So I’m typing this blog on Tuesday in the minutes before my flight back to the US. Yesterday, I flew into Toronto from Chicago, Illinois. It’s my first visit to Toronto, and the city is AMAZING. I’m honestly a little bit bummed to leave so soon. I’ll definitely find a way to come back here sometime in the future.
But that won’t be my first visit… my first visit was yesterday.
I remember the first time I flew by myself. I was a senior in high school traveling a bunch for Key Club. Back then the airports were familiar. The handful of trips by myself ended up at airports I had been to before. In college, this began to shift. Now the airports were new and sometimes so were the cities. In time I became more familiar with certain airports. Now, I’m totally comfortable with O’Hare, Denver, Phoenix, San Jose, and Burbank–the airports I frequent the most. I can tell you the best places to eat in these airports, the approximate security times, and I even know where there are places to plug in a laptop or drop off a piece of mail.
Still, there are new airports and new experiences.
After landing in Toronto yesterday, I had to follow a series of signs and go through the various checkpoints for customs. I had to navigate the system to find my rental car, get on the road, and even read a new dashboard and road signs(focusing on KPH vs MPH). It’s slightly intimidating but also quite exciting. These are often my favorite moments of travel, when I’m really presented with something new. Even the tv stations are slightly different–you can find many of the same shows as in the US, but the station name is different or it takes a different approach.
I like to think that I’ve begun to master this process, quickly adapting to any new environment, but there are still times when I make a wrong turn, end up lost, or end up having to find a kind soul able to help me. I still haven’t taken it to the next degree. I’ve been to three countries outside the US, but had quite a bit of help while in France and England. In other words, there are still new challenges for me to try.
So, as I went through customs again today (a nice benefit with Canada travel into the US–you go through customs before the flight!), two thoughts hit me:
1) Lately, how have you challenged yourself to translate a great skill set you have into a new environment or opportunity? For example, I take a general understanding of airports (baggage icons mean baggage claim, car icons mean rental cars or ground transportation) and apply it to my new airport experiences. Another example: taking a general understanding of exercise and training and applying it to a new sport. My mom recently went from walking marathons to training for triathlons. She had to adjust her training, but she can utilize many the training principles as before.
2) What have you done in your organization that allows an easy entry into it? The Toronto airport was easy to navigate. Yes, one-half of every sign is in English, but the icons were even better. It would be possible to not speak English or French, and you’d still be able to get around. The signs and advertisements were kept to the necessary few–not making the airport feel busy like many airports in the US seem. Is this true in your organization? Could someone come for the very first time (often with experiences from other groups) and easily find their way, or would they get lost?
My flight is about to board. I’ll definitely be thinking about these questions on today’s flights.