08_05_2010

First taste of airport pick-ups!

Wow, I am exhausted.  This morning, I was responsible for picking up Russian artist Olga Egorova at the airport.  So, at 5am I caught a taxi and headed out to the international terminal, where I stood in the queue with all the hired taxi drivers, holding a sign for Ms. Egorova.  Her flight was meant to arrive at 6am, but was delayed until close to 8am!  Needless-to-say, I was tired by the time she surfaced from customs.  Although, she was absolutely lovely, especially after having sat on a flight all the way from Russia, and was extremely patient when I advised her that we’d have to wait because now we were meant to be waiting for curator Tika Selman to arrive from the United States! Olga was supposed to already be in a taxi enroute to the Sofitel on Phillip Street in the CBD at this point, but there was no sense sending her off now, since Ms. Selman was going to be out of customs momentarily.  So, between me and the other intern Kate, we wrangled up Olga Egorova, Tika Selman, as well as artists Enrique Chagoya and Claudio Dicochea and hopped in taxis with them, escorting them all the way to the concierge desk at the Sofitel Hotel.  They really appreciated the personal efforts we made to welcome them to Sydney, as they all traveled here from all over the world (some for the first time)!  It was a real test to be welcoming and knowledgeable that early in the morning.  The artists were asking questions about their itineraries for the opening week, as well as general tourist questions, since they all intended to build in some sightseeing while in the city.  This was especially challenging for me, since I have only been living in Sydney for a year-and-a-half, but in the end, I think this actually helped me give them good advice, since I just did all the “touristy” things myself. It also really helped that the PPE interns were involved with drafting the artist’s itineraries – made answering their questions a lot easier. 

 PPE Interns: Me & Kate Jackson