The truth about airplanes is that they fly, don't go a-thinking they ride their way

The airplane, that became one of my favorite thing about travelling. At one point, I even thought about becoming a flight attendant to be able to travel as much as I wanted (and so everywhere in the world) As that never happened, I will enjoy many flying experience because I look forward to work in many different countries with my soon-to-be job (archaeologist). Anyway, about planes. I like riding in them, it feels like a safer (?) roller coaster ride (when you get turbulence anyway) plus you get food while sitting on it (and I do enjoy the food too, but that must be part of my weirdness). I enjoy the movies too, I like to shut myself out (if I'm with people I know) and plug those free (they are not all the time) earphones and check out movies I haven't seen yet. So the longer the ride is the happier I am. I like all those people carrying luggage around the arriving airport, looking out where they have to go (often my case except when I'm in YUL - Montreal-) The frenzy that goes along is awesome.

So the first time you get on an airplane, you get struck by the small passageway in between the rows and stressed about where you'll end up with the seat number. Because even if it is the first time in a plane, you know you don't want to end up at the back (well, that is after you have watch Lost). I didn't end up in the back luckily the first time I took the plane. I even got the window, which is awesome (even at night) because you get to see the landscape, which would be here the skyscape. All the flights from Montreal to Europe are at night, so basically, you only see something when you arrive at destination. Alright so back inside the plane. We got ourselves something warm to wear for the flight, because we were told it would be a bit cold at one point. With our big sweatshirt in hand, luggage and plane ticket in the other we tried to sneak in between the lucky passengers who had already found their seats. And slowly passed each seat's number, verifying from time to time with our own number, until finally we had reached our sitting destination. The adventure wasn't over, we just couldn't rest now. We had to put out our stuff in the compartment above us. My friend proposed herself to stay up and try as quickly as she could to put our stuff inside the tiny rounded space.

Now that all further movements was now to be narrowed to move in the seat to get comfortable, we could relax and take it easy for a while. I got a bit nervous, because it was getting real by the second. We were leaving for London and there were no coming back. I thought about what I would do and how it would be around with my friend. But really, what could go wrong I thought? I stopped worrying about it and started to enjoy the present moment. I checked out everyone who came in, the people who sat besides us, the many flight attendants. Planes are always crowded. And suddenly the engines are running and we feel a light movement. The airplane slowly goes to its shipping (?) lane and right when it is ready it gives all it can and the speed kicks in. And that's not even the fun part! The speeding is really nice but when the plane is ready, it leaves the ground! Yeah it figures, planes are flying and not riding. That's really fun to experience, you feel the rapidness of the machines under your seat. And once you're up in the air, well you just stay there until destination (that is for me London's Gatwick airport).

Heading for something else

I love to travel, it unravels the old stuck-up routine for a time, you get to meet new extraordinary people (and let's get real, most of them you never get to see or hear again -even with facebook and the like- and that kinda sucks!) and see new landscapes, hear other stories and try different foods and activities.

I visited London, China, French Guyana and at the end of this summer, France. I love every trip I had done, even if some brought tears and pain sometimes. I still keep amazing memories anyway. And they brought out something in me, they showed sides of me, I didn't know I had. They all have something special.

The first one what in London, for 3 weeks. Initially, I was to help out a friend of mine that had in mind to leave her hometown to live for a while in the UK. Ever since high school, she had quite a passion for London, and the royal family. I remember when she called me the first time she explained her plans for the Fall. It was early January and I was about to start on a new semester in Anthropology (and it wasn't going so good, bad grades because of poor study -which reminds me that I should start on to study for NEXT semester already, no kidding!- The school did threw me out at the end of that very semester). So my friend (let's call her UK-loca) told me she was planning to stop school and get away for awhile and that she wanted me to be around to help out over there. I never really had a thing for England, I never got on that UK passion-thing. But hey, why not? It was a trip like no other. We settled for dates couple of weeks after that phone call. We decided for mid-September. That would gave us time to get some money in our pockets and also time to check out what we would do over there. I should have known back then what would have occurred when we would have settled. Basically the idea was that UK-loca would get a job and that from then on, I would get whatever time left to visit the country (or at the very least, the city). That didn't quite happened.

Time passed and we planned what we would do (as to visiting and seeing the most we thought we could) but never really was any word exchanged as to where my friend would look up for a job. We got passport, got our money and plan tickets and on a special day in September, my parents took me to the airport for my very first (and long, 3 weeks) trip. I met up UK-loca over at the airport, we both had big backpack, we were really excited and all. That was until my mother cried...so OF COURSE I had to cry too. (Honestly it was sympathy tears, I wasn't sad at all!) And I wasn't the one leaving for 'a good while' -that too, could be taken as hint of what would *not* happen-

After the tears, numerous hugs and many good words, our parents left us to be and we passed on the first waiting line. I thought airports were like in the movies. Family get to see you get on the plane, get to see you leave. NOT!! We had left our big backpack to get x-rayed and all. We were lighter and still very much excited. We head to what was some kinda a giant waiting area with many doors for the actual planes. I saw a horizontal escalator and that had made my day (just like in the movies!) The wait is the worst as for the first trip you do. You just don't know what you're getting into (the destination as well as the actual airplane trip). You're sitting around many people that you don't know, and you try to blend in. You try to sit in a cool enough way so that the other travelers don't know it's your first time (why the heck we do that?)

You try to pay attention to what people say, it could be useful later on. Anyway, eventually after much much wait, you just don't care anymore. Because of course, we always get there really early, everybody says to do so. At one point, we get call in the plane and heart starts racing again, it had settled a bit since the arrival but went on again because something new was to happen...