My first post about my first air travel !!

My first flight journey

After reading a post on this forum about the first flight journey, I am inspired to write mine. Not sure how interesting I can make it, but I am going to try. I always had the urge to write, but lacked the confidence as I thought I wasn't equipped with the rich vocabulary that most writers are endowed with.

I think the time has finally come…I'll leave the rest to you to decide.

It was the year 1998, I was working for a software firm in Chennai and was deputed overseas. Even though going to US was a dream, I was left with mixed emotions. I had been working for only 9 months, so I wasn't really ready to travel to a far country alone. All the visa formalities were taken care of by my employer and I was handed the tickets. By the time I reached home with the tickets, my mom and aunt had packed 2 huge suitcases. Needless to say it was my first air travel, I had never been on a plane before and here I am taking a 30+ hr trip from Chennai to Indianapolis with overnight stay in New York! My God, I was terrified.
My parents had come to Chennai to see my off, my uncle and aunt-my parents in Chennai were all excited. I knew they were all worried about how I am going to manage, though they all acted excited. My aunt's relative lived in the US, so she tried calling her to see if they could pick me up at the NY airport and help me get to my hotel. We had no idea that the city they lived was 6 hours away from the John F Kennedy airport. And with 2 little kids below 5 years, they couldn't offer any assistance. So we started from my uncle's house to the airport, the car packed with my loved ones. Throughout the trip I was getting tips from my dad and uncle who were experienced air travelers, having traveled a couple of times some 15 years back. The only time I had stepped inside an airport was when my dad traveled overseas when I was 8 yrs old. I was far from the little girl who wept and hugged my dad when it was time for him to vanish behind the glass doors. Now it was my turn to be brave, I tried but failed miserably. I had no way to stop the seemingly endless stream of tears.

Finally I composed myself and presented my ticket and travel documents. It was around 3 AM and here I am freezing at the lounge waiting to board the aircraft. I longed for a blanket or something to save me from the cold. I had bought a thick leather jacket from one of the shops in Egmore but my aunt had packed it in my check in bag. It was July and my experienced colleagues had advised me that US is warm at that time of the year. So with no warm clothing at hand, I had no choice but to shiver. As soon as the boarding announcement was made I saw people rushing to the gate, I joined them too. I had my seat number etched in my mind. I found my seat and managed to secure a place for my bag in the overhead bin- which was quite an accomplishment considering the way my fellow passengers were pushing their way around. I sat down, but believe me I had no idea how to fasten the seat belt. I glanced around nervously and across the aisle there was a family with 2 kids aged around 7 or 10. I saw the little boy pull both the ends and secure the belt through the corner of my eye, I tried it and voila! I was too embarrassed to ask for help. The flight was almost filled to capacity, an elderly couple probably in their 60s were seated next to me. The lady smiled at me. Though they were seemingly Indian, I was intimidated by the formal western clothes she was wearing. I wished them politelty. I would have loved to have a sari cald woman instead.

I think she sensed my nervousness and started a coversation. She was travelling to to Canada and had a connecting flight from London. My connecting flight to Indianapolis was the next day, so I had been booked at the Pan American hotel at New York. I must say she was one of the most kindest souls that I have met in my entire life. My Navashakti vinayagar had sent her to help me out. She spent the next 8+ hours explaining things to me, right from how to eat with the plastic knife and fork without causing food chunks to fly around to calling the toll free number to the hotel room to finding the passenger pick up vans that the hotels ususally have at the airports. I gained so much knowledge about life in the US, she even gave me her home phone numbers in Canada which I could call should I find myself in trouble. I wanted to hug her, I was truly reminded of my mom. We had a stop over at London Heathrow and under her guidance I was getting more and more comfortable and gained some confidence. She was taking a different flight to Canada from there. So we bid farewell at London. I saw her leave with a heavy heart.

Finally we landed at the mighty JFK airport. I was dumbstruck, it was a far cry from our Indian ones. I managed well at the immigration counter and collected my baggage, but had no idea how to find the place where the courtesy van from the hotel stops. I wandered around for 20 minutes, but no luck. Then I started to panic. It was staring to get dark and my heart staretd beating faster. I switched to survival mode and gathered the courage to approach some other passengers who were also waiting to get picked up. I had no clue that there are fair skinned people who can't speak or understand English. I was starting to tear up, and there I spotted a van with Pan American written on it. The guy stopped, I saw people getting in. Reality struck me again, here there was no one to help with the bags. My 95lb frame could never lift my huge suitcases that my folks had packed. Again, Vinayagr had sent some one here also. Some one in the van took pity on me and placed my baggage in the van and I was finally on my way to the hotel.

The hotel was something that I had never seen or experienced before. It was much different from the ones that I had visited at Chennai or the ones that I stayed with my parents when they visited me Trichy during my college days. This was no Abhirami or Femina or Vignesh. This was Pan American and I didn't like it a bit. I was directed to my room and the guy carried my bags. One of the countless advices that I received was about tipping in the US. I had around 200 US dollars with me which I had collecetd at Thomas Cook at Chennai airport. I gave the guy a 20 dollar bill, I was afraid that I might offend the guy by giving too less. After all, this is the richest land on earth! He semed to be happy and I was releived. He handed me a card and demonstrated how to lock the door. I didn’t understand most of what he said but simply nodded my head. I wanted to be alone and cry my heart out after all that I went through in the last 16 hours ouside of my comfort zone. Then a lady called me from the front desk to let me know that there was someone had left a message for me. In fact I had a couple of messages. My dad was so worried, he had contatced one of his old friends in the US. All they knew was that I was at the Pan Am hotel in NY. Little did my dad realize that there are several Pan Am hotels in NY. But sensing my dad's worry, the person had spent a lot of time calling up Pan Am hotels in NY one after the other and finally located the place I was going to stay and left a message for me not to worry. It did warm my heart a little, but I wanted to talk to my parents badly. I couldn’t stop the urge to call and hear comforting voices. I decided to ask the front desk to connect me to India eventhough many people had warned me about the exhorbitant charges to call India, that too from a hotel. I still had 180 bucks, so decided to take the chance. My call was put through and I heard my dad's voice on the other end. He was consoling me and told me to be brave. I couldn't speak anything, I sobbed through the entire call. This was the most expensive crying I had ever done, with a price tag of $85.

It was night and I wanted to get something to eat. I hadn't eaten for 5 plus hours. I showered, dressed and went downstairs to the restaurant at the hotel. The last few days before my travel were hectic and it had taken a toll on my health. I had a severe sore throat which was aggravated by the ice cold drinks they served on the plane. I badly wanted a cup of tea. I asked the waitress for tea, she got me a cup of luke warm water and a tea bag. Sipping through the so called 'tea' I missed the steaming aromatoic Saravana Bhavan tea and the Madras filter coffe. I ordered some chicken, but couldn't eat it . Being used to the spicy chiken dishes I felt it was too bland and kind of raw. That ended my first dinner on the US soil.

I got back to my room and it was time to catch some sleep, for my connecting flight from La Guardia was at 8 AM the next morning. I requested a wake up call at 4 AM and a taxi to the airport. After a few hours of sleep, I got ready for the next leg of my journey. My colleagues at Chennai who had travelled a few months earlier to Indianapolis were to receive me at the airport. I couldn't wait to see them.
My flight touched down at the Indianapolis airport mid morning. After several agonizing hours of lonliness it was heartwarming to see familiar faces. Two of my colleagues had come to receive me. I was teary eyed again, this time they were tears of joy. I learnt that we had to travel around 2 hours to reach the small town of Columbus where all my colleagues lived. We chatted along in the car, I was told that there is a girl from Chennai living by herself and I could share her apartment. Finally we reached Columbus, a beautiful small town. My colleague took me to his apartment. His wife had prepared a traditional south Indian lunch with the few Indian vegetables available there. It tasted heavenly. I waited at their place for my would be room mate to get back from work.

It was time to go to meet my new friend. I thanked my friend's wife profusely. The girl lived in the same community. I was glad that I will be living near the folks that I know. My friend knocked her door and there was silence. We waited as cell phones were not common those days. My heart was filled with apprehension. What if this girl is rude, how are we going to live under the same roof. After a good five minutes, the door opened. This girl was expecting me, but there was no smile or warmth, just a strict matronly look. Once again I started thinking about loved ones back in India. The first thing she asked me was 'Tamizh theriyuma ?' (Do you know Tamil?) there were no pleasantaries, none, just the blunt question. I mumbled yes, I knew a little Tamil, but in her presence my mind was blank, I forgot what ever Tamil I knew. My friend who came to drop me left and we both were left alone. Thus I started my 18 month long stint in the sleepy town of Columbus. (I must state here that this roommate of mine turned out to be my best friend and like dear sister to me.)

I understand that this is an incredibly long post, but I sincerely hope that I didn't leave you utterly bored. Please send your feed back, positive or negative. That means a lot to me.

 

Thank you to knottoshare and Sri sir. you have made my day..
I'll try to write more...Thanks a ton for the encouragement..