The Jet-lagged Journalist

It’s Easter Sunday, I finished watching church with my parents and later made my way to my bedroom. I’m on call from 2 am to 2 pm; at 1:05 pm I get a notification from work and immediately get a call from crew scheduling. I answered, confirming my flight sequence without even seeing the location yet. I logged in to see the airport codes DFW to FRA… I gasped, “There’s no way. I’m going to Germany!” I ran into the kitchen to celebrate with my parents and immediately darted back into my room to start packing. It feels so fitting that my first trip out of the country is to Germany, considering my lineage!

I was so nervous and excited to be working on my first international flight. As a flight attendant, this is a rite of passage every one of us eventually gets to experience. I boarded the Boeing 787-8 with my head held high and my heart beating out of my chest. Swallowing my nerves, I introduced myself to the rest of my crew; every single one of them was pleasant. I feel like the luckiest girl alive! 

The 10-hour flight is occupied with multiple food and beverage services accompanied by trash pick-ups and a 2-hour break in the crew bunk for three flight attendants at a time. The services were similar to domestic; however, they were very fast-paced and hard to keep up with. Before I knew it, we were landing!

After going through customs, I went to an ATM to get some Euros to have on hand. One of my crew members bought me a giant pretzel to eat on our 40-minute bus ride to Mainz. It was around 10:30 am when we got to the hotel. My crew asked how long of a nap I was planning on taking; with red, tired eyes I said I wanted to go straight to exploring. They looked at me and said if I went out now, I’d crash in a few hours and miss the whole evening. I decided to sleep until 2 pm, then get ready and go out with one of my crew members, Jon. He took me all over town! I got to see two cathedrals, the Rhine river, downtown and the train station. I loved the architecture; the buildings looked just as beautiful as I imagined they would! We went out to dinner with 3 other crew members at a restaurant called Hof Ehrenfels, where I had schnitzel. 

After dinner, we went to the ice house, where we shared a beer tower and took turns telling stories of flights we’ve worked on in the past.

Jon and I ended the night at an Irish pub to celebrate my first international flight!