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Do you remember when you first flown on an airplane? How was that for you?

I was flying from Targu Mures to Budapest on Oct 1st 2010. It was my first trip outside the country, my first solo trip, my first time on an airplane… my first time on so many levels. I was a bit afraid of what will come and my heart was pounding with excitement in anticipation of a fantastic experience.

The flight was the first hop: I’ve never flown before and didn’t know what to expect. Just recently I had listened to George Carlin doing his gig on airplanes and started giggling uncontrollably when I actually heard the safety instruction lecture. Nevertheless, I did pay attention to what the lady was saying so that I know what to do in case of anything (in all fairness, I think this is all crap: if your plane is going down there’s little to no chance you would survive so… why do they bother?!).

I was seated on the aisle so I had no view out the window. The flight was 40 minutes long which, when you don’t have a smartphone, mp3 player… anything for entertainment, seems like it’s 5 hours. I was bored to tears almost by the time we were actually close to landing. And then… panic strikes. I realized we were close to ground, the seat-belt sign was on and I had the horrified face of a school-girl in front of the class when the teacher asks the wrong question. Somehow I noticed an old guy sitting next to me looking very curious and felt the need to explain: “It’s my first time flying… I just hope the plane lands in one piece”. He smiled and said nothing’s going to happen, with a rather bored and knowing voice. I was not convinced.

The landing was a bit rough almost making me scream in spite of the fact I was holding the chair in front of me with both hands, but I kept my mouth shut looking at other people to see if they felt it’s normal. They seemed to be at ease so I caved in. The old guy next to me said something along the lines of “See? Nothing to worry!”, but I was still paralyzed from fear to react.

By the time the plane stopped at the designated place, I finally came to peace and as if nothing happened, I was already planning my way to the city.

The picture above is actually from my second flight: from Budapest to Pisa above the Alps. I had secured a window seat and was enjoying the view like it was my new favorite toy.

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