Chapter 13: THE DECISION

THE DECISION

I believe that sometimes we must take risks in life. But always determine if the risk is worth it. For me at that moment, it was either throwing the bottle away and try to sleep naturally again or face a fine. The worst case scenario could’ve been that I had to leave China immediately after arriving. This would’ve been an embarrassment to the company and would’ve been cause for termination. The company and Arabic cultures in general are typically really concerned about what people think about them and the image to the outside world needs to be perfect. I mean, when we are in uniform and at the airport, we cannot even enter a store where alcohol is displayed. But going back to my dilemma at the airport, I knew that they’d never check crew at the airport how they’re supposed to be checked. Knowing that I could keep the medicine inside my suitcase, but you know since my time here in the middle east and in this company, I felt really 'locked up' and I hated the feeling so much. I knew that I would never do something to get myself into jail and that’s the reason why I threw the bottle away. It just wasn’t worth it.

After some time we were ready to leave for China, the worst flight ever. It was a full flight with only Chinese people and no one could speak English. Just imagine the language barrier. Other than that I am still not sure if these Chinese people are rude or if it’s a cultural thing, but from my perspective, they were so rude. They were demanding, and  even yelled at me. As I mentioned earlier, no one will ever disrespect me or yell at me, so the moment this customer yelled at me I gave him a very arrogant look and said: “Sir.. listen carefully to me, In my aircraft, we don’t yell at people. I will serve you once I am finished with the other customers”. If he understood what I said, that’s another question. Other than this, we also had a common thing onboard. Whenever we’d start the service we would distribute menu cards to all our customers, which means u have some time to go through the menu and decide what u want. Customers often wait until the moment you’re standing in front of them to look through the menu and decide what they want to eat. I just couldn’t stand that and sometimes I just left them and went to serve another customer.

Finally, the flight ended and the next day It was time for the Great Wall. Walking those stairs was a magical feeling, u can feel this magical atmosphere around u. It was a feeling I can’t really describe, but It made me do a lot of thinking as well. As I was standing there, I realized that I’d already seen 19 countries since starting the job, and a random fact I’ve visited all the continents on this earth. I am more than blessed with this opportunity to indeed travel the world. But on the other hand, I was constantly tired and never really had time to contact my friends and family due to the crazy schedules. My crew was always very nice, but it was for a short period of time. For me seeing the world would be much nicer with people around me who I adore and love the most. I am not saying that I didn’t enjoy seeing all these countries, but for me, there was always a small piece missing.

As a flight attendant, u are either sleeping or tearing your body apart. I often had times where I was awake for almost 30 hours and still roaming around the city just to see the country. For me, it was necessary to see the countries because that was one of the main reasons I did this job. I also experienced a lot of loneliness at the home-base as well. I had times where I would just sleep order food and sleep again. There wasn’t really much to do other than just sleeping or go for a drink in one of the expensive hotels, where a Heineken beer costs €15. Also, the culture didn’t suit me at all but of course I respected it, but I believe that it limits u in many ways. Especially if you are from a western country. I never had the urge to go home directly but sometimes u just know that at a certain place you will never feel home and that a dream can be lived but doesn’t need to be lived forever. But how do u know u need to stop living the dream when there are so many countries to be seen in this world?

The feelings mentioned above were feelings I was constantly dealing with as I was enjoying the beautiful layovers. And the thing with feelings is, you can always hide them but never deny them. So for me, it was time to make a decision.

Chapter 12: ADDICTION?

ADDICTION?

And so my journey in Australia came to an end and it was time to go back home. Well rested and ready for the ultra-long-haul flight with two amazing colleagues. I remember talking to one of them and saying that I would love to work with her in the aft galley. She looked at me and smiled, saying that she would like it as well but hopefully, the other girl will not be working with us in the aft. I was a bit confused at that time and asked her: “Why don’t u want to work with her? Did something happen?”. She started laughing and said: “No the thing is, she likes to work a lot during the flight and I don’t”. At that moment we started laughing like crazy.

Shortly after takeoff to our home base, a customer collapsed in front of us. For a brief moment I was shocked and didn’t know what to do. I had to react and give first-aid for sure. But what do we do? Where should I start? What did they even teach in class? CPR? During these seconds, you start asking why the customer had to collapse and just not sleep in his seat. Well, I think it was time to my put training to use. My colleagues and I sprung into action and started to administer first-aid to the passenger. She wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t breathe normally. We gave her oxygen through one of the bottles we carry onboard. We immediately called Medlink as well. Medlink is a hospital in the United States which can be contacted from the flight deck during every flight at any time. The commander/captain will speak to a doctor from the hospital and we will be advised what to do with the customer. Well luckily everything was ok after some time and Medlink advised us to continue the flight home. Other than that, it was a nice and quiet flight

We finally arrived in the home state after a long flight and passing three time zones. I went to bed but couldn’t fall asleep right away. I looked out the window and realized it was already morning. I didn’t even know which date it was, which is very common among flight attendants with hectic schedules. As I stared out the window I started to think about certain things in my life. The amazing life I’d given up for this new opportunity. An opportunity which allowed me to travel the whole world but without my close family and friends. A new life where I’m constantly away and a life where contact is hard to maintain. Why would people choose a job where they’re always tired and never really get to see their loved once? Yes, of course not everyone has the chance to travel the world, but is it all worth it under these circumstances? That’s a question I couldn’t answer at that time.

Several hours later I was still awake and couldn’t figure out why, because usually I’d fall asleep within an hour. It began to irritate me and I remembered that the doctor had given me cough syrup, when I was sick between my flights. She told me to stop using it when my fever was over because it makes u drowsy. I knew I wasn’t supposed to use it anymore but, I just couldn’t take the sleepless hours anymore. After about 10 minutes I felt this peaceful rush through my body as it ‘shut down’. That day I slept for 15 hours straight and I didn’t regret it as I was really tired. The sad thing about this job and the schedules is that a lot of crew use medication to fall asleep.

I started drinking the medicine regularly. At some point it’s also a mind game, which means your mind will tell you that you can ONLY sleep when using the medicine. I wasn’t bothered at that time since I still had about half of the bottle left. A couple days and flights went by and I carried my medicine with me, due to the crazy schedule and lack of sleep. Again I had this empty feeling as I laid in my bed. Again I asked myself if it was all really worth it. Seeing the most amazing and beautiful places on this earth. But on the other side; often being awake for 24+ hours, entertaining people during the flight, different time zones each day and a constant feeling of tiredness during the day.

It was then time for Beijing, China. Finally, I’d get to see the great wall, which was a dream to come through. I prepared myself for the flight and went to the briefing room. A nice set of crew and the supervisor talked about the flight and country details. And then it came..”Crew, please note! You are not allowed to carry any medicines into the country”. “if you do..please have a letter from the company, which you need to arrange in advance”. These words rendered me speechless and lots of thoughts ran through my mind. I had my medicine bottle in my trolley and no letter at all. I knew that I had to throw it away, which meant  I could never use it again because you can only get it with a doctor’s prescription. Shit…How would I fall asleep? But is it worth it to get caught in China? Do they really check cabin crew at the airport? Should is just throw the bottle out and go back to my natural sleeping? And so the briefing came to an end, which meant the decision had to be made. I slowly walked out of the room, passed 4 trash bins and the last one was in sight.. A mind full of questions and thoughts, but the most important at that moment.. Throw it or not..

Chapter 11: THE LAYOVERS 3.0

THE LAYOVERS 3.0

I won’t lie, the drop was very scary, and I’d never experienced such a long one. We were immediately called to take our seats due to heavy turbulence. As I sat on my jumpseat, I closed my eyes and started thinking about all these crazy scenarios. The only thing I wanted at that moment, was to land and get out of the plane as soon as possible. The thing with flying is, you can’t just stop, take a break, get out, relax and continue the journey. So at that moment, I prayed that we would land safely and that I could get home. Besides two injured crew members , we all landed safely, disembarked and went home.

Upon my arrival home, I was still in shock but went for a shower and jumped in bed. Again I struggled to fall asleep, but eventually managed to nod off. Luckily, I had some off days and was more than happy to spend it with my friends here in the middle east. Well, I hoped they were free because usually the rosters didn’t match up. Due to minimal rest you don’t get the time to meet each other, because the other person is already “locked” in his accommodation.
As I was about to make plans, I started feeling tired again and wasn’t really in the mood to meet people. This wasn’t a new feeling, it was one i’d experienced after my other flights as well. I just didn’t admit it that time. I just wanted to stay in bed all day, sleep, watch a movie and have no one around me. This is the part where the job gets very lonely as well. Imagine, you spend your time ‘entertaining’ over 300 people for 10 hours or more, spend a lot of time rooming around the city with colleagues, fly back entertaining a full flight again and then finally some time for yourself. Wouldn’t you want to be alone as well? Of course,…but…then you never get the chance to meet your friends. Well, sadly I didn’t meet them and stayed in my room for almost three days. I usually just go out to grab my delivery food. Delivery food became a habit for me and was the only thing I ate. Due to my crazy schedule, tiredness and sometimes laziness I must admit.

Well after doing absolutely nothing on my off days, it was time for my next destinations: Manchester, Baku, and AUSTRALIA. Manchester was a requested flight for me as I’d always wanted to go to England. The flight was a bit busy but overall very calm. I flew with this lovely Australian girl who I spent my layover with. Arriving at the hotel, my room wasn’t ready yet and then my spoiled behavior came up as I was really tired. No, but seriously… all night I was awake working and when I wanted to go shower and sleep, my room was unavailable…. What a 5-star service I must say…. After a rather long wait, my room became available and I could finally go to bed. Later that day I went to the city with my Australian friend and we spent the entire day roaming around. I must say, I was happy to be in England finally, but I really wasn’t that impressed. It was just another European city, there wasn’t anything particularly remarkable about it. Still I was happy to have finally visited England.

After this layover, it was time for Baku, Azerbaijan. Indeed, Where the hell is that? I had no idea and didn’t have an opportunity to look it up. Though the flight was very short, it was still very tiring because of the two stops we had in between. There were also a lot of demanding passengers. Passenger whom ask you ten times to refill their drink as you are serving other customers. “sir…water….water….sir…whisky…whisky….” I would have liked to give a reaction such as: “Take the whole damn bottle and shut up” But of course I remained professional. I consider myself to a very calm person, but during my flights, I’d caught myself being very irritated with customers.
Of course, I’d never be rude to someone but after so many hours you sometimes can’t take it anymore. Well, I nicely gave them what they wanted and went straight to the galley and rest a little. We arrived in Baku at night and I went sightseeing with a very lovely colleague who was more junior than me. I couldn’t believe my eyes… wow..the city and the atmosphere were so beautiful. While driving through the city it felt like we entered a new city every kilometer. Very clean and the weather was nice. The architecture was a mix of the European and middle east. The best combination I’d seen so far. A place that I will never forget. Baku was a short layover but gets a place in my top 5 best destinations.

Upon arrival home, I had 12 hours of rest and then it was time for my ultimate dream destination: AUSTRALIA. A long flight, with some grumpy but amazing crew members.
Once we reached Australia I went out with three super funny girls and our first stop was: Bondi beach. A very famous beach in Sydney, Australia. The beach was magical and I took a moment for myself staring into the ocean and the land. Can u believe it..another dream come true.. I’d always wanted to visit Australia and there I was. I can tell u, everywhere u go in Australia u see beautiful people, a great atmosphere, and such positive vibes. Australia is like a new world which u can’t compare to anywhere else in the world. A place you must visit to experience this amazing feeling. The next day we took a boat and went to the famous Sydney Harbour bridge and opera house. I can’t describe it in words. Australia stole my heart and gave me a feeling I want for the rest of my life..

Chapter 10: THE LAYOVERS 2.0

THE LAYOVERS 2.0

My heart starting beating very fast as I heard a scream. I ran into the cabin and looked for the sound. Suddenly I found this guy and I immediately saw that nothing major was going on. Well, that is what I thought. Relieved, I asked: ‘Sir..what is wrong?’ Suddenly this man starts kicking the seat in front of him and shouting at me. I thought to myself, What The F… is wrong with you?? I then raised my voice:  ‘ Sir. What is wrong and why are you shouting and kicking the seat? This is not how we behave in the aircraft’. So the family in front explained that they had reclined their seats to rest and he was kicking, screaming and complaining about the fact that had done so. At that moment I wanted to laugh, but I had to stay professional and told the customer that they were in fact  allowed to recline their seats when there is no service ongoing. Again, this guy went off and stated that they weren’t  allowed to recline their seats and that it was only allowed in business class because otherwise, he couldn’t sit comfortably. Again, I explained to this customer that THEY WERE ALLOWED to recline their seats. You know, sometimes people have something in their mind and whatever that is is right. And then explaining something really takes a lot of energy. Moments later I called my supervisor to assist me in this case, as the customer didn’t want to listen.

The flight ended smoothly and we were ready for landing. When we arrive, whether its outstation or into our home base, as a cabin crew we have responsibilities such as; assisting customers with disembarkation, do a Lost & Found check (well we pretend to do it, haha) and we collect all the headsets and blankets in the aircraft. The collection part is the worst part. Arriving that day, I immediately went home, took a shower and jumped in my bed. The best feeling after a flight is to be in your bed all by yourself. Sadly, I couldn’t fall asleep directly and had to wait for over 1,5 hours to do so.  I also started to realize that whenever I come off a flight (home base), I want to be by myself, just relax and do nothing. This is a mixed feeling to me because I never really get a chance to meet my friends. Our rosters usually don’t match and when they do, I don’t feel like going out at all. I just don’t have the urge to be around people and that is because we have to ‘entertain’ over 300 people in the aircraft.

12 hours later it was time for Bali, Indonesia. Yes, we often just have 12 hours of rest and then its already time for the next flight. Before Bali, I slept for almost 8 hours, woke up, ordered food and started to prepare for my flight. Nothing special happened during the briefing and we were ready to operate the 10-hour (no rest) flight. Customers starting boarding the aircraft and sadly nothing ‘special’ entered the aircraft haha. It was a night flight, everyone was sleeping and there was nothing to do for us. This is the most tiring part of the job, where there is nothing to do and u just sit and look at each other. I started to feel very sleepy and told my colleague that I had to take a quick trip to the lavatory ....well. I slept for 30minutes.

Arriving in Bali, I went partying with one of the crew members, such a nice party scene they have over there. There is a street full of bars and clubs. The nightlife is very entertaining and promising. Even though we were up for almost 24 hours, we kept on partying until the early morning. Before going out that night, we’d arranged plans to go for early morning yoga and then to the beautiful beach in Bali. Upon our arrival home from the party, we ate something, slept for 4 hours and went to yoga. Even though I was very tired, I enjoyed the yoga and we then went to the beach. We spent the whole day at the beach, swimming, tanning and relaxing. A breath-taking scene where I just sat and stared into the ocean for hours. Later that day we had our flight back home.

One and a have day later it was time for HONG KONG. Going there the flight was very calm and relaxing. Arriving, we stayed in this beautiful, modern and very luxury Marriot hotel. We again planned to go to the city and party. Driving to the city took us 45 minutes, but the scenery and skyscrapers were amazing to see. The city was full of lights and it immediately makes me think of New York. We then arrived at the party street, where there are a lot of bars with music and all the people are standing in the street, talking to each other and dancing. An amazing atmosphere if u ask me. The next day I went to the city to explore and constantly saw expensive cars passing by. After exploring the city, I went by myself to the famous BIG BUDDHA. A magical place, where u will find peace within yourself. After visiting this peaceful BIG BUDDHA it was time to fly back home. This is a flight I will never forget. As we were singing and laughing in the aft galley, there was some turbulence we ignored. But then something happened, which couldn’t be ignored… The aircraft fell for 6 seconds out of the sky…and two crew were injured.