[Old blog] Airplanes and Anarchy

I'm about to go on a very spontaneous holiday by the end of the next week -- in other words: I'm flying to Asia and a lot of family-business is ahead.
So since this spontaneous has changed my set scedule (especially training-scedule; there is a massive sports-exam ahead and I will have to exercise a lot over there) from regular student-holidays to stocking up things I'll need there, I have started thinking a lot about my former trips and how I've missed travelling.
The act of travelling itself as well as suddenly being in a new country at the other side of the world. Amazing.

My parents took my on the plane ever since I was a wee Elfling and for some reason I have always felt very safe and ... home in a plane. The travelling is a part of my childhood memories and everytime I step into an aircraft, my hearts starts to swell of the same excitement that I felt years and years ago.
I would not even say that I have never had bad travel experiences because about everything that can go wrong on a trip, went wrong; from 14 hours+ delay and camping at the airport, waiting hour by hour for my plane to launch, flying home the day after a plane crashed on the exact same route, lost luggage, wrong food, no food, a bus that should pick my up but that did not exist - you get the idea. In general it is not a big deal for me if planned arrangements go wrong because unexected things will always happen and if they do, the only thing one can do is changing the plan. As if some unexpected troubles could cast shadows onto my joy of travelling!

And speaking of joyous travelling, let me tell you about the most chaotic flight I've ever been on in all my life.

I was flying to spain and on my way there we started to have such heavy turbulences, that the cups from resting on these tiny tables just fell off and spilled everything in them. And of course I sat next to a woman who probably thought "That's it. We're all going to die."
Do you know these screens where they sometimes show you facts like velocity and the height your plane is at? We could literally watch how we fell into a blowhole and dropped many many yards at once. The staff must have noticed for they changed the channel to some commercial of southern spain. The captain started announcing that everything was under perfect control as the speaker died off. Just the way you would imagine it in a movie.
And now everyone was completely losing it.

For some reason I wasn't. I've tried talking to the woman next to me, but she just kept shouting at me, giving me looks as if she was planning to slap me in the face. Which was enough for 16 year old me to back off a little irritated and try to lean away just in case she became violent. For some strange reason I was not nervous at all, infact, I was neither feeling good or bad about the situation - I think there are worse deaths than dying in a plane crash. Drowning for instance. I am crazily afraid of drowning. If you ever dip me into the water for fun and hold my head below the waterline for a while you can bet, that you will regret it the moment I manage to free myself. I am really not a rude person but this is  something that makes me freak out and puts survival first. And I especially dislike it, when people will dip you twice. Like, immediately again after you cam up and are grasping for air. If you ever dip me twice we can never be friends. Never. And I never forgive and I never forget.

So I was looking at the clouds, ignoring the Ragnarök-esque scenario behind me, when suddenly - I kid you not - an oxygen mask fell into my face. Only one and as I was looking around - only at our seat. I didn't have much time to find that curious or think about wether I should put it on now or not, because the lady next tom be literally shoved me aside, grabbing the mask and pulling it over her face. So much about help children first.

A stewardess came by, balancing through the shaking aisle, telling her to let go off the mask. "You won't need that", she pointed at the flam in the ceiling, "that one is broken." What impact d you think do the words "[...] is broken" have on an already freaking person? Right - panicking intensifies.
So there were this passenger and the stewardess basically wresting for the oxygen mask  and me sitting next to this madness being so done with the situation. Eventually the stewardess won and - I kid you not - shoved the mask back into it's place forcefully before slamming the flap shut with an angry grunt. Apparently she was so done with everything too.
We arrived safely at the airport in Mardid, Barajas but it turned out the company forgot my luggage in Austria. On monday when they did not show up to deliver my belongings, we foud out that they forgot my siutcase again. I was very lucky to have had a friend living in a host family very close to mine who could help me out with clothing!

I am very excited for this adventure though! We will see what nifty little challenges it will bring.  Another flight that I can spend reading an drawing, drinking tea while making my own royal tea-ceremony and the stuff trying to handle my allergies (since I've survived an 8+ hour flight with just a small bag of crackers they've found somewhere, because the company neither allowed my own food, but on the other hand also forget to bring a dairy free vegetarian meal - I think I'll be just fine).
This can only end positive.