My Intercontinental Flight

Today was the day. I was going to fly to Athens and I was terrified. But I had the entire morning to wring my hands and worry and repack everything. We got to YVR (Vancouver Airport) before 3pm, international flights dictating you had to arrive three hours before departure. I said my goodbyes, hugged, took pictures and walked through Security. I always think that's the scariest part of flying. I always feel that there's the assumption everyone's carrying a banned substance or a deadly weapon. But I made it through unscathed and went to sit by my gates, for three hours. This gave me time to worry and fret all over again. The plane arrived and people started to board. My ticket showed I was far back in the plane and they kept calling rows that weren't mine. More and more people were walking through those glass doors but not me. Finally, when I thought I was going to be left behind, I got on and found my seat, right next to the toilets. Not the best start to my dream trip. From Vancouver I flew to Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. It was a very long flight (re: 9 hours) and I was seated two rows from the back of the plane. Before the takeoff I started to think what had I gotten myself into. Anything could happen. But I soon calmed down after thinking about how much time and money I'd already put into this trip. I soon discovered that the Netherlands crew spoke both Dutch and English on the plane. It sounded funny, like a combination of German and Nordic.

Schiphol Airport was gigantic and when I first arrived I was, in one word, terrified. As I said, I'd never been overseas before so this was a completely new experience. Not only that, but I had a seven hour layover. My first goal though, was to phone home to let my parents know I'd arrived. I soon found though, that every employee at the airport spoke English and there was great signage. Both of these facts definitely helped me relax.

Finally, when I thought I was going to be left behind, I got on and found my seat, right next to the toilets.

Surprisingly the time went by quickly and soon I was boarding a three hour plane ride to Athens. I got in at 1 am and the Athens airport was eerily deserted. You don't have to guess that I was tired and I still had to wait around for Michelle, another student in the course who was getting in two hours after me. We were going to take a taxi into Athens together and share a room for the first two nights before the course.

I was content if exhausted by this point because I knew in a few hours I would be sleeping in a nice warm bed. But it was too good to be true. I hadn't had any problems so far and I thought I was about due. When Michelle's flight came in she didn't come through the Arrivals door. I waited for half an hour after the plane landed and still nothing. That's when I started to feel the beginnings of panic bubbling in my stomach. So I made a phone call to the hotel to see if she'd checked in yet. Nope. So what do I do? Do get a taxi to the hotel? Do I wait at the airport? For how long? I was just about to check her airline to see if she'd even gotten on the plane where I heard my name. I turned and it was Michelle. It turned out her luggage had been left in London and she had spent the last hour trying to locate it.

So after that hiccup we caught a taxi into Athens. Of course, I didn't have a seatbelt and the driver kept the speed to around 150 clicks. That is, until he got into town and then he slowed down to about 120. I was so grateful for those handholds above car doors that I never thought had any use. I did consider the fact that I might die in a horrific crash before even starting the course.

We finally got to the hotel and I just flopped down in the hotel room and slept...for three hours and then the alarm went off. It was 9 am.