The Update

If I don't blog for almost an entire year, am I supposed to recap everything that has happened?

Because honestly, I don't really care. And I don't think any of you do either. But for the grand sake of boredom and continuity, I'll recap what has happened in my life this past year.

I am now a Flight Attendant. First big girl job, and yes, I essentially found a way to travel the world and get paid doing it. I spend the majority of my time running around an aircraft delivering drinks to people while they tell me things like "next time, bring it faster."  Or I get yelled at for everything from expired drink coupons to weather. Because I control the weather. I appear to be a walking garbage disposal, am confused with being a mind reader and sometimes get stuck babysitting both children and adults to a certain extent. But in reality, it's not all drinks and crankiness, it's also the best kept secret in the job market. I get to sing, be my crazy, weird and random self, and make toilet paper cakes and crowns for people. I'm trained in self defense and am fully able to command an evacuation and potentially save lives if necessary. I get to meet tons of people every day, who sometimes compliment me on strange things like the strength of my thumbs or my resemblance to Katniss. I've made some of the best friends of my life and I get paid to hang out with them. Also, I have the ability to make a difference in other peoples lives through safety or customer service and it's pretty cool being able to make that much of an impact. So despite the sometimes long hours and difficult days, it's pretty much the greatest thing that's ever happened to me.  I do realize I threw my 9 college internships down the drain when I chose this career, and it's not some high paying 9-5 job that brings in the big bucks but at the end of the day, I get to be me. And I couldn't be happier. 

Along with this big girl life change, I made yet another move, to Las Vegas, Nevada. I now reside in a lovely apartment with one of my best friends from training and even bought furniture for the first time in my life. A couch, and a bed. That's as close to getting settled as it's gonna get people. Does this mean I'm grown up now? I'd say so. At least a little bit.

So that's all of the updates I feel like you should get from me; it's pretty much been work work work with a few vacays that I'll probably post about... Within the next year :-). Who ever would've guessed that my life would truly become the definition of a "Life in a Suitcase?"

Not me. But if the shoe fits...

Falafel Fit For A King

Ahh the joys of being able to travel and eat wonderful vegetarian street food. I am a HUGE fan of falafel and was pretty excited when our tour guide Mohammed took us to one of the best falafel places Amman, Jordan has to offer - 'Hashem!' Mohammed claimed that even the King and his royal family had eaten at this place, and the food was definitely inexpensive and delicious.

I will admit that 'Hashem' is not the cleanest restaurant in Amman, but it's definitely a backpacker's paradise. The place is always packed with locals and tourists alike, so you know the food has to be fresh. I don't think they had a menu, but Mohammed ordered it all for us... Delicious bread, foul (beans), hummus that was to die for, mint tea and more tasty food that I can't name.

So if you ever go to Amman, make sure you don't leave without hitting up the 'Hashem' restaurant... A full meal will cost you around 3 JD,  and you definitely won't regret it!

Mohammed & our Tour Group

Exploring Jerash

I'm not a history buff by any means, but when my dad and I found ourselves with an extra day in Jordan and nothing to do we figured - why not explore some ruins! We crammed into a little taxi cab with 4 other tourists and made our way 30 miles north of Amman to Jerash.

We all decided to collectively hire an English speaking tour guide who droned on and on about ancient Rome, Greek gods, and a lot of other stuff that I frankly, do not remember.

The weather was absolutely stunning when we got there, but it started to rain and get very cold within the first hour. This probably attributed to the reason I can't remember anything about this place but at least I got some good pictures out of it! :)

 At the end of our day, we browsed the touristy shops around the area, where I encountered this 15 year old boy who was set on making me his future sister-in-law... He sat my dad and I down and made us some tea while jokingly asking "how many camels" I was worth! According to my dad, my number is 20?? We're going to have to work on that!

I'm falling in love with the beautiful people of this country!

Sh*t Happens

This past week, I had my passport stolen from me. My credit cards, my driver’s license, about $38 USD and a stack of business cards from people I’ve met all over the world. I’ve also been hospitalized, cracked my iPhone, been questioned by Amsterdam police and was told that my future job may be in jeopardy for reasons out of my control.

I’ve spent time being frustrated and angry about the situation (especially about the fact that I’ve had to replace my STELLAR passport photo…) but at the end of the day, I’ve realized that there’s not much I can do but accept the fact that SH*T HAPPENS.

You’ll have to excuse my language, but I honestly can’t find a better phrase to explain everything that has happened in my life lately. But at the end of the day, I’m surprised that a lot of these kinds of things haven’t happened to me sooner. I’ve met so many travelers on the road who have had things much worse happen to them. From having entire suitcases and laptops stolen, to being threatened with AIDS from infected needles… I’ll have to admit, my troubles seem almost minor in comparison. However, I’ve definitely learned a few lessons that will hopefully help me in the future.

LESSON #1 – Always keep your passport on you while traveling. Not in your backpack, not in your purse, but ON YOU. According to the woman at the US consulate, if your passport is lost/stolen twice within 10 years, the US government can actually restrict you from getting a new one. Since this has happened to me twice in the last 5 months… Lets just say the US did not have much sympathy in getting me my replacement.

LESSON #2 – Do not keep all of your money/credit cards in the same place. Adhering to this rule actually saved my butt… The thieves may have gotten my credit cards and a bit of cash, but lucky for me the majority of my money was hidden elsewhere.  I have no idea what I would’ve done without it.

LESSON #3 – Hospitals in the Netherlands will not take care of you unless you exaggerate your symptoms. I was told this from my hostel before I left, and found this to be undoubtably true. They even kicked me out after finding nothing wrong with my blood, despite the fact that I was still extremely nauseated and dehydrated.

LESSON #4 – Do not attempt to nap in front of a tourist monument in Amsterdam. Particularly if it’s early morning, and you’re deathly ill and clutching an airplane blanket like it’s your whole life. The police will have no sympathy, and will most definitely make you leave.

LESSON #5 - If you are not using your iPhone, do not hold it in your hand when you are climbing down a mountain. Maybe this only applies to people with bad balance (ME!) but I think this one is pretty much self-explanatory. The crack on my iPhone screen will most definitely agree.

Someone once told me that “No matter how bad you think your life is, wake up each day and be thankful for what you have. Someone somewhere is fighting just to survive.”  Lucky for me, today I’m still alive and healthy, with a brand new passport in Seoul, South Korea. And although sh*t happens, it can always be worse.

FZ 143 – When I’m Scared I Sleep

I love flying airlines I’ve never flown before. To add to my (nerdy) excitement, this was also my first flight both originating and ending in the Middle East!

I decided to book a ticket from DXB – AMM (the beginning of my middle east tour) because tickets only cost about $100 USD each, including luggage. It was much cheaper to do it this way instead of flying straight from the U.S. to Amman, and plus I got to spend a few days in Dubai.

Trying a new airline can be a bit tricky, especially in another country where you don’t know how the policies are enforced. I learned the hard way when flying EasyJet that one carryon does not mean a suitcase and a small purse that can go under your seat… Instead it simply means, one overall piece.
With this in mind, my dad and I dashed to the airport to make sure we got there at least 2.5 hours before our flight (just like our e-mail had explicitly said). Our first mistake was trying to take the metro there, because it stopped at Terminals 1 & 3. We assumed we could take a shuttle or possibly walk to Terminal 2.

WRONG.

There is no free shuttle.  Terminal 2 is actually like 20 minutes away from the other terminals, and is apparently ‘the budget terminal.’ We ended up taking a pricey taxi, complete with extra airport fees because we felt we were so rushed to get there in time. Also, I’m not sure we even had another option. We got there and walked up to an empty counter, with no lines and plenty of time to kill.
Terminal 2 in itself did seem a lot less luxurious than the terminal we landed in (don’t remember if it was 1 or 3), but there was free WiFi so I didn’t complain. I joined a group of 5 or so foreigners all sharing the only 2 outlets that seemed to work in entire gate area.

I don’t remember hearing them announce that my plane was ready to board, but I took the long line at the gate as a cue that were ready to go. We took a shuttle bus to our plane, and waited for what seemed like an eternity, while staring at the plane. I think I was one of maybe two women on the bus, and the men were getting pretty impatient and were trash talking FlyDubai the entire time. Frankly, it kind of scared me. When the gates finally opened, it was a mad dash to the plane.

The plane in itself was pretty nice; everyone was equipped with personal TVs (my fave)!  I also noticed that all the Flight Attendant’s were men – something that I don’t see very often. I had a window seat and moments after I sat down two creepy men sat down in the seats next to me. They were staring at me and I felt like they were talking about me, and part of me felt pretty threatened because I was cornered up against the window. I told myself I was being paranoid and closed my eyes and tried to sleep… Next thing I knew we were landing in Amman, Jordan.

I’m pretty sure that’s the worst actual Flight Story yet?  Not even remembering a thing? I guess I was just really tired…and kudos to the pilots for a great smooth flight!