I thought Gatwick Airport is a small airport, but I was totally wrong. Definitely bigger than Juanda Airport in Surabaya. We flew to Bordeaux with EasyJet for like 1 hour and 20 minutes. And that was the first time I heard the flight announcement in French. So bloody sexy.
It was a sunny hot day in Bordeaux, but the immigration wasn't so sunny. We was first in line for it, but after checked our passports and visas, the police told us to wait out of line. My dad was getting impatient and I tried to calm him. After all the others passengers were done for the immigration, they asked us in English what are we doing there, how long we stay there, and the most important part: how much money that we bring. It was silly really, when we applied for the visa, we were asked to prepare the financial statement. We are all ready for the journey, the place we are staying, the money, the transport, what are they worrying about? And my dad was speculating that maybe they worried our passports were fake. They observed our visas like a dog sniffing drugs. Maybe they don't see a lot of Indonesian in Bordeaux Airport. Oh please, just because we come from a developing country like Indonesia, doesn't mean that we have to take this kind of treat. We are visitors, we are tourists. They make money from us, is this how we are supposed to be treated? I don't think so man. Though I only have a year internship in hospitality service, but I think customers are kings. They spend the gold on us, and expect the same treatment equal to the greens they spend. Or maybe this was some kind of racism against Asian? I once heard a friend of mine said that there are some part in Germany that still have Nazi influence in them, but I don't expect for French to have racism also. However my dad told me, for some Caucasian, we Asian still rank second after them. We once had the same treatment when I was small, we went to Australia and New Zealand. When we were ready to board the Q Airline, the flight attendant told us to step aside, and entered last. My dad was furious. At that time, my little brother was still a baby, we had infant, shouldn't we enter first?
To be honest, I love France. It is my second time in France and I'm really excited to go there, but after this kind of treat, I wonder if I ever want to visit here again. Really, France? Really? I never have the intention to attack the Caucasian, but I think the Asian should have the same chance and same treatment same as the others. I love the people, I love the history, I love the culture, I love the food, I love everything about this country. But this incident really hit me. We didn't have this kind of problem in UK, and I hope this never happen again in our next journey in Germany.
I always think everything in a positive way, I went on this trip with a very high expectation. But sometime reality teaches us, that life can let you down, and never expect too high of something. Well thanks a lot Bordeaux for teaching me this lesson.
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