Life | ISSUE III
LIFE AS AN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT ATTENDANT
By Amanda Slim Rodriguez
Photo Credit: Amanda Slim Rodriguez
Photo Credit: Amanda Slim Rodriguez
Photo Credit: Amanda Slim Rodriguez
Photo Credit: Amanda Slim Rodriguez
The first thing I was told when I joined this career was, "This is not just a job, this is a lifestyle!" At that moment I did not imagine till what point that sentence would become the motto of my life.
You probably hear the words "flight attendant" and instantly imagine a glamorous life filled with five star hotel rooms, smart uniforms, a group of ladies waking up in Melbourne and having dinner in London on the same day... Well guess what? You’re right! But of course, not all that glitters is gold. We are also exposed to long days standing on our feet, rushing up and down a tube, dragging and pushing carts full of food and beverages, while trying not to be catapulted out of the aisle and end up landing on a passenger's lap when there's turbulence. Of course, always dedicating to passengers the most genuine of our smiles!
The best of things this job has given me is the opportunity to travel. To discover places around the world I did not even know existed. It’s enabled me to meet different cultures and new people from all over the globe and, why not, to make some good new friends.
I have been a flight attendant for over two years now. I have been to many places with lots of different people, but I will never forget that one flight to Japan. Somehow after landing in Osaka after a non-stop, 11-hour flight, I still found the strength somewhere inside my body to go out and celebrate July 4th with my Floridian friend and operating a shuttle flight to Tokyo the following day. I also can’t forget that other flight to South Africa, playing around with baby cubs and taking pictures of any small detail I was surrounded by. Or the simple pleasures of having a Thai massage in Bangkok!
I don’t know how many years my body will be able to handle the pressure changes, jet lags and recycled air of the aircraft. The only thing I know is I want to enjoy every single day of visiting new cities and the feeling that every day is a brand new day. I know this job has an expiry date, but till the moment that last day comes, this is what I am going to do, and I advise to everyone who's reading this to do the same: keep discovering!
Amanda Slim Rodriguez was raised in the heart of the Catalan region in Spain, Barcelona. She believes life is a gift that one simply cannot exchange thus she tries to enjoy it to its limits. If she had to classify herself in one word, dreamer.
