Xinyi Zhang: Becoming Canadian

I hear a woman’s voice through the loudspeakers, but I cannot understand what she is announcing.
My eyes act as if they have been deprived of sight. Fair toned people with light coloured hair and blue eyes pass by me and I dare not stare too long. Sometimes a stranger and I make eye contact. I turn away every time, but it is never before I see a smile that grows across his/her face.
My ears still suffer from the intense pressure, but I can still hear the planes taking off over us. My legs