My hurdle: Flying! Last summer when I desired to go to Israel I remember thinking my life was a tad dull - "I just want to go on an adventure”. Well the time for that adventure came about on June 11th when I departed Seattle for the San Francisco airport to begin my journey to Israel.
Prior to leaving, friends and family would ask me how excited I was to be going and all I could think about was... the llooooonnnggg flight to Israel. As much as I was excited and felt blessed to be going, a hurdle had presented itself. Flying. When I fly I sometimes come close to having heart attacks -- moments in life when I am dramatic :) I am usually pretty silent about my fear on the plane, but my body experiences it. I knew once I arrived in Israel I would be excited for the adventure ahead of me. But the only thoughts I had about the upcoming trip was the two flights to LAX and then the 14.5 hour flight to Israel.
As we took off from Seattle, some of my fear subsided strangely enough after a women directly behind me vomited. It was pretty disgusting, just because it came out much like a fluid sneeze literally flying and the contents came from her stomach... not her nose. Thankfully I missed it :) Unfortunately two other passengers did not. I suddenly felt proud that I was not scared enough to vomit, but I also knew I handle my fear differently. Interestingly enough, I became a little more relaxed on the plane. Possibly because there was someone else that was scared and as long as someone was scared for the plane then I could relax. (just a mind game...i suppose).
This newfound courage was shattered after spending almost an hour in the air, waiting for clearance to land in San Fran. Once we were cleared the turbulence that had been present while we were circling persisted until the second the plane landed. I truly felt that our wing was going to hit the ground and we were going to crash. I was also aware that when you land in San Fran the landing strip begins from the Bay. Thus, you are relying on a miracle and the skills of a pilot you have never met -- to land at the right time. Cause a second early and you could be drinking water. In the end - the plane ride was not a good beginning to my flying excursion. The "excursion" would persist tomorrow... we would catch a plane to LAX. Then from there connect with El Al airlines to Tel Aviv. SO... that’s pretty much all I thought about while trying to doze off that night in San Fran.
Prior to leaving, friends and family would ask me how excited I was to be going and all I could think about was... the llooooonnnggg flight to Israel. As much as I was excited and felt blessed to be going, a hurdle had presented itself. Flying. When I fly I sometimes come close to having heart attacks -- moments in life when I am dramatic :) I am usually pretty silent about my fear on the plane, but my body experiences it. I knew once I arrived in Israel I would be excited for the adventure ahead of me. But the only thoughts I had about the upcoming trip was the two flights to LAX and then the 14.5 hour flight to Israel.
As we took off from Seattle, some of my fear subsided strangely enough after a women directly behind me vomited. It was pretty disgusting, just because it came out much like a fluid sneeze literally flying and the contents came from her stomach... not her nose. Thankfully I missed it :) Unfortunately two other passengers did not. I suddenly felt proud that I was not scared enough to vomit, but I also knew I handle my fear differently. Interestingly enough, I became a little more relaxed on the plane. Possibly because there was someone else that was scared and as long as someone was scared for the plane then I could relax. (just a mind game...i suppose).
This newfound courage was shattered after spending almost an hour in the air, waiting for clearance to land in San Fran. Once we were cleared the turbulence that had been present while we were circling persisted until the second the plane landed. I truly felt that our wing was going to hit the ground and we were going to crash. I was also aware that when you land in San Fran the landing strip begins from the Bay. Thus, you are relying on a miracle and the skills of a pilot you have never met -- to land at the right time. Cause a second early and you could be drinking water. In the end - the plane ride was not a good beginning to my flying excursion. The "excursion" would persist tomorrow... we would catch a plane to LAX. Then from there connect with El Al airlines to Tel Aviv. SO... that’s pretty much all I thought about while trying to doze off that night in San Fran.
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| San Francisco Airport |
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| SFO - our group at check in on our way to - LAX |
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| Bay Area Transportation BART |
That night we tried to get some rest, but our wake up time was set for 3:30, so we could be at the airport at 5:30. Again, for the 2nd night I got about 3 hours of sleep.
I usually have a pretty great memory and even -- a photographic one :) I can remember what I did and where I was, with a pretty accurate memory. Yet, I cannot remember one thing from the time I woke up that morning to when we departed SFO and arrived at LAX. I do remember that I picked up my bag at LAX and thought that the plane ride had actually been great! I think that I am more fearful of flying alone than anything else. That feeling gave me a boost for the long journey ahead; due to the fact I was flying with a group of about 20 people. So knew I was ready for the Adventure to begin!
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