because their patterns were predictable, I could sense the flow splitting into two directions: people entering and people leaving the airport. I followed the flow leaving the airport until I came across an airport employee, whom I recognized by the sound of their voice making formal announcements, and asked them for directions to the train. And guess what? In the Johannesburg International Airport, I got lost again! However, I persisted and eventually boarded the train to my hotel in Johannesburg.
As I closed the door to my hotel room, the world that had seemed so big and daunting when tasked with getting from my home in Boston to this hotel in the southern hemisphere suddenly changed. Places seemed a little bit more reachable. And the sense of empowerment that came with the knowledge that if I can travel to the other side of the world on my own, what else is out there for me to explore?
And that, my friends, is when I had my second revelation and unlocked a sense of mental freedom. I experienced the freedom to view the world not as a big dark abyss of the unknown but as a place of warmth and coziness that I can keep exploring. Traveling alone from Boston to Johannesburg made the world and how I imagined my place in the world much more reachable.
Thank you for joining me on this journey from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to Johannesburg, South Africa. To see what happens when I arrive in Johannesburg,
