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Courtesy Jaeger Mah
Jaeger Mah is the winner of Vancouver International Airport's contest to spend 80 days and nights at the airport.
Armed with a video camera and his skateboard, Jaeger Mah is moving into the Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
The 29-year-old Vancouver, B.C. resident won the Live@YVR contest to be an in-residence citizen reporter at YVR and, starting Wednesday, will spend 80 days – and 80 nights – without leaving Sea Island, the airport’s home.
Mah will get to sleep, swim and do his laundry at the on-site Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel and will have $50 a day for snacks and meals. He’ll also be paid about $15,000 when he moves out. In return, he’ll prepare regular video reports about what goes on at the airport, including behind the scenes, and share his observations on Facebook and Twitter.
Overhead Bin interviewed Mah as he was getting ready to move in.
Starting on Aug. 17, a 29-year-old Canadian man will spend nearly three months living at the Vancouver International Airport. He tells msnbc's Contessa Brewer why he's embarking on this adventure.
Q. What did your friends say when they found out you’d be doing this?
A. At first they were worried I’d be lonely at the airport, but I don’t think that will be an issue at all. There will be thousands of people around 24/7. They also thought I’d be bored, but I don’t think I’ll have time. I’ll have to shoot, edit and produce the videos and it will be quite a bit of work to get the right shots and do the stories.
Q. What will you bring with you?
A. A picture of my girlfriend. Some Hawaiian shirts and a nice suit. Binoculars. My skateboard. And some wigs.
Q. Wigs?
A. Yes, some of my interviews are going to be heartfelt, but we’re going to have fun. I’m going to give away prizes for games such as ‘Guess what’s in the suitcase’ and ‘How fast can you put on the clothes in this suitcase.’ I may also give prizes for the best travel tips.
Q. What types of stories are you planning to do?
A. I had a pocket-knife that had sentimental value taken away from me at an airport, so I want to do a story about what happens to things that get confiscated. I also want to go behind the scenes and see how airplanes get fueled and how the windshields get cleaned. And I want to see where the airplane food is made – and do some taste tests.
Live Poll
Would you live in an airport for 80 days?
Q. What about meals?
A. That’s going to be a big thing. I only get $50 a day for meals and we all know airport food can be expensive. I like to have a good dinner, so maybe I’ll go to Tim Horton’s for breakfast, snack on a few things during the day and save $25 each day for dinner. It will also help that my girlfriend, who has her own cooking blog, is going to bring some dinners.
Q. Will you get to leave the airport?
A. I can leave the terminal, but must stay on Sea Island, which has a beach I haven’t been to yet, an elementary school, and a fire hall staffed by an emergency response team. There’s also a pub in the South Terminal that has live music on Saturday nights and, supposedly, the best nachos. I’m definitely going there.
I’m also going to visit the plane spotters who hang out near the airport. I hear it’s a pretty tight knit group and I will try to win their hearts over. I’ve been told in order to do that I’ll need aviator sunglasses, a Dodge minivan, binoculars and a mustache.
Q. In your contest entry video you said you’d be “the Anderson Cooper of YVR.” What does that mean?
A. Anderson Cooper brings a lot of personality to his interviews, has a charismatic approach and a certain level of ethics to his reporting style. That’s what I’m all about. Also, if there’s a big event in the world, he’s the one covering it. And during the 80 days I’m at YVR, if there’s a big event at the airport, I will be there to cover it. If it means getting up at 3 a.m. in the morning or staying up for two nights, I’ll do it. I want the story.
And here is Jaeger Mah's winning entry video:
The heart of YVR is in its people. This video gives a snap shot of the personalities that give YVR its character, and how it sets itself apart from some of the world's most recognized airports.
More on Overhead Bin
- 5 finalists compete to live at Vancouver airport
- Stuck at the airport -- for 80 days
- Humorous airport video no laughing matter at DFW
Find more by Harriet Baskas on StuckatTheAirport.com and follower her on Twitter.
Leave a Comment:
With the Fairmont Airport Hotel near, what could be wrong with this picture. I would love to spend 80 days "near" the food at that Hotel
So that's where bin Ladin was hiding for ten years.
I'm so jealous. If the contest had been open to non-BC residents, I would have applied.
The best part of my job is all the time I spend in airports.
I would have loved to live there full time!
Maybe my local airport will do the same thing.
I'm sure this guy is going to have a blast. I'm sure he is outgoing, which will be a must... Kinda excited to here what all happens and see some of his reports.
more reality cr@p
About time someone checks on behind the scenes of what goes on at an airport. My daugher and her husband when to CA a week ago. On landing in NJ for a change over they found they had many hours of flight delays. While they were sitting and waiting they saw many people ispanic mostly who had jobs working at the airport were lingering and sitting in the seats doing nothing but listening to their ipods etc. When someone told them to report to a job they most always told another person to go do it. This went on for at least 6-8 hours. I am now wondering why the airlines charge so much to fly when they employ people who sit and do nothing every day. Now perhaps someone will be watching and reporting this abuse.
Racist much, Sandy?
Humbug. This clown is not living at the airport, he's living at the hotel next to the airport. What a bogus "story".
I think he would be fun to watch! Good personality, great speaker, interesting ideas. Way to go!
He is not living in the airport. He is not moving into the airport.
He is living on Sea Island at a hotel and going to the terminal for 80 days or hanging out at the beach or maybe by the pool at the hotel. Geeee a 80 day vacation. How about actually making him live in the airport?
Sounds like a great idea, report everything thats going on at the airport, I found a new website that is trying to bring back customer service pertaining to travel, have a look, airlineslodgingetc.com Already saw a response from customer service regarding a flight concerning frontier airlines.
I will be flying from DC to Sydney, Australia via Toronto & Vancouver on Sept 13th. Doubt we will see you though. Sounds like you will be having a blast. Enjoy.
Great video! It's no surprise that he won the contest.