After 8+ hours of nearly nonstop turbulence… I’m back in France.
I’m probably a very annoying person to sit next to on an airplane. I don’t sleep, I keep my light on all night to read, and every time the plane hits a big bump, I freak out. As the turbulence gets worse, I progressively gasp, shift in my seat, grab the armrests, start sweating, getting shaky and, eventually, end up promising God that if he lets me live, I will become a nun, even though I’m not Catholic.
Well, something like that.
This past flight was no exception. I sat next to an older German man who appeared to find this all very amusing.
I really WISH I could be a better flyer, but I haven’t found a way to change. In fact, my fear of flying seems to get worse each year. I think it all started out when I had a bad incident on an airplane over the Pacific Ocean at age ten. We were all sleeping at night on what seemed like a smooth flight, until the plane hit a huge air pocket. We dropped. Drinks went flying, people screamed, and I woke up to it. It wasn’t a big deal, but now, I can’t help but constantly be nervous, thinking that any minute, we could hit a huge air pocket.
If I drink enough wine on a flight, I’m usually more calm - but then I get a nasty headache and my jet lag is terrible, so I try not to overdo the booze on board.
Other than the turbulence, though, the flight was pretty decent. There were fun movies to watch (“The Proposal,” with Sandra Bullock, some French comedy that was quite funny, and “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi” a cute Bollywood movie I saw in India earlier this year), and there were no annoying children around me, so I can’t complain (except about Air France’s terrible meal of boiled carrots and lima beans with white rice, but that’s another story).
Anyone else have problems flying? I don’t let it stop me from going places I want to visit, but I do wish I could find a way to just simmer down on these flights, especially when they get bumpy.
Ok, I’ve been up for 23.5 hours now without a wink of sleep – so time for a nap.
