A man in a blue shirt

“Did you find your bag?”

I asked the man in the blue shirt.

“No, they say it will be delivered in four days. Well, I don't know if they'll bring it to me as promised.”

“I still haven't found my bag. Instead, the cruise attendant gave me this T-shirt to change into.”

said his wife, who was sitting across from him. She's a big woman, so I can't even lend her my little clothes. With a sad expression on my face, I said see you again and left the restaurant.

Two days after the river cruise, the 190 passengers sat down to eat as if they had already made friends. Sea cruises that can accommodate more than 800 people are equipped with many entertainment facilities such as theaters and swimming pools, but river cruises have no choice but to dine with strangers. The only entertainment is to gather in the lounge and look out at the town where the cruise passes.

Our couple didn't want to speak English with the person next to us when we ate, so we used to go into the restaurant long after the meal time. We couldn't make a friend because we were sitting at the end of the empty seat and eating quietly. They are also uncomfortable hanging out with us as Asians, so it won't help them on a pleasant trip to rest.

On the third day of our cruise, we were sitting at the corner of a leisurely table in the restaurant and eating. A man in a blue shirt, who sat down and skipped a chair from me, spoke to me.

"We just got on board because we missed our flight."

"How did you manage to get on the cruise today, the third day after it left?”

I couldn't help but ask when I saw his expression of eagerness to complain.

"I missed my transfer flight twice, so I slept at the hotel one day and at the airport one day. I couldn't find my bag and chased the cruise in a taxi."

Even though he came so hard, he looked bright as if he was lucky to catch the cruise.

Since it was a river cruise, he could chase it by taxi, and if it was a sea cruise, he would have to give up the trip. Many people from Australia also say it took 24 hours. Our couple, who departed from New York, came to Amsterdam in seven hours. The cruise staff picked us up at the airport early in the morning, so we had brunch and had a tour.

How fortunate to live in New York, where flights to all parts of the world can fly! My husband and I always travel with only 19 x 14 x 9 inch carry-on bags and backpacks. There is also the inconvenience of not being able to carry a lot of clothes when traveling in winter, but wearing thick clothes and traveling only with carry-on bags. This is because I saw some passengers going to buy clothes to change immediately because they couldn't find their bags.

It's the fourth day since the man in the blue shirt got on the boat. When I looked at him with a sad eye because he couldn't go on the tour because he didn't have thick clothes, he laughed and said.
"I'm going to go up to the lounge and pretend I'm reading a book."

His words, ‘I pretend to read a book,’ circulated in my head and made me smile. I admire his laid-back attitude, not complaining about things that don't go as planned and never losing his sense of humor even in difficult situations.

'I'll have to pretend to think like a philosopher, while looking at the medieval fortress that is collapsing on the hill across the river.’