Flying international is a lot of fun, but it can also be filled with a lot of different emotions. I think that stock-pictures really capture this very well!
1. Booking Your Ticket
"Really, only $1200!"
When booking your airplane ticket, anything can happen. The deal you expected could be there and gone in a time span of 5 minutes, so when you get that deal, its a relief.
2. Packing
"Wait, how much can I pack? Did I pack enough or too much?"
This is always complicated for me, and being away for 2 1/2 months, packing was more like a math problem.
3. Finding Your Passport
"I thought it was in the filing cabinet. Or did I leave in one of the bins upstairs..."
For someone who loves to travel, you would expect me to know where my passport is at all times. That's a lie. I don't, but I should.
4. Checking-In
"Wow...wait, where is South African Airways? Is that Emirates? What's that airline? What is that? Oh, it's a scale..."
Boston doesn't have the amount of international airlines that New York-JFK has, so it was a definite shock trying to find the check-in counter for South African Airways.
5. Security
"Bye Mom...oh crap, TSA! Ok, shoes, belt, laptop, off and in the bin. I really hope I don't set the machine off. Are we good...yes. Ok!"
Security is one of those necessary evils. It's always a controlled chaotic mess. But if it keeps me safe, then I guess a few minutes of discomfort is OK.
6. Waiting at the Gate
"Ok, do I wait or do I spend money on some food? Wait, $4 for an orange juice? I guess, I mean it's a 15 hour flight...Ohhhh, I definitely need this magazine, and this book. Candy or chips...why not both? Oh crap, not even 10 minutes away from security and I'm already spending more than I need. Oh well."
That awkward time between checking in and boarding always leads to the spending of money. It also leads to some interesting insight into economics.
7. Boarding & Getting Settled
"Oh, this is a pretty big plane. OK, I'm in the back. I wonder who my partner for this flight is. This isn't that bad, I think I can survive 15 hours in this seat. Oh crap, this is goodbye for a long time!"
Settling in is always an interesting process, especially if traveling international. I always get window so it's always a guess to see who will sit next to me.
8. Taking Off
"Oh, good bye America! I wonder how this plane will take off, I mean it's pretty big. It's crazy that people made this. I really hope my ears don't hurt this time."
Taking off on a plane is always a wonder of nature. It's also interesting to see it as a goodbye to America and hello to Africa.
9. Eating
"Oh, all this food for me? What is it?"
Airplane food. It's not good or anything special, but 36,000 feet in the air, I treat it like a gourmet meal.
10. Trying to Sleep
"This sucks."
I can never sleep on planes. Absolutely not. Nada. I can sleep in cars, trains, in class, but not in a freaking plane.
11. Filling out the Immigration Card
"Wait, I am only connecting here. Do I need to fill this out? Hello?"
The most stressful part of the trip for me. I always take this as a life or death situation. One spellcheck error means "I'm screwed."
12. Landing
"Holy crap! I survived a 15 hour flight. Now onto the rest of the journey."
It was an accomplishment and I finally made it to Africa, my 4th continent. Even though it was an amazing feeling, I still had to maneuver my way through Johannesburg's giant airport to find my flight to Windhoek, Namibia.
This is all based off my travel from New York-JFK to Johannesburg, en-route to Namibia.
